Cultural change and political orientations among European youth.

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Autor/inn/en	Biorcio, Roberto; Cavalli, Alessandro; Segatti, Paolo
Titel	Cultural change and political orientations among European youth. Gefälligkeitsübersetzung: Kulturwandel und politische Orientierungen der Jugendlichen in Europa.
Quelle	Aus: Hübner-Funk, Sibylle (Hrsg.): The puzzle of integration. Berlin: de Gruyter (1995) S. 33-47Verfügbarkeit
Reihe	European yearbook on youth policy and research
Beigaben	Tabellen 9
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; Sammelwerksbeitrag
Schlagwörter	Postmaterialismus; Individualismus; Kultureller Wandel; Nationalismus; Neokonservatismus; Politische Einstellung; Wertewandel; Jugendlicher; Europa
Abstract	"Comparative studies on cultural change among young generations were largely influenced - between the seventies and the eighties - by the theory and the empirical work of Ronald Inglehart (Inglehart 1977; Inglehart/Klingemann 1976; Inglehart 1990). He argues that the advanced countries of the west are experiencing a value transition from 'materialism' to 'post-materialism' and that the young generations are at the forefront of this process. His analysis is based on two basic assumptions: when primary needs are satisfied (physical survival and security), other needs become important (needs of belonging, of self-fulfilment, intellectual and aesthetic needs defined together as 'post-materialist needs') (Maslow 1954); value systems acquired during adolescence and youth tend to be relatively stable throughout the later stages of the lifecycle (socialisation hypothesis) (Inglehart 1977). In Inglehart's model, the young generations (born after World War II and politically socialised in a period where primary needs were basically satis-fied) are moving towards the new type of secondary needs involving, to a large extent, relational aspects of social life. The change in value priority towards the satisfaction of post-materialistic needs is accompanied and reinforced by the transformation of the forms of political participation, which tend to be 'more oriented towards single issues, based less on established bureaucratic organisations and more on ad hoc groups' (Inglehart 1977: 56). Inglehart's theory has been criticised because, though able to provide a general frame of reference to explain the emergence of the so-called 'new social movements', it is unable to explain other cultural and political tendencies which spread in advanced industrial societies during the sixties. Several scholars therefore proposed a further articulation of the model. The emergence of a cultural orientation of a post-materialistic type is not the only outcome of the departure from 'materialism'. The process can give rise to different, and to some extent conflicting, orientations. Flanagan (1987), for instance, tried to articulate the model in order to allow for different hypothetical lines of development. The first (which he defines as 'libertarian post-materialistic') corresponds largely to the original definition of post-materialism formulated by Inglehart. There is, however, a second alternative characterised by a constellation of neo-conservative values, such as respect for authority, need for order, quest for discipline, intolerance towards minorities, patriotism, respect for and conformity towards moral and religious values (he defines this orientation as 'authoritarian'). In other words, the decline of 'old politics' (centring on econornic conflicts) can produce realignment in two different directions: towards the libertarian new-left and towards the authoritarian new-right. Mitchell (1983) elaborates Maslow's theory of the disposition of needs from a different point of view, proposing a model to be applied empirically to research on value orientations in American society. He distinguishes three types: the 'need-driven' (corresponding to Inglehart's 'materialists'), the 'outer-directed' and the 'inner-directed'. It is possible to identify the typical traits of 'post-materialism' in this last type, particularly in the sections he defines as 'societally conscious', i.e. people searching for a mission in life and comrnitted to the improvement of societal morale and social welfare. The 'outer-directed' comes close to a neo-conservative orientation, stressing the traditional values of American society. It is not our intention to discuss Inglehart's thesis in detail. The authors have briefly recalled these authors only to show that they are moving in the same direction, trying to work out a more adequate model for the analysis of cultural and political change. The authors shall introduce a further distinction which we think is relevant to our concern. Change is very often 'anticipated', and to some extent conditioned, by the orientations and behaviours of small mi-norities, acting as an informal élite which is distinct from the 'mass' of youth population. These minorities perform the function of 'opinion leaders', they influence socio-political attitudes, generate fashion movements and produce new lifestyles which are then adopted by the mass of the youth population. The authors start from the hypothesis that the different cultural and value orientations they can observe among young people have different meanings if held by the 'éites' or by the 'mass'." (extract).
Erfasst von	GESIS - Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, Mannheim
Update	2011/2