2. Literature Review
2.1 Modernization as a Process of Human Development
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立 政 治 大 學
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2. Literature Review
In order to better understand the context in which the Millennial Generation was born and developed, as well as to sustain the assumptions proposed in this paper; this literature review encompasses a selection of previous generational analysis, scholarly journals, human development and modernization theory; values, attitudes and behaviors theory; and cross-cultural values studies. Additionally, to obtain current data about the dimension of the Millennial Generation, it includes a revision of the Global Population Prospect by the United Nations and U.S. Census Bureau International Data Base.
The first section of this literature review discusses modernization and globalization as triggers of social change; likewise, it introduces education as a result of socioeconomic development. Section 2.2 tackles the theory of values; not only to establish the links between values, attitudes and behaviors, but also to explain how education and geographic origin can be used to explain one’s values. Ultimately, it concludes with a revision of generational analysis theories, and further discusses the specific features of the Millennial Generation.
2.1 Modernization as a Process of Human Development
Modernization is a term used to describe the transition from agrarian to industrial society, and the subsequent shift from industrial to postindustrial society. The classic theories of modernization developed by Max Weber (1864-1920) had the central insight on socioeconomic development (Waters, T. & Waters, D., 2015; Weber, 1999).
Likewise, Inglehart and Welzel (2001) agree with this insight on socioeconomic development; nonetheless, they interpret contemporary social change as a process of human development.
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Their work included survey data from eighty-one societies containing 85 percent of the world’s population collected from 1981 to 2001 and accounts for the largest investigations ever made of attitudes, values, and beliefs around the world. They argue that socioeconomic development not only brings rationalization, secularization, and bureaucratization; but also, the rise of the knowledge society. Human development goes hand-in-hand with increased levels of education.
“A highly educated society brings another set of changes that move in a new direction, placing increasing emphasis on individual autonomy, self-expression, and free choice. Emerging self-expression values transform modernization into a process of human development, giving rise to a new type of humanistic society that is increasingly people-centered.” (Inglehart & Welzel, 2001, p. 5)
The shift from pre-industrialized to post-industrialized brought in its wake changes in cultural values in Western societies. Two major cultural changes linked to industrialization and post-industrialization, involving “materialist” values and “post-materialist” values respectively (Inglehart R., 1977; Inglehart & Welzel, 2001).
“Materialist” values are strongly linked with a society’s economic and physical security (such as maintaining order and fighting inflation), while “post-materialist” values (such as freedom, quality of life and self-expression) are strongly linked with societies who have achieved a certain level of economic security.
2.1.1 Modernization, Globalization and Cultural Identity
Research by Inglehart and Welzel (2001) demonstrated that “while values can and do change, they continue to reflect a society's historical heritage. Cultural change is path-dependent” (p. 20). In their cross-cultural analysis, they found that when controlling for the effects of socioeconomic development on cultural change; the historical fact that a society was Protestant or Orthodox or Islamic or Confucian persist and manifests itself in coherent cultural zones with distinctive value systems.
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“Although socioeconomic development tends to produce systematic changes in what people believe and want out of life, the influence of cultural traditions does not disappear. Belief systems have a remarkable durability and resilience” (p. 20).
Furthermore, modernization is often linked to Westernization. Hirai (1999) points out that in Japan as well as in other Asian countries modernization has often been confused with Westernization. This is because modernization, when it occurred in these countries, quite often meant accepting Western culture and resulted in great changes of everyday life.
In this regard, Inglehart and Welzel (2001) argue that although the process of industrialization began in the West, the United States is not leading the world in cultural change. “The United States is not a model for cultural changes that are taking place, and industrialized societies are not becoming like the United States, as a popular version of modernization theory assumed” (p. 47).
According to Bellah (1999) "tradition" as a category of sociological analysis has been used most frequently as a simple contrast term to "modernity". Traditionalism for Weber (1948) and for much in modern social science refers to a situation where one takes the past uncritically as a model for unimaginative imitation. Bellah (1999) remarks that "cultural identity" is a useful synonym for tradition, especially since
"identity" —a term most often used in psychology— does not have the pejorative implication in modern social science that tradition does. Ideally the relation between tradition and modernization should be a dialectical and ultimately a harmonious one.
Tradition seem to provide some of the moral stimulus to the amazingly successful economic modernization which has characterized Japan and the Asian rim for some time now (Bellah, 1999). The spirit of the people, their work ethic, their social discipline, their ability to cooperate, have been important in the stunning economic success of the region and all are more or less rooted in one or another aspect of the tradition.
Globalization and the spread of connectivity does not mean that the world is getting homogenous, the historical cultural heritage of a society remains and accounts for the backbone of its cultural identity.
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“Despite widespread talk of the globalization of culture, the nation remains a key unit of shared experience, with its educational and cultural institutions shaping the values of almost everyone in that society. Even in the age of the internet, one's nationality remains a powerful predictor of one's values.” (Inglehart & Welzel, 2001, p.
69).
Section 2.1 presented the effects of modernization and globalization on social and cultural change; section 2.2 focuses on the study of values. It determines how values, attitudes and behaviors are linked not only to one’s origin, but also to one’s education.