理解价值观变迁:理论、方法及其当代意义

Understanding the Change in Values: Theory, Method and its Contemporary Significance

价值观变迁理论在20世纪70年代率先由英格尔哈特提出,并在之后长达数十年的价值观调查研究中加以丰富和完善。该理论的核心理念可概括为:经济发展引起价值观的变革,价值观变革的结果则是整个社会政治结构的变化。这一核心理念同样适用于解读当今西方社会的政治格局,如社会意识形态的极化趋势,竞争性政党更加明显的政策差异,日渐兴起的民粹主义思潮以及生活质量问题进入政策议题等等,种种现象背后的深层原因是我们没有觉察到或者不愿意承认的整个社会价值观的深刻变化,这些变化最终会反映到政治结构中来,并对现实的政治生活产生影响。

The theory of the change of values was firstly proposed by Ronald Inglehart in the 1970s and was enriched and perfected in the decade-long value surveys. The core concept of this theory can be summarized as follows：economic development leads to the change of values, and the result of the change of values is the change of the political structure of the entire society. This core concept also applies to the interpretation of the current political patterns in Western societies such as the polarization of social ideology, the more prominent policy differences of competitive parties, the populist trend of thought and the entry of life quality issues into policy issues, etc. The underlying reason behind the phenomenon is that we are not aware of or do not want to admit the profound changes in the entire social values, which will be eventually reflected in the political structure and has an impact on the real political life.