Abstract

Security and life management are linked closely together and are almost two halves of the same whole. The values are essential factors in the welfare of the human being. People experience a sense of well-being when they can fulfil their needs and can confront even difficult situations to overcome adversities. When a person is unable to achieve these things valued by themselves or by society, he may experience insecurity related to values. The changes in society can reduce the sense of security and, as a result, people may have a need to change their values.

The Finnish and Estonian value hierarchies are fundamentally quite similar. The older generations have developed under quite similar circumstances, but greater differences between the histories of the two countries occurred during the latter half of the 1990s the younger generations’ period of development. In both Finland and Estonia, the insecurity arising from values is mostly caused by people’s mutual negligence. Political and religious fanaticism also causes insecurity in both countries. Measuring the value of a person based on his or her achievements causes insecurity more to Finns than to Estonians.

This article is focused on the connections between security and values prominent in the societies of Finland and Estonia based on two comparative research projects conducted in both countries from 1993-2003.