Janteloven: Scandinavian Social Conformity, IKEA, Minimalism, and The Socialism of Design

Abstract

Janteloven is a set of unspoken or hidden rules of conformity in Scandinavian societies, especially in Norway and Denmark. These rules,
also called as Scandinavian Ten Commandments, were originated from a fiction novel, written in 1933 by Aksel Sandemose. Sandemose gathered, identified and described the unspoken Scandinavian nature of societal and conformity rules that he was highly critical about and stated the obvious with irony. Janteloven is commonly associated with some negative social behavioral traits as if Janteloven put a spell on Scandinavian people. It also was associated with some positive traits,
Scandinavian design, IKEA and even Scandinavian social democratic
life is associated with it. This study examines the stylistic characteristics
of minimalism, Mid-20th Century Modern style, Scandinavian style, IKEA
style and philosophies within their origins, and ideological associations.
The study is designed as phenomenology; conceptual discourse analysis
and content analysis methods were employed to analyze information.
Design and ideology may influence each other reciprocally, and design trends may not be a coincidence. This study makes connections of how an egalitarian society ends up with minimalist design and IKEA philosophy using social conformity and Janteloven as vehicles.

Full text

159
Research Article
Year/Yıl 2021, Issue/Sayı 6, pp./ss. 159-185
Janteloven: Scandinavian Social
Conformity, IKEA, Minimalism,
and The Socialism of Design
ABSTRACT
Janteloven is a set of unspoken or hidden rules of conformity in
Scandinavian societies, especially in Norway and Denmark. These rules,
also called as Scandinavian Ten Commandments, were originated
from a ction novel, written in 1933 by Aksel Sandemose. Sandemose
gathered, identied and described the unspoken Scandinavian nature
of societal and conformity rules that he was highly critical about and
stated the obvious with irony. Janteloven is commonly associated with
some negative social behavioral traits as if Janteloven put a spell on
Scandinavian people. It also was associated with some positive traits,
Scandinavian design, IKEA and even Scandinavian social democratic
life is associated with it. This study examines the stylistic characteristics
of minimalism, Mid-20th Century Modern style, Scandinavian style, IKEA
style and philosophies within their origins, and ideological associations.
The study is designed as phenomenology; conceptual discourse analysis
and content analysis methods were employed to analyze information.
Design and ideology may inuence each other reciprocally, and
design trends may not be a coincidence. This study makes connections
of how an egalitarian society ends up with minimalist design and IKEA
philosophy using social conformity and Janteloven as vehicles.
Keywords: socialism, design, modernism, marxism, egalitarian,
postmodernism, mid-century modern
Başak, R. (2021). Janteloven: İskandinav Sosyal Konformitesi, IKEA, Minimalizm ve Tasarımda
Sosyalizm. ARTS: Artuklu Sanat ve Beşeri Bilimler Dergisi, 6, 159-185.
Assoc. Prof. Rasim BAŞAK, Ph.D.
Uludag University School of Education
Department of Art Education
rasimbasak@gmail.com
ORCID: 0000-0002-6941-440X
Geliş Tarihi/Received: 05.02.2021
Kabul Tarihi/Accepted: 01.09.2021
DOI: 10.46372/arts.909874

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Janteloven: İskandinav Sosyal
Konformitesi, IKEA, Minimalizm
ve Tasarımda Sosyalizm
ÖZ
Janteloven, İskandinavya’da; özellikle Norveç ve Danimarka’da
yerleşik olarak herkesin takip ettiği sosyal normlardır. Bu kurallar aynı
zamanda İskandinavların On Emir’i olarak da adlandırılır ve 1933’de
Aksel Sandemose tarafından yazılan bir kurgu romandan kökenini alır.
Sandemose, bu adı konulmamış sosyal normlar ve kuralları derleyip bir
araya getirmiş, tanımlamış; çok eleştirdiği bu konuşulmayan kuralları
hicvederek ele almış ve romanında bunları ironi ile ortaya koymuştur.
İskandinav toplumu adeta büyülenmişçesine bu kuralların etkisindedir,
Janteloven sıklıkla olumsuz bir takım davranış kodlarının da sebebi
olarak gösterilirken; bazen de olumlu davranışlarla ilişkilendirilmiştir.
İskandinav tasarım anlayışı, IKEA ve hatta İskandinav sosyal demokratik
hayat tarzı bile onunla ilişkilendirilmiştir. Bu araştırma; minimalizm, Mid-
Century Modern üslubu, İskandinav üslubu, IKEA tasarımı ve felsefesini,
üslup karakteristikleri, kökenleri ve ideolojik ilişkileri bağlamında
incelemektedir. Olgubilim modelinde yapılandırılan araştırmada, analiz
yöntemi olarak kavramsal söylem analizi ve içerik analizi kullanılmıştır.
Tasarım ve ideoloji karşılıklı olarak birbiri üzerinde etki gösterebilmektedir;
tasarımda akımlar ve trendler bir rastlantının neticesi olmayabilir. Bu
araştırma, eşitlikçi bir toplumun sosyal konformite ve Janteloven aracılığı
ile nasıl minimalist bir tasarım anlayışı ve IKEA felsefesine ulaştığını ilişkisel
olarak ortaya koymaktadır.
Anahtar Kelimeler: sosyalizm, tasarım, modernizm, marksizm,
egalitaryan, postmodernizm, mid-century modern

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INTRODUCTION
In 1933, Danish writer Aksel Sandemose wrote a book “En yktning krysser sitt
spor” and later its English translation was released in 1936 under the title “A fugitive
crosses his tracks”. Sandemose’s novel included a list of ten rules, for some reason
those rules became the unwritten laws of social norms in Norway and Scandinavia in
general. In the book, those rules were written actually for the ctional town of Jante.
Think about a ctional novel which includes some ctional rules for a ctional town;
and somehow those ctional rules become the norms in certain countries. These
rules were also called Jante Law (Janteloven), however; they are not ofcial rules
or laws, they are hidden rules—lex insita—, and also called Ten Commandments
of the Scandinavia, hidden codes to maintain the status quo. It is a way of socially
stigmatizing people that break the rules. The Jante Laws based on Sandemose’s
book are (Trotter, 2015, p. 2):
1. You shall not believe you are anything.
2. You shall not believe you are as much as us.
3. You shall not believe you are wiser than us.
4. You shall not imagine you are better than us.
5. You shall not believe you know more than us.
6. You shall not believe you are more than us.
7. You shall not believe you are good for anything.
8. You shall not laugh at us.
9. You shall not believe anyone cares about you.
10. You shall not believe you can teach us anything.
The objective of this study is to clarify relationships between minimalism, IKEA
design philosophy, Janteloven and socialist ideology. The interconnection of these
notions implies being more than merely coincidence. Especially in the last decades,
the design notions being investigated in this study have been attracting more
attention and seemingly being observed as the new design trends; e.g., minimalism,
the Mid-Century modern style, Scandinavian design, Japanese minimalism.
The Jante Laws in Sandemose’s novel reect his critical and negative
depiction of egalitarian individualism. This egalitarian individualism reects a suspicion
against successful individuals in the society, and it is also against social hierarchy.

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Interestingly, those principles largely dene Norwegian national identity, and they are
widely shared Norwegian attitudes (Eriksen, 1993, pp. 16-17 mentioned in Palamara,
2016, p. 2; Avant & Knutsen, 1993, p. 450). Today, Janteloven is described as shared
behavioral mindset in Scandinavian societies where “inhabitants are encouraged
to set the community’s needs over the individual’s” (Ahlness, 2014, p. 547).
METHODOLOGY
Objective of the Study
Objective of this study is to investigate relationships among IKEA design,
Janteloven, Scandinavian design, minimalism, the Mid-Century Style and possible
ideological connections such as socialism, cultural Marxism and postmodernism. The
study also aimed to examine reciprocal inuences between design and ideology.
Minimalist design, Mid-Century Modern Style, and IKEA were compared and
analyzed in terms of sociological, cultural, political aspects based on Scandinavian
values such as Janteloven.
Research Questions
1. Does Janteloven have inuence and decide artistic style and design?
2. Do artistic style and design affect or have inuence on ideology?
3. Can artistic style and design be used as a tool for a certain ideology?
Research Design
The study is designed as phenomenology, a qualitative research model.
Conceptual discourse analysis and visual content analysis methods were employed
to analyze information. Ideological testimonials, political manifestos, documented
ideological strategies, corporate statements, public announcements, advertisement
statements were examined and analyzed to clarify hidden or declared ideological
and principle discourses and concepts. Visual content analysis method was
employed to examine and resolve design characteristics of the Mid-Century Style,
minimalism, Scandinavian style and IKEA styles. Content analysis process included
constant comparisons of the styles with reference to ideological doctrines and
manifestos.

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Phenomenological Spotlight
The content analysis process focused on quintessential, archetypical
characteristics of pre-determined styles. Therefore, criterion sampling was used
to determine pre-dened stylistic characteristics based on the literature. Stylistic
characteristics were crucial since designed objects were the intermediaries in shared
experiences. Furniture and accessories, and the objects in our living environments
reect our preferences which are under constant inuence of our world views
and ideologies. Their styles also respectively may inuence how we think, how we
experience and how we behave within constant communication and interaction
with them. Consequently, the styles are compared and contrasted within their
ideological connections based on sociological, historical, and artistic associations.
Validity and Reliability
Conceptual discourse analysis and visual content analysis methods were
employed while comparing and contrasting discourses, manifestos, testimonials,
ideological declarations, statements, public announcements and advertisement
statements as independent from each other while grouping supporting pieces of
information. Ideological discourses, views, approaches and socio-cultural values
were hermeneutical since they could be highly subjective in nature. However,
correspondingly supporting evidences (video recordings and ideological
declarations) from literature were compared and articulated to provide construct
validity. The grouping of rich qualitative information from the literature supported
the clear connections made based on the research questions; i.e., multiple
hermeneutical evidences of minimalist design and ideology connection throughout
the history. A specic instrument was neither seen as necessary nor designed and
used to collect information apart from discourse analysis and content analysis.
Analysis
We need to go back to historical roots and social-cultural backgrounds of
Janteloven to understand and clarify Scandinavian style, and IKEA in particular.
The following section focused on detailed psychological, cultural, sociological,
and historical contextual backgrounds to understand the concept of Janteloven.
The concept of Janteloven is uniquely Scandinavian and it is connected to many
characteristics of Scandinavian culture, Scandinavian people and their behavior,

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their life styles and even their understanding of art and aesthetics. Once the
concept Janteloven examined, connections with IKEA philosophy and style will be
analyzed and claried. Janteloven seems in the center of Scandinavian culture,
and Scandinavian style is typically minimalist in its nature. Minimalism, and Mid-(20th)
Century Modern have been prominent styles in the recent years, and these styles
are also analyzed within their ideological connections in the related sections. While
style may be expression of world views and ideology, there might also be reciprocity
between them. Marxist ideology and possible style connections are also examined
based on the ideological discourses in the related sections.
Roots and Existential Reasons of Janteloven in Scandinavia
Janteloven is usually described as a highly individualistic concept and
commonly referenced in Scandinavian popular media. Typical Scandinavian
behavioral traits were also commonly attributed to Janteloven. However, it is not
articulated how a ctional novel inuences social norms in a large geographical
region and also decides behavioral traits and even national identity in a certain
country. Actually, based on Sandemose’s satirical approach to the small town of
Jante, it was indeed a critique of societal values. Therefore, it would be incorrect
to identify origins of Jante commandments as rooted back to Sandemose’s novel.
On the contrary, it seems that Sandemose gathered, identied and described the
unspoken Scandinavian social codes of conformity that he was highly critical about.
Otherwise, it would be difcult to believe that a novel written in 1933 and some
sacred rules spread so widely over Scandinavia and haunted the Nordic people.
In fact, it seems obvious that the rules identied as Janteloven were already the
nature of Nordic people and Sandemose just stated the obvious with irony. Avant
and Knutsen (1993) explained historical roots and reasons why and how Norway
created such an egalitarian society:
The Black Plague of the mid-fourteenth century reduced the population of
Norway by more than one-third, effectively destroyed Norwegian nobility
and left Norway a nation of survived farmers who struggled for more than
two centuries to restore farms abandoned during the plague. Unique
circumstances of Norwegian history produced an egalitarian and cohesive
society (p. 452).
Whereas, Scandinavian behavioral codes, egalitarianism and individualism
are mostly admired by outsiders, today; Sandemose depicted the ctional town of

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Jante and the nature of its people from an insider’s perspective:
A hysterical thirst for power by which people stamp out each other’s chances
in life. While all struggle and writhe beneath its suffocating grasp, they also
exercise it against all others: everyone is doomed to an eternal crucixion.’
Thus being ‘packhorses’, they never could learn the true use of language,
only a series of verbal clichés reecting a mediocrity, which ridiculed
excellence. Condemned by the laws of Jante, Sandemose lamented ‘we
never learned to talk (p. 342) (Sandemose cited in Gopal, 2004, p. 65).
In an ofcial Norwegian Dictionary, the word Jante was listed as a new
entry (1945-1975) meaning “a person who is afraid of standing out in the crowd;
and Janteloven, a set of laws which express the small society’s tyrannical attitude
toward the individual who stands out in the crowd” (Avant & Knutsen, 1993, p. 455).
There have been increasing negative voices over Janteloven in the recent
years especially among young population. Though, the literature included both
positive and negative views about Jante Law based on social, political and cultural
reasons and perspectives. Nevertheless, Janteloven has been characterized as
being an appropriate label for Norwegian shared values (Avant & Knutsen, 1993, p.
459). As a commonly observed phenomenon in Sweden, in Denmark and in Finland;
Jante Law is seen as typical Scandinavian traits. It includes the very characteristics
of Scandinavian societies, which are mostly admired by outsiders at a distance;
but resented by the people living in it. Nevertheless, it is deeply embedded in the
psyche of people.
Another concept, “hygge” in Danish culture can be dened as a warm,
cozy setting, may be a small corner arrangement of intimate atmosphere, a call
for a relaxing intimacy, and feeling of being home (Jenkins as cited in Beltagui &
Schmidt, 2017, p. 406). “The concepts of hygge and Janteloven can be seen to
set the rules for acceptable social behavior in Danish society” (Beltagui & Schmidt,
2017, p. 408). When we think about the process how Janteloven procreated itself in
the society, in his book Sandemose believed that Christian ritual of Conrmation was
the tool of afrmation, not the education or school in Jante. In other words, people
were socialized into Janteloven through religion (Trotter, 2015, p. 7). However, it was
also noted that Norwegian nationalist project attempts to socialize children into
it through education (Trotter, 2015, p. 7). Trotter (2015) further emphasized “how
Janteloven was used as a vehicle and convenient tool for the nationalism project
of Norway. It was a unifying principle around egalitarianism; the nation is greater
than the individual” (p. 8).

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Janteloven resonates as a principle of classication, drawing sharp lines
between the individual and the collective. Yet, because it does not dene
the characteristics of the group, it only denes punishable traits in individuals;
it can be superimposed upon other markers of identity. In the case of Norway,
Janteloven was appropriated from its literary context in order to strengthen
a hegemonic ideology, which gave primacy to the Norwegian nation-state
(Trotter, 2015, p. 8).
As a universal model and reference point, Norway was also claimed to be
an international project. “After the World War II, Norway saw a prolonged period
of rebuilding and solidarity, and the creation of a social democratic welfare-state.
The welfare-state, the equality paradigm and nationalism in Norway attempt to
turn the nation-state into a universal reference point” (Vike, Lidén and Lien, 2001;
Pausewang, 2001; & Eriksen, 2009 as cited in Trotter, 2015, p. 8). Thereupon, it is
difcult to not question whether or not Norway and other Scandinavian countries’
topping the international happiness index charts is also a part of a global agenda…
It should also be reminded that Janteloven is not a specically unique Norwegian
concept, it is rather a Scandinavian concept widespread along other Scandinavian
countries as well. “Today, Janteloven is a sociological term that is used to describe
an aversion to individual-minded behavior” (Ahlness, 2014, p. 548). In the recent
years, there have been anti-Janteloven movements and even there is a grave in
which people symbolically buried Janteloven.
Positive Views of Janteloven
Down to earth egalitarianism
Modesty
Against the delusions of grandeur
National pride comes before self
Gender equality
Passivism
No bragging and vanity
No class differences
No ego
Scandinavian behavioral traits, specically Janteloven attracted attention
within its social and cultural aspects. Janteloven has been linked to ideological
aspects, social, cultural aspects, also art and design aspects in the Scandinavian

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countries. Positive and negative characteristics have been largely discussed. As
one of the claims, “Janteloven protected Scandinavia from the negative effects of
Socialism” (Edwards, 2016 cited in Palamara, 2016, p. 2). In a study (Palamara, 2016),
participants viewed Janteloven as an expression of equality of all people on a down
to earth level. “It meant to motivate people to try to help their fellow citizens instead
of winning over them. Some presented it more as an injunction not against success
but against bragging” (p. 3). On the other hand, if there is a Scandinavian utopia,
as typically believed by outsiders; Janteloven must be part of it. Because, what
we often fail to realize is that you cannot have it both ways; complete individuality
where everyone just ignores the rules, and still have a harmonious, equal society.
Therefore, we have to make a choice between them. It may well be that for a
better society; Janteloven might be the best way of organizing a society to live
equally in harmony. However, it is also controversial since it limits individual choices
and success. It’s like the Ten Commandments against delusions of grandeur.
Avant and Knutsen (1993) pointed out that “Norwegian students usually
have difculty understanding societal class structures in other societies, by the time
a typical Norwegian is a college student, egalitarian state of mind is set. Janteloven
seems really effective to create a classless society ideal” (p. 457). In a study (Beltagui
& Schmidt, 2017), in the online social gaming networks “Janteloven was reported to
drive people to show fairness, by being humble in victory and gracious in defeat”
(p. 420). In the same study it was also reported that Janteloven makes no account
of gender, and perhaps leading to the perceived gender equality in Scandinavian
countries (Beltagui & Schmidt, 2017, p. 421). The study may also be a response to a
widely-speculated question how and why Scandinavian countries succeeded such
gender equality in their societies.
In a study it was tested that how culture may affect the interpretation of
the expression of pride among Norwegian and U.S. participants. “Results showed
that participants from Norway ascribed more negative trait attributions to a target
person expressing pride than U.S. participants” (Bromgard, Tramow, & Linn, 2014,
p. 375).
Negative Views of Janteloven
Passive aggressive behavior

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Lack of assertiveness
Harmful for innovation and creativity
Promotes mediocrity
Does not promote success
Hidden jealousy
Hidden intolerance of difference and diversity
Unexpressed resentment
Inexpressiveness
Denying individualism and individual choices and expression
Suppressing individual’s nature
Promotes sameness
Intolerance to others, cultural differences and ethnic differences
Intolerance to language difference and religious difference
Negative self-view
Reduced self-enhancing tendencies
Suppressing masculine behavior (female-dominated society)
Avoidance of eccentric behavior
Fear of being different
The quintessential characteristics of innovation and creativity show clear
divergence from the traits linked to Janteloven. In the previously mentioned study
(Palamara, 2016), over 40% of respondents reported that Janteloven was bad for
innovation in Norway. One third of respondents were unsure and 23% reported that
it was not bad for innovation. It was also viewed as an excuse for lack of success
or to excuse criticism. “Some respondents reported Janteloven as a passive-
aggressive assertion that one shouldn’t be outstanding; it was reected as tyranny
of mediocrity; some respondents also described it as depiction of intolerant, spiteful
and jealous nature of their society” (Palamara, 2016, p. 3).
Jante Law in general imposes being like others, while creative and inventive
talent require thinking differently. Avant and Knutsen (1993) proposed that “creative
and inventive talents may not be encouraged in Norway because of Janteloven,
particularly when these talents are seen as a threat to overall equality. The fear
that somebody may be getting a bigger piece of the welfare cake threatens
the social democratic Utopia” (p. 452). Evolutionary nature of rivalry as a survival

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instinct requires individual strive against problems which may be threat to survival.
Jante Law, within this context increases risky possibilities against survival. However,
individual survival and collective survival may be depended upon different
conditions. In Denmark (in Scandinavia), “equality translates as sameness in every
respect. Thus, being different suggests injustice and hierarchical subordination. Thus,
many Scandinavians regard Britain and the United States as also being unjust and
exploitative” (Gopal, 2004, p. 70).
It may seem conicted, however; egalitarian values and democratic
values may also diverge in certain aspects. In the recent years, there have been
an immigration surge to the Europe. It has become obvious that Norwegians for
example have little tolerance to immigrants with a diverse background. They show
intolerance to cultural difference, ethnic difference, language difference and
religious difference. “Jante Law was specied as underlying reasons of intolerance
against diversity” (Avant & Knutsen, 1993, p. 458). Egalitarianism, democratic values,
diversity, and ethnic tolerance in Scandinavia should be re-examined because
they seem controversial.
In a study (Silvera & Seger, 2004) it was found that “Scandinavians might
generally have less positive self-views and reduced self-enhancing tendencies
compared with members of many other Western cultures” (p. 573). “Norwegians,
for example, were less self-promoting than Americans. These differences might
derive from Jante Law” (p. 581). Self-expression, motivation, self-assurance, and
condence are all signicant facets of healthy personality development. Jante Law
evidently may hinder personal development in all these aspects.
Silvera and Seger (2004) indicated based on the previous research that
Norway had a substantially more feminine (vs. masculine) culture than the United
States. Nonetheless, Norway, could be dened more appropriately as female-
dominated rather than being feminine. Silvera and Seger (2004) argued that “the
Norwegian emphasis on feminine values derives from the strong cultural inuence
of Janteloven (or vice versa)” (p. 582).
Silvera & Seger (2004) reported that “Norwegians had a tendency to give less
extreme responses (i.e., they respond closer to the neutral point) than Americans on
psychological measurement scales irrespective of the constructs being measured”
(pp. 580-581). This might mean hesitance of being different than others, and feeling
safe being around the averages and norms; this limiting behavior may easily be

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connected with inhibition of self-expressive behavior.
In a study about regional assertiveness in the United States; Norwegian-
origin Americans scored lower compared to other regions. “It was reported to
be a cultural difference rooted to Janteloven Norwegian traditions. However,
assertive communicative behavior was described as ‘reecting genuine concern
for [everyone’s] rights . . . [and] promotes equality in human relationships’”(Sigler,
Burnett, & Child, 2008:90). Actually, even though Norwegian Janteloven tradition
thought to be part of Scandinavian egalitarian behavior, it might actually be other
way around and Janteloven may be a justication for passive aggressive behavior.
Celebrities frequently appear in advertisements. People in the most societies
trust the public gures and celebrities, and this trust is used to sell products through
advertisements. In a study (Silvera & Austad, 2004) about factors predicting the
effectiveness of celebrity endorsement advertisements, it was suggested that
Janteloven may have caused an increased suspicion and “Norwegians might be
particularly untrusting of celebrities due to Norwegian cultural norms based on
Janteloven” (p. 1523).
Reections and Expressions of Janteloven
Janteloven affects the way people buy cars and furniture, how they design
and decorate their houses, how they dress, it also affects how they behave. Modesty
is the key; arrogance and vanity are frowned upon. Scandinavian behavioral traits
expressed as Janteloven may also be described as a camouage against the herd,
akin to zebras’ camouages:
…(talking about an experiment of biologists with zebras: they paint a zebra’s
haunches with a red spot)...” When a zebra shows a different pattern than
the rest of the herd, it gets hunted by the lions in a shorter time. The lions
cannot hunt a single zebra down unless they can identify it. Because they
have to identify and then have to organize their hunt around a target. If you
stand out, the lions will kill you (Peterson, 2021).
Janteloven functions like zebra’s stripes and provides a safe zone for people
by protecting them from lions. Standing out and being different has been promoted
in consumer society as part of marketing strategies, while it may also result in various
social consequences. There are sayings in many cultures telling similar anecdotes:
“If you stick your neck out then the sword will come.”
“The head that sticks up above the rest is the rst to be cut off by the sword.”
“Poppy that grows higher than the rest, will be cut down.”

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“The sheep standing out of the herd will be eaten by the wolves.”
In most cultures, children are taught to not stand out, not to be different.
However, creativity is a trait that require just the opposite. We know that development
and evolution of human civilization made possible by creativity and innovation,
although this standing out behavior seems against survival at rst glance. Steve
Jobs, a pioneer in supporting creativity and innovation, narrated the anatomy of
creative behavior in a 1997 TV commercial for Apple:
Here’s to the crazy ones, the mists, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round
pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re
not fond of rules and they have no respect for status quo… You can quote
them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t
do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race
forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius,
because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the
world, are the ones who do (Jobs, 2011).
As previously mentioned, Janteloven was described as bad for innovation;
also creative and inventive talents may not be encouraged in Norway because of
Janteloven. (Palamara, 2016, p. 3; Avant & Knutsen, 1993, p. 452; Peterson, 1988, p.
2). Almost all aspects of this speech promote traits against Scandinavian societal
norms, from a Nordic perspective, Steve Jobs’ narration of creative traits can be
well-described as an anti-Janteloven manifesto.
Janteloven, if described as Scandinavian cultural code of behavior, can be
observed in Scandinavian aesthetical style preferences, as in IKEA example. IKEA, is
especially famous for practicality, functionality, its modern and minimalist style. This
minimalist and simple functionality has almost become IKEA’s signature, and seen as
Scandinavian style characteristics. Typically, the style of a culture includes essences,
avors, cultural details and characteristics from that unique culture. However, with
the minimalist Scandinavian style, the essence of Nordic cultures have become
almost avorless without any personality characteristics, no cultural attributions, with
no touch of uniqueness but very typical reections of Janteloven.
Minimalism is, on the other hand, is a progressive solution to advanced design
problems. Perfected, complete and sophisticated styles are functionality oriented;
usually include subtraction, removal of unnecessary details, removal of cultural
style cues seen as unnecessary, cutting direct and indirect identity attributions,
reduction of non-functional stylistic details, and ultimately go to an abstraction and
simplistic geometric forms when possible. In fact, doing all of these require mastery.
Therefore, a mature and perfected design ultimately and progressively gets closer

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to an almost minimalist point.
“Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication.” (—Leonardo Da Vinci)
(Munera, 2012, p. 2)
IKEA: Democratic Design
IKEA, the world famous Swedish company’s slogan is Democratic Design. It
also uses other slogans, supporting this notion: “To create a better everyday life for
the many people” (Chopra, 2009, p. 4 and 8), “We are not just making things, we are
making things better. Democratic design is how we make things better” (Chopra,
2009, p. 4 and 8). “Not for the few but for the many” (Löfgren, 2015, p. 469). So, why
did IKEA adopt a such a maxim? What does it mean? Marcus Engman, Head of
design at IKEA explains what they all mean:
What is so democratic about democratic design is the involvement of
people, in both; how we do the stuff, and how we do it within IKEA. How
we do it together with people on the outside, it is really important for us to
be inclusive, not exclusive. The democracy part is actually to share good
ideas with a lot of people. I think this is one of the problems that we have
today. There are so many good ideas but are we willing to share them with
everybody? Keeping our ideas to ourselves is not the IKEA way. We want to
share with as many as possible. That is the democracy part there. It is also not
only sharing the ideas together, but actually do the ideas together. We’re
opening up boot camps, we co-create we do a lot of stuff (Engman, 2017).
Marcus Engman also explains IKEA philosophy in detail. IKEA is curious about
people. IKEA staff, research department, product developers, and others including
all staff do thousands of home visits every year. The purpose of these visits to learn
from people and their lives. They engage in one-to-one talks with people. The
new ideas of IKEA products come from actual problems in people’s lives. We see
collectivity in all aspects of IKEA as well. “IKEA philosophy is also all about sharing,
the information collected through all research is not a secret, they put it out there,
available to everyone, even available to other companies, too.” The reason is
simple, it is a collective responsibility, they ask for solutions from others, because
IKEA is not enough to solve all these problems. It is as if sharing responsibility for
humanity’s problems. He further explained that people’s needs are not only
physical, for example, the most important part of home is the emotional needs. For
this reason IKEA started a music lab and food lab. Because the best part of sharing
comes usually with food, food is the most important thing if you want to socialize
(Engman, 2017).

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The Five pillars of IKEA design based on its philosophy is: Form, Function,
Quality, Sustainability, and Low price. Engman (2017) explained that products have
to have a form which is beautiful. It has to be functional for everyday use. It has to
have quality and should be long-lasting and should age beautifully. It has to be
done in a sustainable way; for both, people and the planet. It also for the future,
maybe has to push people into a more sustainable behavior. So, it is not just making
sustainable products but also establishing sustainability behavior among people.
Low prices also brings accessibility for more people.
Figure 1. Conceptual relationships of Janteloven, minimalism and IKEA.
If we look at the slogans of IKEA and its ve pillars, we do not see any
reference to culture. Instead, IKEA is rather focused on universal values and aspects

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Minimalism, and The Socialism of Design
of humanity and design. It is obvious that at IKEA, the new universal values such as
functionality, environmentalism and sustainability is the new culture they want to
create. Nonetheless, design is by denition, also an expression of a certain culture,
it represents a certain culture or it may even be a vehicle to transmit cultural values
to others and to the next generations. IKEA design and philosophy does not seem
to consider cultural inheritance or preserving cultural values. However, “IKEA sells
Scandinavian home furnishing styles and Swedish social and cultural values. IKEA
design was also interestingly described as a marriage between design and national
identity” (Löfgren, 2015, p. 467). Culture is thought to be unique characteristics of a
particular society within a familiar denition. It is interesting that Janteloven prevents
being special and unique as an identity, yet Scandinavian culture and design is
still described as cultural values. A German journalist in the 1990s responded IKEA
ads by describing a typical IKEA interior as: “Bloodlessly institutional: everything was
oh-so-functional, child-proof, and über-planned, with no sharp corners, no daring
touches, and no challenging design” (Löfgren, 2015, p. 468).
From a modernist perspective cultural preservation, inheritance and
transmission of culture may be considered conservative values and not progressive
values. IKEA seems to focus more on popular universal values of sustainability,
functionality, and accessibility. On the other hand, IKEA’s design characteristics
and ve pillars may also be connected to Janteloven as the Scandinavian cultural
values (Figure 1). Some Ikean values such as collectivity; design—not for individual
but for masses—; public availability; minimalism; sustainability for living collectively,
they all may be connected to Janteloven (Figure 1). It is interesting that even for IKEA,
design always represents a culture even if removing cultural cues is the new culture.
Postmodernist views have long advocated multiple perspectives, diversity and
multiculturalism; promoting mid-century modernist, minimalist, Scandinavian, and
IKEA stylistic values seems controversial and conicted since these values dictate a
cold-blooded, uniform, monotone, dull, and dry style and kill regional cultures and
unique personalities. Although, IKEA, reects its own values as supporting diversity
and multicultural values; a poll the Swedish Department of the Interior conducted
in 1998 revealed that “41.5 percent of teachers nationwide agreed in part or wholly
with the statement that certain cultures are so different from the Swedish that people
from those cultures can hardly adapt to Swedish society” (Pred as cited in Lindqvist,
2009, p. 58); likewise a Eurobarometer Opinion Poll showed that 40% of Swedes

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believe that “minority groups are so different that they will never be accepted”
(Pred as cited in Lindqvist, 2009:58). Does it mean that we accept your differences
up to a degree that we could assimilate you so that you lose your identity within
uniform Scandinavian identity?
Mass production, loss of uniqueness and identity were the criticized aspects
of consumerism for long time. What did happen to these capitalist aspects and now
these aspects are being considered rather democratic, universal, social democratic
or even socialist aspects of design? When and how did we come to this point so
far?
Functionalism, and minimalism with Scandinavian blonde-rustic-wood
touches seem to represent IKEA, and IKEA design has very strong similarities with the
Mid-Century Modern Style, they both share roots (institutional look) with Bauhaus
School. Nowadays, the Mid-Century Modern Style, functionalism and minimalism
seem to be rising trends all over the world. Once criticized as having modernist,
capitalist characteristics; how does the Mid-Century Modern Style has become the
new trend and norm in the postmodern times?
The answer may be in the historic, Antonio Gramsci’s Cultural Marxist
doctrines. Gramsci justied the communist revolutions not taking place in the West,
such as England or Germany, and concluded that these countries had strong
cultural identities, in other words “they weren’t just a bunch of Russian peasants”
(Gramsci, 2021). An understanding of culture may be viewing it as a set of inherited
values and resources strengthening chances of survival for the community and for
the individual; however, Gramsci viewed it as a hegemonic structure to procreate
bourgeoisie values:
They were a people who were clear-eyed about who they were and they
had lots of deep cultural roots, and they had very effective institutions for
transmitting their cultural roots and that established what would you call
a cultural hegemony that would be characterized as common sense that
would then maintain the so-called status-quo in other words not allow it to
become Marxist (Gramsci, 2021).
Therefore, destroying the established culture and values is the new target
of Cultural Marxists as explained by Gramsci. Culture rst had to be resolved, and
so this breaking down of culture became the rst and the most important project.
According to Gramsci it was a two-step revolution:
First, cultural revolution that eventually demoralizes people; then, the
communist party nally steps in and seize the power, because the culture
is not strong enough and the people who are within that culture are not

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unied enough to be able to resist the revolution. Gramsci gured that you
have to start dismantling religion rst (Gramsci, 2021).
It looks like IKEA clearly positioned itself in an ideological direction consistent
with Gramsci’s cultural destruction wars, which is also called Cultural Marxism.
Gender and identity politics is the new frontier. A full-page IKEA ad that ran in Dagens
Nyheter, Sweden’s largest daily newspaper, in August 2008 has the headline “There
Is Not a Single Normal Person in This Country. (Lindqvist, 2009, p. 43)” The ad text
begins:
We are all different. Our skin tones come in thousands of shades. We believe
in different things (or in nothing at all). Some guys are attracted to guys,
some gals to gals. And there are nearly as many kinds of families as there are
families. Isn’t it glorious? (Lindqvist, 2009, p. 43).
Mochon, Norton, & Ariely (2012) examined the consumer psychology behind
IKEA’s self-assembly, they “proposed that creating products fullls consumers’
psychological need to signal competence to themselves and to others, and
that feelings of competence associated with self-created products lead to their
increased valuation” (p. 363). Perhaps, it may offer further inferences in relation
to sustainability and labor aspects of IKEA. They also found connection between
co-creation and satisfaction. They explained that “The more we invest in labor, the
more satised we are” (p. 368).
Design is usually thought to be a result and reection of values, culture,
and identity; however, there may also be reciprocity. Design shapes people’s
environments, homes, and surrounding everyday lives; it may well be used as a
useful tool to create purposive values, minds, morals, world views and ideologies:
Already in early twentieth-century; Swedish architects, planners, interior
decorators and teachers of home economics were united in a crusade
against ‘the unnecessary ugliness’ of bad taste and old traditions. In such an
educational example the beautiful was always the practical, simple, and
restrained. The focus on the aesthetics of everyday life was closely linked to
ideas about mentality and morality. The peaceful and light, the restrained
and practical home was supposed to create a setting for open, harmonious,
and rational minds (Löfgren, 2015, p. 468).
Löfgren (2015) reminds an IKEA marketing campaign in France in 1988. “In
the campaign, a ’68 couple is depicted as exclaiming: “1968 – make revolution,
1988 – re-make the kitchen!” The connection between the two decades was
perhaps even stronger than the marketing people realized…” (p. 469). Perhaps, the
connection may even be stronger today…

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Janteloven and Minimalism
In a culturally unifying world, societies and individuals are getting increasingly
similar in their cultural traits and even in their behavioral norms. Internet and the
online social networks as the global networks of communication is the responsible
agents of change. Cultural differences and varieties of past are fewer than ever
and quickly unifying. Fashion, music, arts, aesthetical tastes and preferences are
used to be “culturally conditioned”… until now. The factors deciding these cultural
differences are also constantly dissolving. A global uniform culture of consumerism is
a major concern. There have also been a surging immigration to the West because
of wars, natural disasters, and other humanitarian needs such as poverty and limited
resources. Consequently, multiculturalism and diversity have been emerging values
and new reality especially in the West.
“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know
to be useful or believe to be beautiful”
—William Morris (Chapman, 1993, p. 1)
Although, multicultural societies celebrate many cultures living together in
harmony, the new global culture have been dominating and dictating the global
common cultural norms and values. The unique, rare, exceptional local cultures
are disintegrating and vanishing within this new global culture. On the other hand,
within this globalization of cultural norms, values and tastes; it is not possible that
the new collective, universal, global culture will not be able to contain and express
all varieties of local cultures. This involuntary mutuality will also create new societal
norms, conditions, tastes and preferences. Within this new conceptual frame, a
local cultural aspect will hardly be accepted as a mutual cultural trait; but new
and overarching communal values, norms, tastes and preferences will be needed.
Perhaps, this new overarching preferences may meet at a midpoint which provides
necessary functionality and practicality, and also stripped off from its cultural identity
cues, such as IKEA.
“In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is
simplicity”.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
(Botto-Figueira, 2018, p. v)

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Minimalism, and The Socialism of Design
Minimalism is not only a design philosophy but is also a life style. Minimalist
philosophy may be observed and may have roots in many societies, belief systems
and cultures. Japanese culture, Attic Classicism, Buddhism, Susm, Scandinavian
culture, Janteloven, Stoic School of philosophy; all may be connected to minimalist
philosophy at some point. It also has been a re-emerging value and philosophy in
the recent years, especially in the West. Providing endless supply to their unsatised
consumers especially after the World War II; capitalist Western economies also
created ever-demanding societies. However, material possessions were not enough
to satisfy need for more humane needs.
“Minimalism is not a style. It’s an attitude, a way of being, it’s a fundamental
reaction against noise, visual noise, disorder, vulgarity. Minimalism is a pursuit of the
essence of things not the appearance” —Massimo Vignelli (Barenbrug, 2021)
More material possessions, more money, or more objects in our lives did
not satisfy our deeper needs. More followers, more likes, more popularism, more
online friends we have never met in person; created a new paradox of loneliness.
Online social networks and new global online culture have not satised our deeper
hungers, pursuits of happiness and meaning. We started to carry our tablets,
computers, smartphones with us all the times; our lives have become like our charger
cables very busy, chaotic and tangled. People have hundreds and thousands of
Instagram followers and Facebook friends; but loneliness is the new epidemic. …
more connected than ever, but also lonelier… Our closets are full of shoes and
clothes which are never worn, and things we have never used. The more things
in our lives, the busier our minds… The more digitally connected we are, the less
connected we are to the nature, to our nature and ourselves… It is no wonder that
minimalism has been a rising design trend and celebrated philosophy and life style
in the recent years.
The modernist taste for minimalist design in a broad perspective originated
in the early part of the 19th century with the functionalist movement in
architecture and design. The functionalist movement was opposed to
external ornamentation and all kinds of eclecticism within art and design.
The functionalists believed that architecture and design should primarily
be functional and devoid of superuous ornamentation. From an aesthetic
point of view, the functionalists found minimalist and functionalist design
more appealing and formed an opposition to the aesthetic values of the
Art Nouveau movement which were dominant in the early part of the 19th
century. This taste in design is still one of the dominant discourses within taste
in our present times (Thorlacius, 2007, p. 71).

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Modernism was rooted to philosophy of Enlightenment, rationalism, empiricism
and it was against convention, it was against traditions in all aspects of life; it was
also a result of industrialization. Therefore, a functionalist, minimalist, mass production
was an expected outcome in terms of design principles. Postmodernist idea, on the
other hand, built on criticism of all social phenomena in terms of power structures
and was a critique of modernist thought. Postmodernist view also suggested innite
interpretations and perspectives, therefore yielding to a multicultural understanding.
Consequently, a multicultural, diverse, eclectic and inclusive design understanding
could have been expected. However, in the recent years we see rather minimalist
design trends, the Mid 20th Century Modern style in particular.
Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jasa (2020) explained that Marxists faced a
strong opposition following violent student movements of 1960s and 1970s, so they
went underground; postmodernism is a cover up for these Marxists, they just re-
appeared with a new badge. Jasa also pointed that the emerging violence based
on identity politics in Europe is not different than Communist Manifesto written over
200 years ago. He further explained “To build a new world order Marxists have to
disintegrate nations, family structure, private property, private schools and religions,
this is what they call Cultural Marxism” (Jasa, 2020). According to Jasa’s explanations,
The World War I did not bring about the realization of the Marxist dreams of the
global working class joining forces and launching the revolution of the proletariat.
Therefore, leftist sociologists gradually stripped Marxism off its economic component
and replaced it with freshly infused sociology and psychology theories. Thus Critical
Theory, also known as Cultural Marxism was created. According to Max Horkheimer,
the traditional concept of family must be deconstructed, sexual norms, morality,
Christian foundations, conservatism and patriotism must all be abolished. He was
not alone, the intellectual name behind 1960s’ student movements in France,
Herbert Marcuse; created the concept ‘The Great Refusal’ meaning to destroy all
traditional values (Jasa, 2020).
Nonetheless, postmodernism was an idea against modernism; they preferred
and adopted modernist design and minimalism since it serves to a hidden Marxist
agenda efciently. Modernism as a philosophy inuenced many areas of life including
art, design, science and philosophy. The anti-traditionalist, anti-conventionalist
philosophy of modernism was rather a science-oriented, anthropometric approach;
therefore functionalism was the new movement. Modernist philosophy purposefully

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ignored cultural characteristics and cultural identity of design. Functionalism was
also not aware, or may be ignorant of the ‘cultural identity’ concept. For example,
not being able to analyze or notice inherited cultural characteristics in a design,
they always perceived excess details as decoration or ornamentation. Therefore,
they considered that the best design was functional and detached from all details
including cultural roots and identity cues. The result was industrial, mass production
oriented, minimalist functionalism, “functional but with no cultural cues, minimalist
but without personality”.
Today, it is almost impossible to tell cultural, geographical, historical,
sociological origins and characteristics of a minimalist modern chair (Figure 2).
Cultural inheritance in art and design is possible through unique details being
transferred over generations. Abandonment of cultural identity and seeing design
as just a matter of “engineering of function” may result in cultural dissolving.
Nevertheless, this dissolving may not be a coincidence since it is a fundamental
Marxist ideological tool. For a tendency toward minimalist functionalism, they
had their own reasons; for modernists, it was “abandonment of tradition for
progressiveness”, for postmodernists, it was “attacking culture, erasing culture from
the memory, rejecting consumerism, creating an egalitarian, genderless design”.
Figure 2. Conventional design (i.e. Victorian style) vs. functionalist, minimalist design.
CONCLUSION
The uniquely Scandinavian social conformity norm, Janteloven has stronger
inuence on individual, society and the Scandinavian culture than expected.
Hesitance of being different, feeling safe as being average and mediocre may be a
clear reference for minimalist philosophy and design. The restrictiveness of Janteloven
is also detrimental for expressive behavior. Reections of Janteloven inuence on

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Norwegian culture show itself in many forms, such as lack of assertiveness, increased
passive-aggressive behavior, passivity, democratic consciousness, egalitarian
behavior, gender equality, kindness, tolerance and overall peace in the society.
Janteloven, as Scandinavian cultural code of behavior also reveals itself
in Scandinavian aesthetical taste and style preferences, as in IKEA. Practicality,
simplicity, functionality, sustainability, and accessibility within a modern and
minimalist package may all be results of Scandinavian social code of behavior.
The minimalist Scandinavian style show very Scandinavian cultural trait, non-
distinctiveness; lack of cultural distinctiveness in society and in style may be a direct
reection of Janteloven.
If we look at the slogans of IKEA and its ve pillars, we do not see any
reference to culture. Instead, IKEA is rather focused on universal values and aspects
of humanity and design. It is obvious that at IKEA, the new universal values such as
functionality, environmentalism and sustainability is the new culture they want to
create. Mass production, loss of uniqueness and identity were the criticized aspects
of consumerism for long time. Once criticized, nowadays, the Mid-Century Modern
Style, functionalism and minimalism are anew and rising trends all over the world.
Maybe these traits are being considered as useful tools for the postmodernist era
and being promoted as the new culture; democratic, universal, social democratic
or even socialist aspects of design. Ideological associations between styles and
trends may be clearly observed when discourses and styles examined carefully.
This study aimed to investigate relationships among IKEA design, Janteloven,
Scandinavian design, minimalism, the Mid-Century Style and possible ideological
connections such as socialism, Cultural Marxism and postmodernism. The research
questions were investigated within this contextual frame. Content analyses of styles
and discourses showed that there have been close associations between artistic
styles, design and Janteloven. As inuencing life styles, world views and behavioral
traits; Janteloven seems to have inuence and it is also a deciding factor on artistic
style and design in Scandinavia (Research question 1).

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Minimalism, and The Socialism of Design
Figure 3. Art Nouveau style vs. Bauhaus functionalism.
Ideological remarks and discourses were examined and it was revealed that
artistic styles, trends and design may also be useful tools to procreate values and
ideologies (Research question 2). Even certain styles may well be used throughout
history by distinct and opposing ideologies conveniently (i.e. modernism,
postmodernism). Especially, stylistic trends of furniture, fashion and architecture
may be effective tools of proliferating ideologies because objects are the
intermediaries in our shared experiences (Research question 3). Stylistic details and
cues of certain cultures should be considered carefully since they are the elements
of semiotics for cultural inheritance and procreation. Viewing design as only a
matter of engineering will result in ignoring richness of cultural experiences behind
the everyday objects. Not only individual identity but also cultural identity should
be a signicant part of design process within this context. Removing all cultural
cues during design process for the sake of engineering a new style will usually end
up dry, bloodlessly institutional, minimalist, functionalist, modernist point (Figure 3).
However, this will also be a terminal point in design and will not let further creative
progress. This might be why nowadays, Mid-20th Century Modern Style is trending as
anew. In this study, it is documented that especially Cultural Marxist ideology, social
democracy and socialism have special interest in using design and stylistic trends
as a vehicle to inuence society and individuals to indoctrinate ideology. Further
qualitative studies are suggested to investigate ideological associations behind
different societal and cultural values.

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Visual Resources:
Figure 2: Chairs (access links in order):
Victorian chair, https://www.londonne.co.uk/products/antique-
armchair-19th-century-victorian-chair-walnut-needlepoint-circa-
1850?variant=12497384538189
Mid-Century Style chair, https://www.eurway.com/paradigm-lounge-chair-
blue-walnut
Mid-Century Style chair, https://emfurn.com/collections/iconic-modern-
chairs/products/saarinen-style-tulip-dining-vinyl-side-chair
Mid-Century Style chair, https://www.lowes.com/pd/Versanora-Set-of-2-
Minimalist-Contemporary-Side-Chair/1002011340
IKEA chair, https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/p/fanbyn-chair-white-s49228474/
Access date: February 10, 2021.
Figure 3: Art Nouveau Chair, https://auctions.webbs.co.nz/m/lot-details/index/
catalog/149/lot/24381/A-Spectacular-Art-Nouveau-Chair?url=%2Fm%2Fview-auct
ions%2Fcatalog%2Fid%2F149%3Fcat%3D121%26page%3D1%26view%3Dlist, Access
date: February 10, 2021.
Wassily chair, https://www.knoll.com/product/wassily-chair?section=design,
Access date: March 10, 2021.