What is Janteloven and what can it teach us about fostering a creative community?

The idea of the importance of community and that there is strength in numbers is a mantra many Scandinavians, Danes in particular, are well-versed in. That's largely thanks to Janteloven, a Danish-born philosophy that promotes togetherness through a set of unofficial social laws that are both celebrated and critiqued within society. But what can it teach us about working together, collaborating and forming creative communities?

Janteloven, known in English as “the law of Jante”, dates back to 1933 when Danish-Norwegian author Axel Sandemose introduced the concept in his book, A Fugitive Crosses His Tracks (En Flyktning Krysser Sitt Spor). In it, he writes about a fictional Danish town called Jante and the social codes that dictate an emphasis on collective achievement for its people, while expressing disdain for and rejecting the idea of any kind of individual success and excellence.

He breaks it down into ten key ‘rules’ that are never written or discussed but silently enforced among the community. They’re stated as the following:

1. Don’t think you are anything special.
2. Don’t think you are as good as we are.
3. Don’t think you are smarter than we are.
4. Don’t convince yourself that you are better than we are.
5. Don’t think you know more than we do.
6. Don’t think you are more important than we are.
7. Don’t think you are good at anything.
8. Don’t laugh at us.
9. Don’t think anyone cares about you.
10. Don’t think you can teach us anything.

Over the past century, these modern ‘ten commandments’ have been embedded within communities in Denmark, Norway and parts of Sweden, becoming a common Scandinavian philosophy that is often credited for enabling the happy and harmonious way of life the region is known for. Why? Well, Janteloven encourages a cohesive society, which is not only beneficial when tackling social and political issues (the socialist nature here in Scandinavia has led it to have one of the best welfare systems in the world), it can also be effective in building creative communities – especially in today’s world, where capitalism and consumerism have birthed a generation of hyper-individualism, at times at the expense of creative output.

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“Jantelov can be helpful to creative communities in that it encourages members to focus on their creative output instead of their personal profiles and personal brands,” says Kay Xander Mellish, podcaster and author of a number of books on life in Denmark. “The creative result – whether it's design, a play, a movie – takes centre stage instead of the person making it. Most creative products are the work of many people anyway, so it's not always fair that one person, the face of the brand, gets the credit. Under Jantelov, it's acceptable to be ambitious for your product – just not for yourself.”

One great example of a living community embracing Janteloven-style ethos, and thriving within it, is freetown Christiania, in Copenhagen, where the local community bandy together for a greater creative good. Their self-built houses surround the area’s lakeside and community workshops are often full of locals lending a hand and skilling up.

As Mellish points out, this idea of promoting your creation rather than yourself is at the heart of Janteloven and can ultimately be a good thing for the quality of creative output and ensuring a level of equality within the community by condemning hierarchies and elitism. Yet on the flip side, it can create a level of humility that diminishes individual talent and self-fulfilment. “The negative side of Jantelov can be bitchy anti-elitism, an attitude of ‘How dare this person think they are better than us?’” Mellish notes.

“But sometimes there are singular talents who are, in fact, better than the rest of us at something. Jantelov can discourage them from reaching their maximum potential."

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Ultimately, extreme humility can be just as damaging as hyper-individualism in fostering a creative community. Togetherness and a sense of homogeny is the premise of a community and Jantelov creates a space for this to thrive. But how ‘creative’ can creativity really be if no one is allowed to excel beyond the status quo, or is looked down upon for enhancing a personal talent that results in success? Like most things in life, striking a balance between the two extremes may be the answer...