Towards Post-Modern Society

In his book Modernization and Post-modernization (1997) Ronald Inglehart developed on the basis of the World Values Survey a theory on a major shift in society, at present in Western society. As the second image in the stack indicates, mankind has been moving from a society of hunters and gatherers, through agricultural society to modern or industrial society and is now on the brink of post-modern society. Nobody knows yet the nature of this society but it is less about politics and hard work (industrial society) and more about the quality of existence and individual self-expression.

Inglehart explains the shift through changes in culture, economics and politics. These are the same starting points for explaining the shift to modern society in the nineteenth century. However, Inglehart states that at present changes occur simultaneously in all three domain, affecting the other two directly.

The starting point may be found in the late sixties when survival ceased to be the prime motivation, due to the availability of retirement funds, unemployment benefits and health insurance.

Inglehart plots the values of the 1990 survey on two axes, one from survival to well-being and the other from traditional to secular-rational authority. The values of the four types of societies emerge: left hunters and gatherers society, bottom agricultural society, top industrial society and on the right post-modern society.

If you do the same with countries, you see also patterns emerging (but do remember that logistics was down in Central Europe in 1990 and hence, they score close to survival).