In my quest to understand the role of competitiveness in happy Nordic society, I’ve touched on the cultural phenomenon of hygge. I was intrigued by another Danish (and more generally Nordic) concept that may shed some light on the Danes’ high levels of wellbeing: “Janteloven”, or Jante’s law. I learnt that Danes don’t brag.

Jante’s law describes a set of cultural norms articulated in Aksel Sandemose’s satirical 1933 novel A Fugitive Crosses His Tracks, all based on the idea that no-one should think they are special or any better than anyone else. It has been described as promoting an “aggressive modesty”.

But what exactly does Jante’s Law mean in practice and how reflective is it of Danish life? And if so, might it have something to do with competition and Danish happiness?

The debate about Jante’s Law is surprisingly fraught, with opinion divided over what exactly it means and whether it is a good or bad thing. One commonly expressed view is that Jante’s Law discourages ambition and encourages conformity, and that it can stifle enterprise and innovation. Some argue that it reflects a culture of extreme envy.

But another way of looking at it is that Jante’s Law does not discourage ambition or success in themselves – it discourages bragging about success and encourages a more rounded and intrinsically driven notion of success. It suggests that Danes care less about extrinsic values such as status and money, and more about intrinsic values such as personal achievement and satisfaction. Rather than reflecting envy, it reflects an absence thereof, and a greater prioritisation of the common good, community and social cohesion, with positive consequences for wellbeing. Jante’s Law has been described as a “focus on self-beliefs, rather than accomplishment”. As one Danish economist has explained: “Danes are ambitious … but they don’t like to show their ambition. They like to succeed but not in public. It means you can have social relations with people very different from yourself. So you play golf with your dustman or you’re in a tennis club with someone living a completely different life than you. It also means you accept a lot of different lifestyles. There are no real lifestyles that are taboo. There’s no right or wrong life so you can choose the life that fits you.”

Given the Danes’ high levels of wellbeing, if Jante’s Law is indeed reflective of a general culture in Denmark, it seems likely that there is some link with happiness. Perhaps one way of understanding – and evolving – Jante’s Law is not to suppress the expression of ambition or individual achievement, but to embrace and value diversity of experience, attitudes and aptitudes, so that achievements can be ‘different’ and personal rather than better or worse than those of others. In doing so, the expression of Jante’s Law can celebrate individual achievement and diversity – as opposed to conformity – as valuable contribution to individual happiness and the greater good.