A weblog with random thoughts and reflections on society and ecology.
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Tuesday, December 24, 2002
Values and Marketing
The US government is engaging in a plan of "Marketing American Values", in addition to the already massive marketing of those values by the US media and corporations.
To most people around the world, an admission of the need to further "market" those values, confirms that they are fundamentally unhealthy and flawed.
We have our own filters, of course, when we view and judge values, and these filters are largely from our culture! That makes it inherently difficult to talk about these things. Nevertheless, below are some of my own thoughts. I tend to think about values in a pragmatic way: What effects do they have on the people and culture who adopt them? And - are those effects life-affirming and life-enhancing, or not?
Western culture do have many values that I personally find useful. The Scandinavian countries have a more egalitarian value system and culture. Most countries encourage citizen participation in the political decision making - to some extent (mostly through voting - there is much room for improvement). Diversity in opinions and views are valued, as long as they confirm to certain basic guidelines such as the other core values. All humans are seen as equal, and to be treated justly and with respect. I realize of course that these principles are not always implemented, or implemented to the degree they could, but most people would nevertheless subscribe to them - and see them as important.
On the other hand, there are values that are of more dubious usefulness. In Europe, the obvious ones include materialism and pleasure seeking. But there, they are tempered with often strong humanitarian and community values which soften their edge.
With the US, the picture becomes more difficult. Individualism is much stronger, valuing the individual's rights over those of the wider community. This is expressed in gun rights, and a society which in general does not take well care of it's less fortunate (e.g. poverty and health care). Consumerism and pleasure seeking is rampant, and those values are strengthened by corporate owned media. Democracy is failing due to the necessity for politicians to have corporate backing to be elected. Militarism is promoted and valued as the main solution to world problems. Human rights violations are common in the justice and prison system, as outlined by Amnesty International. Consumerism leads to fragmentation of communities and mindless work, and little is done to change it. These are unfortunately some of the core values in the US society today, as reflected through media and the policies that are implemented.
In that light, should other cultures blindly take up Western values in general - and US values in particular? What about the Islamic world? Some Islamic countries lack in democracy and respect for human rights, and it is important to promote those values - peacefully - in those countries. On the other hand, they do have strong - and mostly very healthy - spiritual values. Spiritual values tend to be at the center, more so than materialism, pleasure seeking and consumerism. Community is highly valued, and local communities tend to be strong. They do have many values and traditions that I believe tend to be more healthy than many values and traditions in the Western culture. Do they make the right choice by resisting many Western values? I believe they do.
13:29
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