Opinion of Jante's Law?

[Antonio the Sixth]

Came across it a while ago.

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Can't say I'm entirely comfortable with all its provisions, but when I see what its decline has brought about in society, I realize that it did a lot of good. Freedom Law.

And yes, I think we should see The Rule as Atlas' (minimalistic) application of Jante's Law.

[RFayette]

Is it just me, or is the use of pronouns odd?  It makes it sound like each individual is not part of the group (by framing it as you vs. us), yet isn't the point that everyone is on the same team, so to speak?

[Antonio the Sixth]

Is it just me, or is the use of pronouns odd?  It makes it sound like each individual is not part of the group (by framing it as you vs. us), yet isn't the point that everyone is on the same team, so to speak?

I don't think it's necessarily a contradiction. The idea is that these rules apply to each member of the community in their behavior toward all other members. I don't think it's meant toward outsiders. What pronouns would you use instead?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Is it just me, or is the use of pronouns odd?  It makes it sound like each individual is not part of the group (by framing it as you vs. us), yet isn't the point that everyone is on the same team, so to speak?

It was supposed to be a bit satirical.

[RFayette]

Is it just me, or is the use of pronouns odd?  It makes it sound like each individual is not part of the group (by framing it as you vs. us), yet isn't the point that everyone is on the same team, so to speak?

I don't think it's necessarily a contradiction. The idea is that these rules apply to each member of the community in their behavior toward all other members. I don't think it's meant toward outsiders. What pronouns would you use instead?

I guess I would just rephrase them by replacing we with "the group" or "anyone in the group"/"everyone in the group" depending on the context. and "you" with "no one individual in the group."  The current phrasing just sounds flat-out dystopian, even though that's not the intended effect.

[Clark Kent]

Absolute trash. Without society, an individual is alone, but without the individuals, society does not exist.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Is it just me, or is the use of pronouns odd?  It makes it sound like each individual is not part of the group (by framing it as you vs. us), yet isn't the point that everyone is on the same team, so to speak?

I don't think it's necessarily a contradiction. The idea is that these rules apply to each member of the community in their behavior toward all other members. I don't think it's meant toward outsiders. What pronouns would you use instead?

I guess I would just rephrase them by replacing we with "the group" or "anyone in the group"/"everyone in the group" depending on the context. and "you" with "no one individual in the group."  The current phrasing just sounds flat-out dystopian, even though that's not the intended effect.

Well, it was meant as a criticism of this culture, and as such the phrasing is deliberately hyperbolic. My point was that the spirit that underlies these attitudes deserves to be reevaluated.

[DavidB.]

Horrible Laws. The watered down, Dutch version of these is more bearable.

[ingemann]

Is it just me, or is the use of pronouns odd?  It makes it sound like each individual is not part of the group (by framing it as you vs. us), yet isn't the point that everyone is on the same team, so to speak?

It was supposed to be a bit satirical.

No they're meant to be negative. Sandemose wrote them as criticism about how Danish society cut people down, who dared to raise their head above the rest. It should be said there's some truth to it, Danish society are both collectivistic and conformistist. But at the same time, you can be sure if someone, say that the Jante's Law keep them down, it's because they're assholes, the guy who own a BMW which he insist on placing on two parking spaces, that's the guy complaining over the Jante's Law.

Sandemose too was a first class asshole, but that's a another story.

So there's two ways to see it, the Jante's Law is a social rule set for not behaving as a asshole according to Danish and to lesser extent Scandinavian social norms or it's way to force people to conform. I would say both are correct.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Indeed, I always interpreted Jante's Law as a social rule to keep narcissistic assholes in their place. Someone like Drumpf, for example, would never have gotten anywhere politically in a society that valued Jante's Law. I'm not surprised to find out Sandemose was an asshole, since it's assholes who usually complain about this sort of things.