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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 di
by Grustaf 9y ago
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, with stamps etc he listened politely and patiently. She couldn't have guessed that he was the owner of H&M, the 17th richest man in the world.
The older I get and the more I travel the more I appreciate this aspect of life in Scandinavia and I don't think there is any indication that this has hampered growth or entrepreneurship, quite the opposite.
The point is not that you shouldn't do your best, succeed and make a lot of money, it's about how you should behave if you do succeed.
- ThomPete 9y agoNot sure I understand what you are arguing compared to what I said. Can you be a little more specific.
- Grustaf 9y agoMaybe 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 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.
- ThomPete 9y agoHumility 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 begin with. None of this is an exact science of course.
- Grustaf 9y ago>In fact, one could argue that the successful people in Scandinavia are humble because of the fear of the Jante Law. This is pretty much what I _am_ arguing.
- ThomPete 9y agoOk, not sure how that contradicts what I said which was about becoming successful not about how you deal with the law.