The Law of Jante is not that complicated, it's basically just don't be a smart ass and a show off.
the garbage man is just as important as the CEO. Nothing gets danes more pissed off than seeing people acting like they own the road or jump in line or just being rude to the waiter. Just basic manners.

Denmark here, the Jante law is not about keeping people down, but about keeping the most fortunate and bragging billionaires in place by reminding them that all people are worth equally much, because we all contribute to make everything work, no matter if it's the building contractor, firefighter, nurse, teacher or what have you. So it's about reminding people to show respect.

Because of this, you will also find that Danish celebrities, like a Viggo Mortensen, Nikolai Coster-Waldau, Mads and Lars Mikkelsen and Danish politicians are highly approachable, humble and down to earth, kind of like a "next-door neighbor " you would like to hangout and have a beer with, which is also why a "Trump" like personality would never stand any chance of being elected for any kind of public office in Denmark.

The Jante Law is misunderstood. We don't use it to keep each other down.
We use it to kick UPWARDS.

Very important to say that the jantelaw is NOT actual law. Its culture laws

No offense. But her figures are off, her understanding minimal. That sounds harsher than it is, but maybe they should have brought a Dane in, on this ...

Funny how people from other countries try to explain how things work here, not knowing how it work at all :)

In the US, you buy your security individually (if you can afford it). In Denmark, we buy it collectively, which makes it cheaper for the individual and ensures that no one is left behind.

I find it interesting that the only times I hear about Jantelov since we had something about in history class in school, I haven't heard about it for 20+ years and only in these US-videos.

Interesting to hear a "smart" person sounding so misinformed about danish culture. Is this a deliberate misinterpretation or did she just not undestand? Janteloven is not something we, as Danes are particularly concerned about. The only ones who really talk about it are people who suffers from the same misinterpretations as the lady in the video and critisizes it relentlessly while the rest of us go about doing our thing. Danish culture is build on mutual trust and has way bigger social mobility than the US. Fun fact: We have more millionaires per capita than the US, but less billionaires. No one is starving. free education, healthcare and all that stuff...

Dane here: The government doesn't have to give you a job after graduation!!! NO. But if you can't find a job they will help you find a job. Within reason. I don't know how long they will help you. But if you keep being picky and don't get a job, they will stop helping you financially. And the amount you get from the state is just so you can survive. It is not enough for a big house and beef every night. What most people do, is pay into what we call; A-kassen (it is an unemployment insurance) There are about 20 in Denmark. And they will pay you back a % of your salary for a certain amount of time (months/years). But that is something you privately pay into. The government is not a bank, it is a safety net. Also, most people are in unions (Factory Workers, Accountants, Doctors, Lawyers). And the unions usually help you get another job also.
And the Jante Law is not a Law, but something a norwegian/danish writer wrote in his book in the 30´s He wrote about a little town and the social rules that kept the society together and the suppression of the individual. But it is true that nobody gets popular in Denmark (the whole of Scandinavia) by bragging. We would probably rather lie and tell you that our new car was very cheap, than lie about it being expensive. But many of the “laws” in Janteloven are true for all small societies in the world I think.

Hmm I feel like this is very misrepresenting Denmark

As a Dane I want to bring forth my perspective.
Regarding Fastelavn. To my knowledge and experience it is "survivival of the fittest" once the barrel falls apart. But the adults strongly steers the collection of candy in such a way that everyone gets something.
As for unemployment financial support. We do NOT automatically get payed the same amount as if employed.   You only get 80-90% of your salary. And that is ONLY if you pay for a optional job insurance. It is not something covered by our tax system.

"Janteloven" is one of the most misunderstood danish "traits". The author "Axel Sandemose" was angry that people stopped lending him money (he didnt pay it back) så he wrote this "law".

ehm ,- I must as a Dane protest against the importance given to the law of Jante. A novel from 1933 does not define the social cohesion in Denmark. Danes can easily be impressed and respect individual performances. There is just a difference between being seen and acknowledged and doing it yourself. Denmark has a high entrepreneurial culture, and there are figures that support that it is actually easier to start a business in Denmark than in the United States. Feeling good about your life and living your dreams is just more of an inside feeling than the need to measure it on others. In fact, it devalues my life's achievements if I have an experience that others are left in miserable and unhappy living conditions. It is an insult to be compared to Korea. There is plenty of room for the individual person in Denmark.

This is a Nordic phenomenon rooted in ancient times where group mentality was needed for survival. People had to collaborate to prepare for long winters and didn't have time for foolishness.
When Christianity entered, there was already a culture of community mindset where if a couple of dudes had a brawl in a pub Saturday night, they still had to face each other and the whole church on Sunday morning with their beat up faces as proof of their shame.

Although we now live a very different life as modern secular societies, the group mentality of "pulling together" is still strong. We respect people who are humble, helpful, forgiving, and supportive.

We want to know who you are, not what you have.

We will celebrate your success, unless you beat us to it and brag about it for hours before we can say much at all.

If you boast about being rich, it's seen as arrogant and ignorant towards those who don't have much.

To us, wealth is not an achievement, it's either a gift given for nothing, or the result of hard work.

Money in itself doesn't make you a better person, you are just a person with more resources. It's not even about how much you give of your wealth to others. We don't care if you are a philanthropist, we care about how you treat people around you on a personal level.

You can invite us to a fancy expensive restaurant, but if you treat the waitor as less than you and start complaining about the food prepared by a struggling kitchen staff working 10-12 hours a day just to survive... we simply don't like you.

We say "thank you" to everyone whether they are paid for their service or not.

We say "sorry" if we happen to bump into you in a crowd.

We do not push people to get in front of them. But if our shopping basket is full, we will tell you to get in front of us if you only want to pay for an item or two.

If we notice that you leave your computer on the table to go to the bathroom, we will keep an eye on it for you. You don't even have to ask.

If asked to pay for an item or to pass a gate, we will pay even if nobody can check if we do or not.

Our kids share the candy they collect as a group on Halloween.

Students work together in groups to help each other get better grqdes and to learn how to solve problems as a team. Five brains are better than one.

If we are not allowed to talk to the CEO at the top of the hierarchy we work for, we take it for granted he is useless and have no idea what's happening. To us it's a sign of weakness, not might.

And the thing about keeping our distance to strangers and our voice down in public is not hostility. We just don't want to disturb you or cross the boundaries of your personal space.

If you invite us for a coffee we will come, and we will build a friendship on whatever we have in common.

We are not better than you and don't think we are either. Our culture is the result of growing up in an ancient society which until recently was close to 100% homogeneous. Our "rules" are not rules, they are rooted in us. The downside is that it also fosters conformity and compliance, which was probably what the author wanted us to become aware of when putting words on it as the "Jante Law."

Our society is safe and boring. Even I can't stand the the smalltalk of my own people. I don't care who won the game last night, and I have no interest in the colour of someone's curtains.
I dislike the empty politeness, like asking how you are but not really want to know the true answer behind hidden behind "I'm good."

And I find it hard to express an honest opinion in our society where few wants to attract attention or offend anyone.

Our idiom "swipe it under the rug" tells about a people avoiding responsibility by "not talking about it."
They rather keep their mouth shut pretending not to see and not to hear anything that can disturb the peace. 🙊🙈🙉

But if you fall and hurt yourself, or we find you crying by yourself, we will reach out and try to help you and comfort you the best we can. ❤

I sincerely hope that this professor is not relying on unemployment benefit being equal to her salary. It might be as much as 80% - but it is capped at a rather basic (unskilled worker) level. Anyone with a college degree and a few years of experience will get a rather nasty downsizing of their income - and thus a rather robust incentive to get new employment soon.

I LOVE our system. You are right, we are taken care of from the moment our moms are pregnant until we are cold in our graves. It is so much more easy to be a human being in Denmark, with our saftynet under us if we fall.  I am extremely greatful to have landed on this part of our earth. AND we are free from gun violence and gun accidents. The Jante law is said with lots of humor, it is not as bad as it sounds, but we do not like narcissism and large egos.

As people may have gathered from my numerous fellow Danes in the comments, that was a gross misrepresentation of the Jante law. It is not the thing that makes students be quiet in class, because I've been in several classes and none of them lacked engagement (I am 40 rn) and it's not that you can't think you're different. It heavily discourages thinking that you're better than other people and if you act like you do, Danes will not be too shy to tell you to sit down and shut up.

I have seen before when American individualistic and competitive mindset meets this, that the American interprets this confrontation as though they've been told that they're not allowed to be different at all. But while in the USA, as far as I know, you must show status to fit in, in Denmark, showing that comes off as bragging and will be socially punished.

The ten commandments of the Jante law, also, are somewhat outdated. For example, the commandment "don't think you're anything special" would be better written "think everyone else is just as special as you" if written in the modern culture. imo.

The Jantelaw is really about equality and how no one should feel exceptional and above their fellow citizens. It's like a cultural baseline of society.

11:00 small addition: The Danish tax system also allows for deductions (fx. loan interest, union dues, pension payments, charitable contributions, etc.) So the graphic should rightly have a note that the take home for Danes can likewise be bigger after deductions, as noted on the US side.