Oil from Norway brings wealth, but also guilt for some

According to Elisabeth Oxfeldt, many Norwegians feel guilty.

A professor of Scandinavian literature at the University of Oslo says wealthy Norwegians are increasingly comparing their comfortable lives with those of people who are struggling, especially abroad.

“We’re seeing the emergence of a guilt-based narrative about people living privileged lives in a world where others are suffering,” he says.

Thanks to its significant oil reserves, the largest in Europe after Russia, Norway is one of the richest countries in the world.

The strength of its economy measured per capita, is almost twice the size of Great Britain, and even bigger than the American one.

Norway even has a budget surplus – its national income exceeds its expenditure. This is in stark contrast to most other countries, including Britain, which have to borrow money to cover budget deficits.

Prof. Oxfeldt is an expert in how Scandinavian books, films and TV series reflect the wider culture of their time, and says she increasingly sees these media exploring wealth guilt in Norway.

“Looking at contemporary literature, films and television series, I have discovered that the contrast between a happy, privileged or successful “self” and a suffering “other” evokes feelings of guilt, anxiety, discomfort or shame.

“Not everyone feels guilty, but many do,” adds Prof. Oxfeldt, who coined the term “guilt scanning.”

Recent Norwegian dramas have featured stories about members of the “idle class” who rely on the services of migrant workers who live in basement bedsits, or women who realise they have achieved gender equality in the workplace by relying on low-paid au pairs from poor countries to look after their children, says Prof Oxfeldt.

Life has a habit of imitating art. In March, the Norwegian government announced that it had stopped issuing work permits to au pairs from developing countries. The tabloid VG called the practice “West End slavery.”

Norwegians’ guilt is further fueled by many individuals and organizations who want to question whether Norway’s wealth is based on ethical practices.

In January this year, the Financial Times published special report which revealed how fish oil, produced from ground up whole fish caught off the coast of Mauritania in Africa, was being used as feed for Norway’s vast salmon farms.

According to the newspaper, Norwegian-farmed fish sold by major retailers in Europe is “harming food security in West Africa.”

Environmental pressure group Feedback Global stressed that “the Norwegian salmon industry’s unbridled appetite for wild fish is causing loss of livelihoods and malnutrition in West Africa, “creating a new type of food colonialism.”

Norwegian government he replied that it wants to “ensure sustainable feed production” and is working on “increased use of local and more sustainable raw materials.”

Indeed, Norway says it wants to accelerate the transition to a green economy, so ensuring the sustainability of aquaculture will be key as it scales back its oil sector to make way for the so-called “green shift.”

This should provide more funding, technology and manpower for more forward-looking marine sectors, such as offshore solar and wind energy and algae production for food and medicine.

But, at least for now, that won’t be enough to silence vocal critics of Norway’s lucrative oil industry. Climate activists oppose further drilling for oil and gas. Other critics say Norway is too dependent on oil revenues.

On the one hand, thanks to wealth based on oil and gas, working hours in Norway are generally shorter than in most comparable economies, workers’ rights are stronger and the welfare system is more generous.

It’s no wonder that Norway has long been one of the happiest countries in the world, according to the World Happiness Report. It is currently in seventh place.

On the other hand, says Børre Tosterud, an investor and retired hotelier, Norway’s “total dependence on oil profits” has led to an overly large government budget, a bloated public sector and a labour shortage that limits private sector development.

“It’s not sustainable,” he stresses.

Norway has always sought buoyancy in the oceans. The seas have been a source of food, energy, employment and wealth for centuries. But it was not until the late 1960s that the discovery of oil and gas helped turn the tide of this previously relatively underdeveloped nation.

Since then, most of Norway’s huge oil profits have been invested abroad by Norges Bank Investment Management, part of the Norwegian central bank.

Its main investment fund, Government Pension Fund Global, also known as the “oil fund”, has assets worth about 19,000 billion crowns ($1,719 billion, £1,332 billion).

Norway’s revenue from oil exports surged after the Russian invasion in 2022. Critics said the country was profiting from the war or at least not sharing enough of its sudden gains with the victims of the aggression that caused it.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has rejected accusations of war profiteering, saying Norway was able to supply Europe with much-needed energy during the crisis.

He also emphasizes that Norway was one of the largest financial donors to Ukraine and therefore it can be safely said that punching above its weight, considering that Norway’s population is only 5.5 million.

Jan Ludvig Andreassen, chief economist at Eika Group, an alliance of independent Norwegian banks, says Norwegians “have become much richer than we expected.”

At the same time, however, he argues that after a period of high interest rates and painful inflation, caused in part by a historically weak krona that has made imported goods and services expensive, average Norwegians do not feel wealthy.

Norway is also leading donor in the world humanitarian aid abroad.

“I find Norwegians to be very generous supporters of good causes,” notes Prof. Oxfeldt.

However, pointing to the extra oil exports from Norway that have come as a result of the conflict in Ukraine, Mr. Andreassen says that Norway’s charitable giving “is nothing compared to the extra income that comes from war and suffering,” a view shared by Mr. Tosterud.

But do they agree with Prof. Oxfeldt that many Norwegians feel guilty? “Not really, except maybe in some circles, like the environmental movement,” says Mr. Andreassen.

Mr. Tosterud agrees. “I don’t feel any guilt and I don’t think it’s common in Norway.”