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For other uses, see Western values (disambiguation).
The Statue of Liberty, a famous symbol of American individualism and seen as a backbone of Western values

"Western values" are a set of values strongly associated with the West which generally posit the importance of an individualistic culture.[1] They are often seen as stemming from Judeo-Christian values and the Age of Enlightenment,[2][3] although since the 20th century they have become marked by other sociopolitical aspects of the West, such as free-market capitalism, feminism, liberal democracy, the scientific method, and the legacy of the sexual revolution.[4]

Background

Western values were historically adopted around the world in large part due to colonialism and post-colonial dominance by the West, and are influential in the discourse around and justification of these phenomena.[5][6] This has induced some opposition to Western values and spurred a search for alternative values in some countries, though Western values are argued by some to have underpinned non-Western peoples' quest for human rights,[7][8][9] and to be more global in character than often assumed.[10] The World wars forced the West to introspect on its application of its values to itself, as internal warfare and the rise of the Nazis within Europe, who openly opposed Western values, had greatly weakened it;[11] after World War II and the start of the post-colonial era, global institutions such as the United Nations were founded with a basis in Western values.[12]

Western values have been used to explain a variety of phenomena relating to the global dominance and success of the West, such as the emergence of modern science and technology.[13][14] They have been disseminated around the world through several mediums, such as through the spread of Western sports.[15][16] The global esteem which Western values are held in has been considered by some to be leading to a harmful decline of non-Western cultures and values.[17]

Reception

A constant theme of debate around Western values has been around their universal applicability or lack thereof; in modern times, as various non-Western nations have risen, they have sought to oppose certain Western values, with even Western countries also backing down to some extent from championing its own values in what some see as a contested transition to a post-Western era of the world.[18][19][20] Western values is also often contrasted with Asian values of the East, which among other factors highly posits communitarianism and a deference to authority instead.[21]

The adoption of Western values among immigrants to the West has also been scrutinised, with some Westerners opposing immigration from the Muslim world or other parts of the non-West due to a perceived incompatibility of values;[22][23] others support immigration on the basis of multiculturalism.[24][25]

See also

References

  1. ^ Wight, Martin (2022). "Western Values in International Relations". International Relations and Political Philosophy. pp. 49–87. doi:10.1093/oso/9780198848219.003.0004. ISBN 978-0198848219. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  2. ^ "An Eccentric Tradition: The Paradox of "Western Values"". ABC Religion & Ethics. 2018-01-17. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  3. ^ Zafirovski, Milan (2011), Zafirovski, Milan (ed.), "Modern Democratic Society and the Enlightenment", The Enlightenment and Its Effects on Modern Society, New York, NY: Springer, pp. 19–66, doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-7387-0_2, ISBN 978-1-4419-7387-0, retrieved 2024-08-26
  4. ^ "Are Western Values Losing Their Sway?". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Samson, Colin (2020-07-10). The Colonialism of Human Rights: Ongoing Hypocrisies of Western Liberalism. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-5095-2999-5.
  6. ^ Gamble, Andrew (2009). "The Western Ideology". Government and Opposition. 44 (1): 1–19. doi:10.1111/j.1477-7053.2008.01273.x. ISSN 1477-7053. S2CID 144826797.
  7. ^ Mende, Janne (2021). "Are human rights western—And why does it matter? A perspective from international political theory". Journal of International Political Theory. 17 (1): 38–57. doi:10.1177/1755088219832992. ISSN 1755-0882. S2CID 150417651.
  8. ^ "Are 'democracy' and 'human rights' Western colonial exports? No. Here's why". Washington Post. 2021-12-07. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  9. ^ Shaheed, Ahmed; Richter, Rose Parris (2018-10-17). "Is "Human Rights" a Western Concept?". IPI Global Observatory. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  10. ^ Widdows, Heather (2007). "IS GLOBAL ETHICS MORAL NEO‐COLONIALISM? AN INVESTIGATION OF THE ISSUE IN THE CONTEXT OF BIOETHICS". Bioethics. 21 (6): 305–315. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8519.2007.00558.x. ISSN 0269-9702. PMID 17845454. S2CID 19454365.
  11. ^ Civilizing Missions in the Twentieth Century. BRILL. 2020-09-25. ISBN 978-90-04-43812-5.
  12. ^ "With the end of four centuries of Western dominance, what will the world order be in the 21st century?". Brookings. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  13. ^ Saha, Arunoday (1998-11-01). "Technological innovation and Western values". Technology in Society. 20 (4): 499–520. doi:10.1016/S0160-791X(98)00030-X. ISSN 0160-791X.
  14. ^ "To Defend Western Civilization, Start With Science". NPR.
  15. ^ Gupta, Amit (2009). "The Globalization of Sports, the Rise of Non-Western Nations, and the Impact on International Sporting Events". The International Journal of the History of Sport. 26 (12): 1779–1790. doi:10.1080/09523360903172390. ISSN 0952-3367. S2CID 145484613.
  16. ^ Houlihan, Barrie (2022-10-02). "Challenges to globalisation and the impact on the values underpinning international sport agreements". International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics. 14 (4): 607–620. doi:10.1080/19406940.2022.2100807. hdl:11250/3034827. ISSN 1940-6940. S2CID 250655805.
  17. ^ Usongo, Kenneth (2022-02-17). The Cultural and Historical Heritage of Colonialism: Interrogating the Postcolony. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5275-8083-1.
  18. ^ "Opinion: Even the West no longer thinks Western values are universal". South China Morning Post. 2022-12-08. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  19. ^ "Western values are steadily diverging from the rest of the world's". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  20. ^ Aybet, Gülnur (2017-04-29). "Making the most of a post-Western world". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  21. ^ Pae, Hye K. (2020). "The East and the West". Script Effects as the Hidden Drive of the Mind, Cognition, and Culture: 107–134. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-55152-0_6.
  22. ^ "Migration and Cultural Change". www.cato.org. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  23. ^ "Roots of tolerance : What explains Western values among children of immigrants?". S2CID 189806782.
  24. ^ Chin, Rita (2017-08-07), "The Crisis of Multiculturalism in Europe: A History", The Crisis of Multiculturalism in Europe, Princeton University Press, doi:10.1515/9781400884902, ISBN 978-1-4008-8490-2, retrieved 2023-11-06
  25. ^ Colombo, Enzo (2015). "Multiculturalisms: An overview of multicultural debates in western societies". Current Sociology. 63 (6): 800–824. doi:10.1177/0011392115586802. hdl:2434/318630. ISSN 0011-3921. S2CID 146318590.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_values