12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

This chapter is the first of 12 main chapters in the book, each dedicated to one of the titular “rules for life.” It is, like the others, divided into short sections. The initial subsections in the chapter ruminate on the theme of territoriality—struggles for status and space—in the animal kingdom. The central example Peterson traces is the lobster. Lobsters physically vie for space, protection, and home. Habitual victors and losers emerge in a “winner-take-all […] lobster world” (8). This example segues into a conversation about “the Principle of Unequal Distribution,” or “Price’s law,” disconnected from lobsters (8). “Anywhere that creative production is required,” Peterson explains, a few individuals emerge victorious, atop a hierarchy that, through positive feedback loops, reinforces itself. He gives examples of wealth distribution (a few wealthy individuals have as much wealth as literally a few billion others combined) and famous classical music (modern-day orchestras tend to play music by about four composers) (8).

The metaphors, analogies, and wide-ranging examples give way to concrete assertions about human biology and observable social behaviors. Peterson talks about “an unspeakably primordial calculator, deep within” us that “monitors exactly where [we] are positioned in society” (15). According to Peterson, we interpret the treatment we receive and build expectations off of it.