Understanding Postmaterialism [2004]
Post - anything, you're over it. Post-materialism happens when money [or the getting of it] loses its lustre. Instead of a third car or yet another new home appliance, people begin to focus on self-expression and the quality of their lives.
- How good are their relationships?
- Have they expressed their own spirit or are they just following the herd?
- Do they have peak experiences, great leisure?
- Can they sleep at night?
- Do they live each day to the full?
Professor Ron Inglehart and his colleagues at the World Values Survey have shown that post-materialist sentiments are found far more frequently in developed countries.
Countries like Sweden and Holland lead the world in the proportion of the population that express such attitudes.
Because they can.
People who struggle to survive or to get ahead don't have that luxury. It's all very 'Maslow's hierarchy'.
Post-materialism brings its own momentum to a society. Aesthetics become more important. Environments begin to matter. Leisure becomes a preoccupation.
Money is still spent - but the quality of the experience it buys is all important.
Balance becomes a shorthand term for the tension between making money and enjoying life. T
he quality of individual life is more important - we even want the animals we eat to have had a good life first.
"Instead of a third car or yet another new home appliance, people begin to focus on self-expression and the quality of their lives"
