Is Happiness Merely the Absence of Envy?

Ask Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and Norway

Photo by Dan DeAlmeida

In studies done on Northern Europe’s consistently high ratings in “the Happiness Index,” close scrutiny is given to social support, gross domestic product per capita, freedom to make life choices, and perceptions of internal and external corruption levels.

Little scrutiny is given to the Northern Europeans themselves, specifically their cultural adherence to the Law of Jante, and that’s a mistake, because the Law of Jante is more than a code of conduct; it ensures that everyone is equal. No better, no less. No one is to draw attention to himself. No one strives. No one believes his neighbors are any less than he is.

What is this Law? In brief, it represents a social attitude of disapproval toward ambition, individuality, and feckless boasting about personal success. In the Netherlands, it’s called maaiveldcultuur, in Australia and New Zealand, “Tall Poppy Syndrome,” the idea of scything down those who think themselves better than others—ergo, lopping off the heads of the tallest poppies.

The Law is as follows. And if you’re American, I want you to pay special attention to how you feel as you read it:

1. You're not to think you are anything special.

2. You're not to think you are as good as we are.

3. You're not to think you are smarter than we are.

4. You're not to imagine yourself better than we are.

5. You're not to think you know more than we do.

6. You're not to think you are more important than we are.

7. You're not to think you are good at anything.

8. You're not to laugh at us.

9. You're not to think anyone cares about you.

10. You're not to think you can teach us anything.

Now, let’s apply these Northern European mores and folkways to America as though our two cultures were having a surreal debate about the relative merits of manifest destiny, rugged individualism, and bootstraps versus “socialist” egalitarianism.

1. Northern Europe: You’re not to think you are anything special.

   America: I am incredibly special! During my elementary school years, hours were devoted to bolstering my self-esteem by telling me how special I was. Of course, then I grew up and joined the real world where absolutely no one saw me as special, which is how I became yet another bitter disillusioned adult that feels unappreciated and drinks too much.

2. Northern Europe: You’re not to think you are as good as we are.

   America: Here, everyone is good and talented and EQUAL! Until you’re passed up for a promotion because you’re a woman/person of color/gay. Not so equal now, eh?

3. Northern Europe: You’re not to think you are smarter than we are.

   America: My desperate need to feel smarter than everyone has led me down some really dark paths, like QAnon and other conspiracy theories, which proves that I possess superior knowledge, I’ve “figured it out,” and you clueless idiots are nothing but sheep.

4. Northern Europe: You're not to imagine yourself better than we are.

   America: If I make enough money, I might be. If I live in the right neighborhood, I might be. If I join the best country club, I might be.

5. Northern Europe: You're not to think you know more than we do.

   America: But I do, I totally do! I know how you should conduct yourself, what church you should belong to, what reproductive health services to rail against. And if you don’t listen, I’ll make you listen.

6. Northern Europe: You're not to think you are more important than we are.

   America: We are far more important than you are. International alliances like NATO and the Paris Accord are hindrances to our glorious American exceptionalism.

7. Northern Europe: You're not to think you are good at anything. Your accomplishments aren’t the work of one individual, but done with and for the benefit of all.

   America: Nah. It was all me, dawg.

8. Northern Europe: You're not to laugh at us.

   America: We pay you a lot of money to get us laughing at other people! Our former President does it. Over here with our personal freedoms, sneering ridicule is okay.

9. Northern Europe: You're not to think anyone cares about you.

   America: HARSH.

10. Northern Europe: You're not to think you can teach us anything.

    America: We already know all the things. The only way we’re teaching you is if you pay us.

Finland. Photo by Miikka Luotio.

It can be said that all our jockeying for attention gives us a competitive edge when it comes to being funny and entertaining. No one has ever accused a Lutheran of being a cut-up. But is our American fixation on being unique, thinking mostly of ourselves, “rising above,” really working for us?

Here’s a one-word answer to that: Instagram.

What a hissing bag of snakes that is. All social media, in fact. We live our perfectly ordinary lives, and then curate a filtered version of them for everybody else to see. “Look at me! Look how great my life is! Don’t hate because I’m beautiful.”

I can’t conceive of anything more antithetical to the American national identity than the Law of Jante. In fact, I will go so far as to say nothing like it will ever be adopted in my native land. The myths of rugged individualism and personal freedoms are baked into our DNA. Ours is an immigrant mentality (we are, after all, a nation of immigrants.) We truly believe that life is a raw Darwinian struggle, a zero-sum game where the winner takes all. In a way, that belief actually served us. For a while.

But now, life itself is forcing us to consider the idea that the needs of the many might outweigh the needs of the few. We’re still in the crosshairs of a global pandemic. Climate change is wreaking havoc with our crops and our coastlines. As a planet, we are finally facing a common enemy: catastrophic failure.

Photo by Ava Sol

It will be interesting to see how the U.S. handles these challenges. As a country, we are capable of enormous good and enormous evil. It seems as though both values were apportioned out to us in equal measure, right from the start. But I suggest we at least try to face these challenges with even a smidgeon of the kind of humility one finds in Northern Europe. If not, we might not make it.

America has reached a massive fork in the road. One path leads us to civil war, race riots, totalitarianism, and religious bigotry. The other path leads us to an uneasy peace, future generations marginally less bigoted than we are, and perhaps a grudging acceptance that we’re in this together.

Progress moves not linearly, but by inches. It’s always a two steps forward, one step back kind of deal. In one decade, Barack Obama wasn’t allowed to sit at the lunch counter. In another decade, he was President.

What was your reaction to reading about the Law of Jante? I want to hear all about it in the comments section below.