[August 28, 2026] Here’s a fact. You don’t get to be your own conjured-up, colorful, funny person all the time. You have to go take what you can to be normal and predictable. So begins Prof. Jordan Peterson giving his thoughts on how to live a life that is not too destructive. His advice: do what others do.
I remember when a friend of mine in high school wanted to be a hermit living in the outback of Alaska. The problem for him was that he had essentially zero skills to accomplish his goal. Before we were scheduled to graduate, he had an idea that would change his life. He decided, completely on his own, to copy his dad’s way of thinking and behaving. What that did was give him the space and time to obtain the skills to live alone in the snowy wilderness.
Social being requires the sacrifice of a certain amount of individuality. That’s a fundamentally conservative claim. It means that you should do what everyone else does unless you have a really good reason to vary. That’s a good rule. Do what other people have done throughout time. It gives you time to grow up, find a partner, establish a stable relationship, get a job, make yourself useful, have some children, do something productive, and try to act like a respectable human.
That’s what you do. And if you have something spectacular about you that needs to be revealed to the world, then break some rules and go right ahead. But no matter what, you don’t have the time or resources to do something unique. If you are a special person, then that is only 10 percent of you, so most of the time you’re still going to be following the rules, and the rules aren’t there to oppress, they are there to keep us away from each other’s throats because humans are very warlike, and we’re very competitive and aggressive.
If we’re fortunate enough to have woven together a social system (or fabric) that renders us peaceful and cooperative, we should try disrupting that only at our great peril. The general rule for human existence throughout the centuries has been turmoil and war and we don’t have that here in large amounts. That is worth a bit of sacrifice
Prof. Peterson goes on to talk about the egalitarian ideology of the Leftists. He discusses the “clarion call” where everywhere everything should be exactly equal. Where everything should be equally distributed. We should strive for equity. Peterson believes this is very wrong. He believes we should want hierarchies of competence.
Not everyone’s neurosurgeon. If your father has a brain tumor, you probably want a hierarchy of competence for neurosurgeons so you can pick the one that’s the best, so that your dad might not die. That’s what a hierarchy of competence is for.
He notes that for the postmodernists, there is no hierarchy that isn’t based on power. That’s because they think the world runs on power [a very Marxist idea] and that’s why they’re willing to use power to get what they want, because it’s the only thing they believe in. But a valid hierarchy of competence is what we need. We need the best plumbers, the best contractors, the best carpenters, the best lecturers.
There has to be a hierarchy of quality, not only so that we know who the best are and to reward them properly, so they keep being the best. If you have a great leader or a great thinker, you want to reward them so they keep thinking and leading so they make your life and those around you that much better. It’s not a reward for an intrinsic being, it’s a calculated move on your part to take everything out of them as fast as you can.
That’s what a hierarchy of competence is for. And the idea that hierarchies of competence don’t exist is nothing more than cynically and pathologically untrue. Our hierarchies are reasonably functional and they’re valuable. We need to know who the competent people are and we need to reward them. And even more importantly, we need to tell young people there are some hierarchies of competence out there, and go out there and be the best one, the most honest, hard working, and truthful.
If you listen to the panderers of egalitarianism and equity, they fail to recognize completely that there are differences in rank between people. It’s not such a terrible thing. Maybe you wouldn’t be a great lawyer, but there is surely something you could be great at. There’s a lot of hierarchies to attempt to climb and if you fail in one, go try another.
The point is, you’re still trying to aim for the top. If you don’t aim for the top, then you just “flop around” while whining about how miserable you are. Here’s a good idea: go out into the world and make something of yourself. Be a light to the world. Tell young people this, for they haven’t been told that by anyone; their life might be worth living.
Do what others do.
My good friend never went to Alaska to be a hermit. He discovered that getting married, having children, a good job, and great friends were actually a good deal. He says one day he might take a cruise to Alaska.
NOTE: Much of this article is also taken from lectures by Prof. Jordan Peterson.
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Good one, Gen. Satterfield. Consider making this another of the rules for your updated book (I hope you update “55 Rules for a Good Life.”). Now, what will be the newest title, “70 Rules” ????
This could be another “Rule.” Conformity is not a defect. It is how groups stay predictable, how children learn language and manners, and how societies avoid constant low-level conflict. Following the patterns that have worked for generations—get a job, keep your word, form a stable household, contribute something useful—gives most people time and resources they would otherwise waste reinventing the wheel. That is the practical point behind “do what others do.” The rules exist because humans are competitive and aggressive; a functioning social fabric is rare and worth protecting.