Читать книгу Essentials of Sociology - George Ritzer - Страница 101

The broadest element of culture is values, the general and abstract standards defining what a group or society as a whole considers good, desirable, right, or important. Values express the ideals of society, as well as of groups of every size.

In his classic work Democracy in America ([1835–1840] 1969), the French scholar Alexis de Tocqueville detailed what he perceived to be America’s values. Among the things Americans valued in the early nineteenth century were democracy, equality, individualism, “taste for physical comfort,” spirituality, and economic prosperity. Although Tocqueville wrote about his impressions of the United States almost 200 years ago, the vast majority of Americans today would accept most, if not all, of the values he described (L. Crothers 2018).

Indeed, Americans find these values so natural that they expect them to be accepted in other cultures around the world. However, this expectation has had some disappointing, even disastrous, consequences for the United States. For example, when the United States undertook invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, one of the objectives was the creation of democratic regimes in those societies. The assumption was that Iraqis and Afghanis wanted the same kind of democracy as the one that exists in the United States. But creating democracies in those countries has proven to be extremely difficult for a variety of reasons, including the fact that their cultures lack a tradition of democratic government. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to impose a value, such as the value of democracy, on a society where it does not already exist, or where it exists in a very different form.

Researchers using data collected through the World Values Survey (WVS) have found support for the idea that democracy is a hard, if not impossible, sell in many parts of the world (Welzel and Inglehart 2009). As you may recall from Chapter 2, the WVS has gathered data from a variety of countries around the world on individual views on topics such as gender equality, tolerance for abortion, homosexuality, divorce, desire for autonomy over authority (for example, obedience and faith), and democratic participation over security. Respondents in countries where personal freedom is not valued highly—such as Pakistan, Jordan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria—tend to think of antidemocratic authoritarian regimes as being democratic. The data also show that citizens within these countries have little knowledge of the meaning of liberal democracy. There is little chance that American-style democracy will succeed in these countries.

Of course, there are many other reasons democracy has a difficult time succeeding in some countries. Among other things, before democracy can be established, people need to have enough to eat, to feel safe, to be able to get an education, and to trust the government. Unfortunately, many, if not all, of these needs are not being met in many parts of the world.

Have you ever deliberately broken a social norm? Some of the passengers on this New York City subway are participating in an annual “No-Pants Subway Ride” event.

KENA BETANCUR/AFP/Getty Images