Hehehe, the law of Jante is kind of negative though. It is not a reflection of Scandinavian virtues but of our flaws.

It describes a petty attitude, where you are not allowed to think you got anything going or to be proud of yourself.

You know how there is this little devil and angle on each shoulder in the cartoons?

The Law of Jante is sort of that little Devil, constantly telling you that you are good for nothing. That you should not attempt to rise above your lot in life.

I do think humility/humblness and realistic goals are good Scandinavian virtues, but the law of Jante is sort of a very dysopian bleak version of these virtues. It is as if you take a positive trait and twist it into something really negative.

I think American virtues are similar. The positive version says that confidence and optimism are good things. But the negative variant is overconfidence, arrogance and unrealistic and unobtainable goals.

I have seen both. Americans can often be very inspiring with the optimism and "got get it" attitude. Other times you shake your head and think "this guy is setting himself up for such a massive failure and let down."

There is always that balance which is hard to find for anyone. It is like patriotism. When is it about being proud of your country and when does it become a way of excluding others?