Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Tables
- List of Figures
- List of Boxes
- Abbreviations
- Preface
- Acknowledgment
- Introduction
- Part A Understanding Emancipative Values
- Part B Emancipative Values as a Civic Force
- 5 Intrinsic Qualities
- 6 Benign Individualism*
- 7 Collective Action*
- Part C Democratic Impulses of Emancipative Values
- Part D Emancipative Values in Human Civilization
- Conclusion
- References
- Index
6 - Benign Individualism*
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2014
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Tables
- List of Figures
- List of Boxes
- Abbreviations
- Preface
- Acknowledgment
- Introduction
- Part A Understanding Emancipative Values
- Part B Emancipative Values as a Civic Force
- 5 Intrinsic Qualities
- 6 Benign Individualism*
- 7 Collective Action*
- Part C Democratic Impulses of Emancipative Values
- Part D Emancipative Values in Human Civilization
- Conclusion
- References
- Index
Summary
I believe that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another.
– Thomas JeffersonChapter 4 showed that emancipative values are on the rise throughout the postindustrial world and beyond. Furthermore, Chapter 5 illustrated that the rise of emancipative values involves profound changes in people’s entire life strategy. In light of these findings, emancipative values constitute a significant phenomenon. Hence, it is important to understand the further implications of these values. Unless we do so, we miss the gist of global cultural change.
There is a heated controversy over the implications of emancipative values. The debate centers on the accurate interpretation of modernization and one of its signature features: individualization. The dispute echoes a fundamental dissent among social observers on whether individualization is in harmony or in conflict with human nature, whether individualization diminishes or advances human well-being, and whether it is a curse or a blessing for society. With their emphasis on freedom of choice and equality of opportunities, emancipative values embody the spirit of individualization: as we have seen in Chapter 2, emancipative values correlate closely with societal-level measures of individualism. Accordingly, the debate over the good and evil of individualization touches directly on emancipative values.
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- Freedom RisingHuman Empowerment and the Quest for Emancipation, pp. 191 - 214Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2013
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