Abstract
In the recent French cantonal elections, some members of left wing and right wing parties proposed an alliance against the rising Front National. This proposition was based on the fact that, according to these politicians, they shared certain values that went against the values defended by the FN, and thus they could overcome their differences to make sure that their values prevailed. This can make one wonder what "values" are, this notion being so strong that it can bring the idea of a bridge between right and left. The word comes from the French "valoir", meaning being worth, and the word "value" does refer to the measure of something's worth. In this case, "value" refers to an important concept that has so much value to us that it is simply called a value, as an ethic. Examples of values are freedom or wanting to maintain order in the nation. Our values depend on a certain number of factors, such as our needs (a person that doesn't eat often will for example have for value to always finish his plate, whether he/she likes it or not).
Due to this dependence, it is logical that if the needs change, the values change too. A change in the society can also induce a value change, which can have repercussions back on the society. In the past centuries, Western democracies have gone through several decisive changes: industrialization, democratization and several wars, with such changes for consequences. In the past century, the Western democracies have notably suffered two World Wars, before entering a period of prosperity. We can thus wonder if the values in Western democracies have changed during this period. If so, what are the processes that led to this change and their repercussions?
Extract
[...] Inglehart's theory of value change is based on two hypotheses. The first one is called the "scarcity hypothesis"1. It is based on the works by Abraham Maslow, published in A Theory of human motivation Maslow establishes a hierarchy of needs, according to the supply available for each need. First of all, we tend to care for our physiological needs (such as food) and for our safety (the physiological needs have a slightly higher priority than the safety needs). When these needs are fulfilled, we can then search for love, belonging, self-esteem, and intellectual and aesthetic satisfaction, which are called self-actualization needs. [...]
[...] The value change is anyway, from a generation to another, intimately linked to the socioeconomic conditions, so a future challenge. Bibliography: - BERG-SCHLOSSER, Dirk, "Comment on Welzel, Inglehart and Klingemann's Theory of human development: A cross-cultural analysis", European Journal of Political Research 42 pp. 381-386. - FLANAGAN, Scott and LEE, Aie-Rie, "The New Politics, Culture Wars, and The Authoritarian-Libertarian Value Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies", Comparative Political Studies 36: 235 - FLANAGAN Scott and INGLEHART, Ronald, "Value change in industrial societies", The American political science review, Vol No (Dec., 1987), pp. [...]
[...] From 1980 to 2002, a huge evolution happened. Based on a partnership between nation States, "Europe today is more united and integrated than it has ever been in its history" explained Yilmaz Esmer9. The economic growth of course leads to the need of a competitive Europe, but cultural and political values make the union stronger and allow its stabilization into the years. On the other hand, the main goal of the author is also to clarify the truth about the emerging global culture and its American origins. [...]
[...] He defines the materialist values as based on the lower level of the hierarchy of needs, whereas the post-materialist values are the reflection of the higher level of the hierarchy of needs. In short, the materialist values emphasis on material well-being and on safety, whereas post-materialist values focus on the quality of life. The change is on the generational level, the younger generations being more post-materialist than the older generations. Why do we observe a value change since 1950, going from materialism to post-materialism? As Inglehart simply states it, "people are safe and they have enough to eat" 4. [...]
[...] We can thus wonder if the values in Western democracies have changed during this period. If so, what are the processes that led to this change and their repercussions? It so happens that a value change did occur since 1950. To explain this value change in Western democracies, we will first analyze its nature, by extracting from Ronald Inglehart's work the reasons and the explanations for this variation and then we will prove that it led to three different processes, democratization, globalization and individualization (II). [...]
