A growing body of evidence (the most important of which are the World Values Surveys) indicated that deep-rooted changes in world views are taking place. The unique investigations of the World Values Surveys has found strong linkages between the beliefs of individuals and the characteristics of their societies – such as those between peoples’ values and the birth rates of their societies, or between political culture and democratic institutions. A pattern of systematic changes in values and motivations among those in advanced industrial societies has been detected, and these changes reflect the economic and technological changes that have tremendously reduced the likelihood that people will die prematurely. This article explores the changes in values and perspectives occurring around the world.
