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Wow. I just learned about this on a visit to Norway. The way it was explained to me, this is one factor that could hold the Norwegians back as they move toward a post-oil economy, because they're going to need to focus on sectors like tech where there's huge variance in talent and outcomes which they'll have to accept to make it work. That said, there was some great activity in Oslo during Innovation Week.
How then in Sweden we have a startup boom?
The end result is that people demands more proof before accepting that your idea is exceptional. I'd guess that this could reduce noise making it easier to focus on relevant startups.
Never mind that the "laws" were formulated as a caricature of small town behavior by a known misanthrope.
They are not and never have been a formal guiding principle for Scandinavian thought.
are we seriously not gonna mention that this is a thing because Nordic countries have a homogeneous population? try not to stand out when you're the only person in the room that's not a 6 ft tall pale skinned blonde
Personally, I find the effect of the Law of Jante to in many cases hold back the progress of Sweden, in that the desire to improve is often low to non-existent, okay is preferable.
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Because it has nothing to do with the Jante Law. Those who succeed don't comply to it.
Sure they do, at least some of them. People frown upon anyone, including billionaires, who is too full of themselves, and I think you can definitely tell the difference if you compare the 1% in Scandinavia with places such as New York. An anecdote will illustrate what I mean. My mother was at the pharmacy once, and as the lady at the register was explaining to the man in front of her how the discount system works, wi…
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so, jante's 'be humble' is actually coded rationalization for violence. what a world. for some reason this reminds me of a time when a few internet eccentrics were trying to suggest that hegel's dialetic was some kind of freemason/illuminati conspiracy theory. in some ways jante isn't all that different from japanese wa, or really even the attitudes of many rural americans.
> jante's 'be humble' is actually coded rationalization for violence It can be, yes. Religions can inspire peace or war, depending on how strongly their followers need others to agree.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sure they do, at least some of them. People frown upon anyone, including billionaires, who is too full of themselves, and I think you can definitely tell the difference if you compare the 1% in Scandinavia with places such as New York. An anecdote will illustrate what I mean. My mother was at the pharmacy once, and as the lady at the register was explaining to the man in front of her how the discount system works, wi…
Not sure I understand what you are arguing compared to what I said. Can you be a little more specific.
Sure, if you take it literally then I suppose it would stop people from succeeding but the way I see it "Jante" is what explains the relative humility of many successful Scandinavians. In a way it's just a flippant way to describe the (downsides of) the Nordic egalitarianism, as argued eloquently elsewhere. So in that sense there is no real opposition between Sweden being full of successful entrepreneurs while enforcing Jante.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not sure I understand what you are arguing compared to what I said. Can you be a little more specific.
Maybe I misunderstood you, but it seems you're saying that people _either_ "comply" with Jante or succeed, but my point was that Jante, broadly understood, affects even successful people. Sure, if you take it literally then I suppose it would stop people from succeeding but the way I see it "Jante" is what explains the relative humility of many successful Scandinavians. In a way it's just a flippant way to describe t…
All I was saying is that people who are successful mostly ignore the Jante Law otherwise they wouldn't try to become successful, to begin with.
None of this is an exact science of course.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe I misunderstood you, but it seems you're saying that people _either_ "comply" with Jante or succeed, but my point was that Jante, broadly understood, affects even successful people. Sure, if you take it literally then I suppose it would stop people from succeeding but the way I see it "Jante" is what explains the relative humility of many successful Scandinavians. In a way it's just a flippant way to describe t…
Humility is not what Jante Law is about. Jante Law is about conformity. You definitely don't have to live in Scandinavia to be a humble millionaire or even billionaire. In fact, one could argue that the successful people in Scandinavia are humble because of the fear of the Jante Law. All I was saying is that people who are successful mostly ignore the Jante Law otherwise they wouldn't try to become successful, to beg…
This is pretty much what I _am_ arguing.
Moderation and a comparatively egalitarian approach are quintessential Danish qualities, all too often thoughtlessly maligned and ridiculed. The fact is, for better or worse, these traits have served us well as a functioning society for the last thousand years, and in my guess, far longer back than that. A few data points: The last Danish regent or head of government to die violently was king Erik Klipping. The date…