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Hello everybody.

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I'm here tonight to share with you

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two of the most fundamental[br]insights of my research,

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of which I truly believe[br]many more people should know about.

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First, humanity as a whole

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has over the last couple[br]of decades experienced

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a massive and actually unprecedented[br]transformation of moral values.

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Second, and even more importantly,[br]this transformation is a good thing,

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because it brings to the surface[br]the better moral qualities of our species.

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Well, hearing that, you might think,

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"This person must live[br]in a different reality."

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Haven't I heard about Brexit, Trump,

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rising populism, right-wing extremism,

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global terrorism,[br]religious fundamentalism,

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and all the other indications[br]of our moral decline?

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Indeed, influential critics[br]tried to convince us since the ages

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that our undeniable technological progress

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is counteracted by a moral digression,

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which opens a growing discrepancy

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between our technological capacities[br]and our moral qualities.

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The problem of the critics, however,

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is they never proved their point[br]by systematic evidence through hard facts.

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What they usually do[br]is cherry-picking examples

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that fit their claims,[br]but leaving out others that don't.

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Let's try a different approach.

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Let's have a look[br]at a collection of systematic data

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of what people from all corners[br]around the world

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think is morally right or wrong.

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That data collection[br]exists for several decades,

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so what we can do, as well,[br]is look at change over time,

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if there is any, and then if,[br]in what direction is it going.

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The data collection I'm referring to[br]is knows as the World Values Survey.

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If you're interested in the details[br]and how this study is conducted,

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you can go at their website,[br]which is on display here.

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In blue colors, we see[br]the countries in the world

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that have been surveyed at least once[br]by the World Values Survey.

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This is more than 100 countries.

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But more importantly,

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we cover in each global region[br]the biggest national population.

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We have China, and Japan, in East Asia.

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We have India, Indonesia, in South Asia.

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We have Nigeria and South Africa,[br]in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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We have Egypt, Iran, Turkey[br]in the Middle East.

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We have the US[br]in North America, of course.

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We have Brazil and Argentina covered[br]in South America, and so on and so forth.

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So we can claim that our data represent

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more than 90% of the world population,

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which is significant.

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We find in this data[br]a whole host of moral differences

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between people and between entire nations.

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But, we sifted through this data[br]for many years, and it turns out

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that most of these differences[br]boil down to just two,

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just two key domains[br]of cultural variation.

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One of them you see[br]on the horizontal axis,

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where it spans a continuum[br]from sacred to secular values.

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Populations on the left end emphasize

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the sacred sources[br]of authority, especially religion,

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but also the nation,[br]the state, the family.

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Populations on the right[br]have a secular distance

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to these sources of authority,[br]especially, again, religion.

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The second dimension[br]is on the vertical axis,

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and it spans a polarity

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between patriarchal[br]and emancipative values.

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At the lower end, at the patriarchal end,

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populations emphasize[br]male superiority over women

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in the areas of education,[br]in the areas of access to jobs,

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and in the areas of political power.

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They also emphasize strict authority[br]of parents over their children

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and such things as strict discipline,[br]law and order, and related things.

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Populations at the upper end,[br]at the emancipative end,

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emphasize women's equality to men.

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Child autonomy, self-determination,[br]and democratic voice

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is part of what they emphasize.

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You see, there is[br]a lot of countries covered here,

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but another interesting point[br]is that these many nations cluster

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into a much smaller number[br]of what we call "culture zones,"

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which map on these[br]cultural differences, as well,

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as you have seen before.

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We colored blue[br]the Western cultural zones,

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and it's apparent that they differ[br]from the non-Western culture zones,

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especially on the dimension [br]of patriarchal versus emancipative values,

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where the Western culture[br]is actually defined, in a sense,

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by an emphasis on emancipation much more[br]than other cultural zones in the world,

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and even the Protestant West[br]sticks even more out here,

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and the biggest cultural distance [br]that we find

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is between the Protestant West[br]and the Islamic world,

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with many people in the Islamic world

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emphasizing sacred values[br]and patriarchal values,

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and most of the people[br]in the Protestant West

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emphasizing secular values,[br]and especially emancipative values.

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Scholars usually consider[br]such cultural distances, or differences,

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as a constant, as enduring traits[br]of national mentalities.

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This overlooks, however, how much dynamics[br]there was over recent decades

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in these moral values.

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Surprisingly, all cultural zones[br]of the world have uniformly moved

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in the same direction.

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Even the Islamic world,[br]even in Sub-Saharan Africa,

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we see a movement towards more secular,

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and especially towards[br]more emancipative values.

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On the other hand, it is also clear[br]that the Western cultures

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made a much farther space[br]in that direction,

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so their move is even more pronounced,

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which means that the emancipatory outlook[br]of Western culture is nowadays

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even more pronounced[br]than it already has been decades ago.

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So, the fact that all cultural zones[br]are moving in the same direction

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does not lead to convergence.

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Cultural differences[br]have actually become bigger,

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which is an issue of conflict.

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Looking at the forces[br]that might be driving this change

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towards emancipative values,[br]we get a hint here.

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We see knowledge economies,[br]which are those countries

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that obtain their wealth[br]from high-end products and services.

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We have industrial economies,[br]which are those countries

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that obtain their wealth[br]from cheap workbench production.

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So, those ones into [br]which we outsource our labor a lot.

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And we have agrarian/oil economies,

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obtaining their wealth[br]from natural products and raw materials.

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A criterion distinguishing these economies[br]is what I call the enlightenment forces,

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which is: education,[br]knowledge, and science.

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These enlightenment forces[br]are the most pronounced,

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most powerful, in the knowledge economies,[br]more so than in the industrial economies,

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which, in turn, have them more powerful[br]than agrarian and oil economies.

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And here we can see that it is worthwhile[br]to send our children into school

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and to universities and to college,[br]and let them enjoy education.

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It is a transformative force.

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In all three types of economies,

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we see that people[br]who have obtained more education

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emphasize emancipative values[br]more strongly.

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Again, this is more pronounced[br]in knowledge economies,

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where the enlightenment forces[br]are most powerful.

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If you ask yourself the question:

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is that move towards[br]stronger emancipative values,

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is this something good, is this positive?

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From the viewpoint[br]of democracy, it certainly is.

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Because here we can see[br]that over the decades, from 1950 to 2010,

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culture zones have made a shift

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from more autocratic[br]to more democratic circumstances,

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to about the extent[br]to which their populations

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have shifted from patriarchal[br]to emancipative values.

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You can actually see[br]that oftentimes, a move to the right -

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that means, towards[br]more emancipative values -

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precedes a move upward,

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which suggests[br]that the value change is causal

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for the subsequent change in institutions,

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and not the other way around.

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An even more fundamental reason[br]why we can consider

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the rise of emancipative values[br]as a force of enlightenment,

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is these values tendency

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to produce what I call[br]"moral universalism."

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That is, the widening[br]of our circles of solidarity

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to an extent to an outer rim[br]planet in humanity,

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where the concerns about these things[br]defy group divisions,

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because everyone is included.

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Patriarchal values, by contrast,

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favor the opposite moral tendency[br]towards moral parochialism.

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What is that?

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That means the narrowing down[br]of the solidarity circle.

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"My nation first", "America first" -

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these are the slogans that depict[br]that moral tendency.

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Here we can see the shift from [br]patriarchal to emancipative values

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is indeed related to a shift[br]from moral parochialism

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to moral universalism,

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through the expansion[br]of our circles of solidarity,

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of our empathy for others.

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This is measured here, for example,

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by environmental concern[br]about global change

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and by fighting poverty in the world.

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So, the concern for the planet[br]and for humanity is covered here.

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But there are also problems.

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The rise of emancipative values[br]has also created cultural conflict

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over moral universalism[br]versus parochialism.

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This applies to a particular segment[br]of Western electorates.

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There is a segment of the population

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that has been left behind[br]by the emancipatory mainstream,

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that does not get a lot of education,

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and accordingly is working[br]in low-skilled manual jobs

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that are threatened[br]to be outsourced to other countries.

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The working class, to simplify it.

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This working class[br]in the economic conflict

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between social security[br]and market competition,

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it's located on the left.

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Also, ideologically on the left,[br]they are in favor of social security,

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and this is where usually leftist parties,[br]social democratic parties,

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the Democratic Party in the US[br]contacts, picks these voters up.

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However, on the moral conflict[br]between universalism and parochialism,

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they're on the parochial end.

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This is a moral conflict;[br]this is not an economic conflict.

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These people want to narrow[br]the circle of solidarity.

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Again, "My nation first,"[br]"Make America great again."

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And let no immigrants[br]in anymore, build a wall.

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This is parochialism, and these people[br]are located there for reasons.

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This is where now[br]the rising forces of populism,

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Vlaams Blok and Front national in France,

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the Liberal Party in Austria, where they,

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including Trump in the United States,[br]pick these people up as their voters.

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The other area[br]of emerging cultural conflict

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over issues of emancipation[br]is immigration.

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Especially immigration[br]from non-Western populations

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into Western countries.

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I exemplify this here[br]at the case of Germany,

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which is a very typical[br]post-industrial Western society.

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The left bar shows[br]that the native, host population

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born in Germany, German citizens,

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they score very high[br]on emancipative values.

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Sixty-two percent of this population

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emphasizes this type of values strongly.

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First-generation immigrants,[br]which is the lower bar on the right side,

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are very, very different.

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They emphasize these values[br]not even to 20% of this group,

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and these are immigrants[br]from non-Western cultures.

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Of course, it creates[br]a cultural gap over these issues,

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and these are important lifestyle issues.

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Gender equality,[br]tolerance of homosexuality,

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all these issues are related to that.

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Given the centrality[br]that emancipative values have

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for a healthy democracy,

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this is not trivial.

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This is a challenge, and we need[br]to face it in order to tackle it.

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The good news, however,[br]is we can master the challenge,

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because it's also obvious from the data

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- and these are the three bars[br]in the middle -

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that second-generation immigrants[br]already are very close

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in their emphasis on emancipative values[br]where the host population is.

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So obviously, socialization[br]in this country does work.

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Which relates us to the point:

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can we strengthen

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the effectiveness and the pace[br]of that socialization process?

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Can we do that?

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And this relates me to my final point,[br]which is actually a call for action.

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I believe what we need to do

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is to thoroughly rethink[br]our civic education programs

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and to target them particularly[br]to the immigrant population.

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Most importantly, what we also need[br]to do while doing this,

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is to place the psychology[br]of emancipative values center stage

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in the curriculum of these programs.

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(Applause)