The Human Condition: The Law of Yante

By Daniel Schnee on October 20, 2021.

A few years ago while visiting the local university’s anthropology museum in Lund, Sweden I met a young graduate student who spoke English with native fluency. It was extraordinary to hear. She had no accent, and used terminology that was far beyond advanced. On that same trip I also happened to meet a professional chef who made a legendarily delicious “Janssen’s Frestelse,” a type of potato casserole with cream and herrings. How could they achieve such heights in their respective fields? His answer was the same as hers. They were just ordinary, hard working Swedes.

Around the world I have met unknown and famous people who have mastered something to such a degree they are practically the living embodiment of their work. And all of them followed or exemplified what Swedes and other Scandinavians call “Janteloven,” the Law of Yante, which is to not brag about your achievements or think of yourself as anything special. Being successful or an extraordinary person must come with behavioural limits, thus great Swedes and others are not culturally prone to boasting.

Janteloven is, at its core, good old fashioned common sense. The greats among us cannot hide their work. Someone will eventually see or hear it, so bragging is pointless. Whether a person is famous for what they do is another matter, as being extraordinary or famous are not the same thing.

Fame can, or maybe inevitably will, poison what is extraordinary. To be extraordinary is to achieve something that is beyond the ordinary level. Fame by its very definition lacks content; to be known is merely being recognized in a restaurant. Many extraordinary people are not famous, but the number of famous people who are not extraordinary has practically exploded into the billions with the advent of social media. And way too many are famous for useless, childish or outright bad behaviour, meaning the ratio of famous idiots to extraordinary musicians, for example, has never been more asymmetrical.

But there is a ray of hope shining through this giant cloud of nonsense. As various social media stars and influencers grow exhausted and depressed from all the hype they have to generate just to stay afloat, they are turning to healthy behaviours like the Law of Yante. Growing disillusioned with the false image of happiness, prestige and luxury they must present no matter what the truth is, a life following the Law of Yante becomes more attractive for the oasis of peace that it is.

The truth is that doing something to the best of your abilities is the best and only true reward. And the Law of Yante ensures increased physical and mental health by abandoning narcissism and selfishness to make space for education, sleep, connection, and I dare say, love. It also means you hold on to the real treasures in life like privacy and social freedom, which evaporate the moment fame comes crashing into your life.

The Law of Yante is a Scandinavian law, but it surely should be an international one, as we would all benefit from its personal and social effects. Countries like Japan and the U.S.A. have given us amazing art, music and technology. But Sweden’s Janteloven could be the greatest gift of all … and they certainly will not brag about it.

Dr. Daniel Schnee is an anthropologist who studies Japanese creative culture.

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