It is used generally in colloquial speech in the Nordic countries as a sociological term to denote a social attitude of disapproval towards expressions of individuality and personal success.
There are ten rules in the law as defined by Sandemose, all expressive of variations on a single theme and usually referred to as a homogeneous unit: You are not to think you're anyone special, or that you're better than us.
You're not to think you are anything special.
You're not to think you are as good as we are.
You're not to think you are smarter than we are.
You're not to imagine yourself better than we are.
You're not to think you know more than we do.
You're not to think you are more important than we are.
You're not to think you are good at anything.
You're not to laugh at us.
You're not to think anyone cares about you.
You're not to think you can teach us anything.
The Janters who transgress this unwritten "law" are regarded with suspicion and some hostility, as it goes against the town's communal desire to preserve harmony, social stability and uniformity.
An eleventh rule recognized in the novel as "the penal code of Jante" is:
Perhaps you don't think we know a few things about you?
From the chapter "Maybe you don't think I know something about you":
That one sentence (the eleventh rule), which acts as the penal code of Jante, as such was rich in content. It was a charge of all sorts of things, and that it also had to be, because absolutely nothing was allowed. It was also an elaborate indictment, with all kinds of unspecified penalties given to be expected. Furthermore it was useful, depending fully on tone of voice, in financial extortion and enticement into criminal acts, and it could also be the best means of defense.
Sandemose's novel described working-class life in the fictional town of Jante. He wrote in 1955, a bit mischievously, that "Many people have recognized [in Jante] their own hometown – this has happened regularly to people from Arendal [Norway], Tromsø [Norway] and Viborg [Denmark]". Sandemose made no claim to having invented the rules; he simply sought to formulate social norms that had stamped the Danish and Norwegian psyches for centuries.
Although intended as criticism of society in general, some critics in the 1990s argued that the Law of Jante had shifted to refer to personal criticism of people who want to break out of their social groups and reach a higher position.
It is common in Scandinavia to claim the Law of Jante as something quintessentially Danish, Norwegian or Swedish. The rules are treated as a way of behaving in order to fit in and results in dressing similarly and the types of cars that people buy and buying similar products for their homes. It is commonly stated that Jante Law is for people in the provinces, but commentators have suggested that metropolitan areas are also affected.