Before reading the rest of this blog, I would like you to take a "quiz" that Bell provided in his book in order to classify people as more post materialist, materialist, or a mix between the two. For this survey, Ronald Inglehart, a political scientist with a theory about post materialism asks: Which two of the following four choices should be their country's top goals--
1. Maintaining order in the nation
2. Giving people more say in important government decisions.
3. Fighting rising prices.
4. Protecting freedom of speech
"Goals 1 and 3 are the materialist responses" which means they are the more traditional responses. Typically they would be chosen by the older population. "Goals 2 and 4 are the post materialist ones" which would be the more modern perspective typically from the younger generations. A mixture of the choices would be people who maintain both traditional and modern ideas of the way the country should be run. I personally fell under the mixture group.
In the past, security in terms of money, property, and safety were what people strived for. In today's world, there is a "greater emphasis on freedom, self-expression, and the quality of life" which are classified as post material values. As you can see on the pyramid below, the focus has shifted to the categories that are considered less of a necessity. This is called post materialism.
This idea of post materialism and finding self actualization is more common than it may seem, and the numbers keep growing. In simpler terms, it means that people are beginning to strive past their basic needs. After their basic material needs are met, they work toward deeper understandings and true happiness in all aspects of their lives.
I feel that this is very common in the society that I live in. Finding people that solely work toward their most basic needs is rare. This probably has a lot to do with my age as well. Because I am in a young generation, these modern ideas and practices seem normal to me because of their growing popularity.
Some people think that modernization and less traditional values aren't the best thing. However, focussing on things that are less materialistic seems to be a positive transition, rather than negative.
"Goals 1 and 3 are the materialist responses" which means they are the more traditional responses. Typically they would be chosen by the older population. "Goals 2 and 4 are the post materialist ones" which would be the more modern perspective typically from the younger generations. A mixture of the choices would be people who maintain both traditional and modern ideas of the way the country should be run. I personally fell under the mixture group.
In the past, security in terms of money, property, and safety were what people strived for. In today's world, there is a "greater emphasis on freedom, self-expression, and the quality of life" which are classified as post material values. As you can see on the pyramid below, the focus has shifted to the categories that are considered less of a necessity. This is called post materialism.
This idea of post materialism and finding self actualization is more common than it may seem, and the numbers keep growing. In simpler terms, it means that people are beginning to strive past their basic needs. After their basic material needs are met, they work toward deeper understandings and true happiness in all aspects of their lives.
I feel that this is very common in the society that I live in. Finding people that solely work toward their most basic needs is rare. This probably has a lot to do with my age as well. Because I am in a young generation, these modern ideas and practices seem normal to me because of their growing popularity.
Some people think that modernization and less traditional values aren't the best thing. However, focussing on things that are less materialistic seems to be a positive transition, rather than negative.
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