Value Change in Global Perspective

2. Value Trends in Western Europe and the United States

CHAPTER 2 Value Trends in Western Europe and the United States Inglehart's value-change thesis assumes that the economic security created by advanced industrial societies gradually changes the goal orientations of mass publics. In this process, an emphasis on economic security gradually fades, and universal but often latent needs for belonging, esteem, and the realization of individual intellectual potential become increasingly prominent. Although individuals still value economic and physical security, they increasingly emphasize the need for freedom, self-expression, and improving the quality of their lives. Economic and security needs, which we term "Materialist" goals, are still valued, but they are no longer the top priority, for a growing segment of the public gives even higher priority to "Postmaterialist" goals. Value change is gradual, however, for people who grew up during periods of scarcity tend to retain Materialist values. Those who grew up during the era of postwar prosperity gradually replace older groups who experienced substantial deprivation during their formative years. To test a theory of value change, therefore, one must have data over several decades. To study change over time one must have comparable data over time. In fact, there are relatively few public-opinion variables that can be studied systematically across time. In the United States, for example, we can study presidential approval since the Eisenhower presidency and can study the party identifications of the electorate from 1952 through the present. The first systematic studies to measure Materialist/Postmaterialist values were conducted only in 1970. Obviously, the concept of Materialism/Postmaterialism is complex and cannot be fully captured with a few questions. The most frequently used measure of this concept is based upon a choice among four goals. Respondents are asked to select what they believe their country's two top goals should be among the following four alternatives: 1. maintaining order in the nation; 2. giving the people more say in important government decisions; 3. fighting rising prices; 4. protecting freedom of speech. 9 10 Value Change in Global Perspective Given two choices among four goals, six combinations are possible. Respondents who select "maintaining order" and "fighting rising prices" are classified as Materialists, while those who choose "giving the people more say" and "freedom of speech" are classified as Postmaterialists. The remaining four combinations-all of which are made up of one Materialist and one Postmaterialist response-are classified as "mixed." Since Inglehart's value-change thesis was published in 1971, this basic values battery has been used in over 40 countries, and more than two decades of time-series evidence are now available to test his theory that there will be a gradual shift toward Postmaterialism. The surveys sponsored by the Commission of the European Communities provide the most extensive time-series data, for since 1976 all but two of the semiannual EuroBarometer surveys have included Inglehart's basic four-item measure. We would be in a better position to study value change if a more broadly based measure of Materialism/Postmaterialism were available in a large number of surveys. However, there is considerable evidence that the four-item battery is a valid measure. In face content, two of these items ("maintaining order" and "fighting rising prices") appear to reflect security needs, whereas the two remaining items ("giving people more say" and "protecting freedom of speech") seem to reflect higher-order values that go beyond concerns for security. However, tests of face validity are inherently limited. Fortunately, numerous tests of construct validity demonstrate that this measure, though simple, is valid. In the first place, the measure based on this four-item battery is strongly related to a more extensive measure based upon a choice among twelve national goals, and later in this chapter we will use this twelve-item measure. Secondly, scores on the four-choice measure strongly correlate in the hypothesized way with other political attitudes and behaviors. For example , Europeans who choose Postmaterialist values are more likely to be politically active in conventional politics as well as to approve of and engage in unconventional political protest. Postmaterialists are more likely to be concerned about the environment, to deemphasize economic growth, and to support the women's movement and the peace movement. In addition, even though Postmaterialists are likely to have higher socioeconomic status than Materialists, they are disproportionately likely to support left-wing parties. Indeed, in all eight of the West European countries we study in this chapter, middle-class Postmaterialists are more likely to support left parties than are working-class Materialists...