Politics and parties: Neglected aspects of postmaterial value change

Inglehart’s thesis of postmaterial value change is one of the most influential accounts of social and political change in advanced Western nations. This paper uses data from the World Values Survey and the Australian Election Surveys to reexamine the relationship between age and values in 19 advanced industrial nations. We find evidence of a monotonic age structuring of values in a number of countries, but in others, the relationship between age and values is not as Inglehart would predict. In addition, the impact of birth cohort on values differs between countries that are dominated by two major parties and those where there are many smaller parties. The presence of successful Green parties is also important for enhancing the uptake of postmaterialist values. These findings suggest that Inglehart’s arguments about generational value change should be modified to take into account national political institutions and political cultures that might enhance or impede generational-based values change.

Women with banner Ban the Bomb during Peace march on Sunday April 5th 1964, Brisbane.

Women with banner Ban the Bomb during Peace march, Sunday April 5th Brisbane, Australia, 1964.

Folk singers during Labour Day march Brisbane 1965

Folk singers during the Labor Day procession, in Brisbane, Australia, May 1965. One person holds a banner relating to the S.S. Binburra

Trucks with banners in Brisbane 1965 during Labor Day procession.

Trucks with banners in Brisbane, Australia, during the Labor Day procession, May 1965.

Participants with Equal pay placard during Labour Day march Brisbane 1965

Participants with Equal pay placard in Brisbane, Australia, during the Labor Day procession, May 1965.