Post-Materialism
Why affluent societies shifted from fighting over economic survival to fighting over values like the environment, self-expression, and quality of life.
Beyond Bread and Butter
In 1971, the political scientist Ronald Inglehart proposed a theory that would reshape how we understand political change. His argument was simple: people who grow up in conditions of material security develop different political priorities than those who experienced scarcity. Once basic needs, food, shelter, physical safety, are reliably met, people begin to prioritize what Inglehart called 'post-material' values: environmental protection, self-expression, gender equality, quality of life, and participation in decision-making.
The theory was based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs applied to politics. Generations that came of age during the Great Depression and World War II prioritized economic security and physical safety. The baby boomers who grew up in the unprecedented prosperity of the 1950s and 1960s could afford to care about different things. The environmental movement, the sexual revolution, the anti-nuclear movement, and the counterculture were all expressions of this value shift.