Law of Jante
Code of conduct assumed to describe Nordic countries / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Law of Jante (Danish: janteloven [ˈjæntəˌlɔwˀən, -lɒwˀ-])[note 1] is a code of conduct[1] originating in fiction and now used colloquially to denote a social attitude of disapproval towards expressions of individuality and personal success.[2] Created by the Danish-Norwegian author Aksel Sandemose, it has also come to represent the egalitarian nature of Scandinavian countries.[3]
The "Law" was first formulated as ten rules in Sandemose's satirical novel A Fugitive Crosses His Tracks (En flyktning krysser sitt spor, 1933), but the attitudes themselves are older.[4] Sandemose portrays the fictional small Danish town of Jante, modelled upon his native town Nykøbing Mors in the 1930s where nobody was anonymous, a feature of life typical of small towns.[5]