Affective debates of Finnish welfare state imaginary amidst financialization: Case of equity savings account for newborns

In 2023, the newly elected Finnish government proposed the Equity Savings Account for Newborns (ESAN), reflecting asset-based welfare policies that emphasize personal asset accumulation. This study examines social media discussions surrounding ESAN to assess its reception and affective positioning within the Finnish welfare state imaginary. Using affective-discursive methods, we show how ESAN ignited divergent public responses: some expressed resistance and insecurity, linking the proposal to austerity measures, causing uncertainty and instability. This resistance was in turn challenged and directed towards welfare practices and claimants. Others articulated optimism, framing financial markets as potential enablers of welfare sustainability. These affective debates reveal tensions between financialization and established welfare norms, illustrating how welfare state imaginaries are discursively and emotionally legitimized. The findings contribute to understanding how financialization of the welfare state is negotiated in Nordic contexts, and how financial logics are embedded in visions of social policy amid fiscal pressures of the states.