Western values

Western values have been shaped by a variety of historical influences:

• Ancient Greece and Rome: The foundations of democracy, republican governance, and philosophy were laid by thinkers such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and institutions like the Roman Republic.{{Cite book |last=Finley |first=M. I. |url=https://doi.org/10.36019/9780813566719 |title=Democracy Ancient and Modern |date=1985-12-31 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |doi=10.36019/9780813566719 |isbn=978-0-8135-6671-9}} Ideas such as citizenship, civic duty, and rational inquiry emerged from these civilizations.
• Judeo-Christian Tradition: The moral and ethical framework of the Western world has been deeply influenced by Judaism and Christianity, emphasizing concepts such as individual dignity, moral responsibility, and the sanctity of life.{{Cite journal |last1=Buckley |first1=Thomas E. |last2=Novak |first2=Michael |date=2002 |title=On Two Wings: Humble Faith and Common Sense at the American Founding |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/3124815 |journal=Journal of the Early Republic |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=521 |doi=10.2307/3124815 |jstor=3124815 |issn=0275-1275|url-access=subscription }}
• The Renaissance and Reformation: These movements emphasized humanism, individualism, and critical thinking, challenging traditional authorities and promoting education and scientific inquiry.{{Cite journal |last=Boucher |first=Bruce |date=2022 |title=The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy by Jacob Burckhardt |url=https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350887626.237 |journal=Bloomsbury BHTM |doi=10.5040/9781350887626.237|isbn=978-1-350-88762-6 |url-access=subscription }}
• The Enlightenment: The 17th and 18th centuries saw the rise of reason, secularism, and ideas about natural rights and political liberty. Thinkers such as John Locke, Voltaire, and Immanuel Kant argued for freedom, democracy, and human equality.{{Cite journal |last=Shank |first=J B. |date=April 2008 |title=Jonathan I. Israel.Enlightenment Contested: Philosophy, Modernity, and the Emancipation of Man 1670–1752.:Enlightenment Contested: Philosophy, Modernity, and the Emancipation of Man 1670–1752 |url=https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr.113.2.441 |journal=The American Historical Review |volume=113 |issue=2 |pages=441–444 |doi=10.1086/ahr.113.2.441 |issn=0002-8762|url-access=subscription }}
• Modern Liberal Democracy: The American and French Revolutions helped establish principles such as constitutional government, separation of powers, and universal human rights, which remain central to Western political thought today.{{Cite book |last=Doyle |first=William |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780192853967.001.0001 |title=The French Revolution |date=2001-12-06 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/actrade/9780192853967.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-285396-7}}

While Western values are not monolithic, several key principles are commonly associated with them:

• Individual Liberty: Emphasizing personal freedom in thought, speech, and action, with limitations only to prevent harm to others (as articulated by thinkers like John Stuart Mill).{{Citation |title=John Stuart Mill on Liberty |date=2006-05-16 |work=Philosophy: The Classics |pages=159–169 |url=https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203002629-18 |access-date=2025-03-25 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9780203002629-18 |isbn=978-0-203-00262-9 |url-access=subscription }}
• Democracy and Rule of Law: Advocating for representative governance, accountability, and legal frameworks that apply equally to all citizens.{{Cite book |last1=Tocqueville |first1=Alexis de |url=https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226924564.001.0001 |title=Democracy in America |last2=Mansfield |first2=Harvey C. |last3=Winthrop |first3=Delba |date=2000 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |doi=10.7208/chicago/9780226924564.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-226-80536-8}}
• Human Rights and Equality: Upholding inherent rights such as freedom of speech, religion, and equal treatment under the law.{{Cite journal |last=Llanos Reyes |first=Claudio |date=January 2012 |title=Hunt, Lynn. Inventing Human Rights. A History. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 2007 |journal=Historia Crítica |issue=46 |pages=237–240 |doi=10.7440/histcrit46.2012.15 |issn=0121-1617|doi-access=free }}
• Secularism and Religious Freedom: Supporting the separation of church and state, allowing for both religious expression and non-religious perspectives.{{Cite journal |last=Vanney |first=Maria Alejandra |date=2018-09-18 |title=TAYLOR, CHARLES, A Secular Age, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts / London, 2007, 874 pp. |journal=Anuario Filosófico |pages=207–210 |doi=10.15581/009.41.30345 |issn=2173-6111|doi-access=free }}
• Rationalism and Scientific Inquiry: Encouraging critical thinking, empirical evidence, and technological progress.{{Cite book |last=Popper |first=Karl |date=2005-11-04 |title=The Logic of Scientific Discovery |url=https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203994627 |doi=10.4324/9780203994627|isbn=978-1-134-47002-0 }}
• Capitalism and Market Economies: Promoting economic freedom, private property, and innovation through competitive markets.{{Citation |title=Adam Smith, 1782. Five Letters Concerning the French Translation of the Wealth of Nations |date=1998-03-30 |work=Adam Smith Across Nations |pages=67–70 |editor-last=Lai |editor-first=Cheng-chung |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198233398.003.0009 |access-date=2025-03-25 |publisher=Oxford University PressOxford |doi=10.1093/oso/9780198233398.003.0009 |isbn=978-0-19-823339-8|url-access=subscription }}

Western values were historically adopted around the world in large part due to colonialism and post-colonial dominance by the West, and are influential in the discourse around and justification of these phenomena.{{Cite book |last=Samson |first=Colin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RBDxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP22 |title=The Colonialism of Human Rights: Ongoing Hypocrisies of Western Liberalism |date=2020-07-10 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-5095-2999-5 |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=Gamble |first=Andrew |date=2009 |title=The Western Ideology |journal=Government and Opposition |language=en |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=1–19 |doi=10.1111/j.1477-7053.2008.01273.x |issn=1477-7053 |s2cid=144826797 |doi-access=free}} This has induced some opposition to Western values and spurred a search for alternative values in some countries, though Western values are argued by some to have underpinned non-Western peoples' quest for human rights,{{Cite journal |last=Mende |first=Janne |date=2021 |title=Are human rights western—And why does it matter? A perspective from international political theory |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1755088219832992 |journal=Journal of International Political Theory |language=en |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=38–57 |doi=10.1177/1755088219832992 |issn=1755-0882 |s2cid=150417651|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite news |date=2021-12-07 |title=Are 'democracy' and 'human rights' Western colonial exports? No. Here's why. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/04/02/are-democracy-andhuman-rights-western-colonial-exports-no-heres-why/ |access-date=2023-11-05 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}{{Cite web |last1=Shaheed |first1=Ahmed |last2=Richter |first2=Rose Parris |date=2018-10-17 |title=Is "Human Rights" a Western Concept? |url=https://theglobalobservatory.org/2018/10/are-human-rights-a-western-concept/ |access-date=2023-11-05 |website=IPI Global Observatory |language=en-US}} and to be more global in character than often assumed.{{Cite journal |last=Widdows |first=Heather |date=2007 |title=Is Global Ethics Moral Neo-Colonialism? An Investigation of the Issue in the Context of Bioethics |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8519.2007.00558.x |journal=Bioethics |language=en |volume=21 |issue=6 |pages=305–315 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8519.2007.00558.x |issn=0269-9702 |pmid=17845454 |s2cid=19454365|url-access=subscription }} The World wars forced the West to introspect on its application of its values to itself, as internal warfare and the rise of the Nazis within Europe, who openly opposed Western values, had greatly weakened it;{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PfT_DwAAQBAJ |title=Civilizing Missions in the Twentieth Century |date=2020-09-25 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-43812-5 |language=en}} after World War II and the start of the post-colonial era, global institutions such as the United Nations were founded with a basis in Western values.{{Cite web |title=With the end of four centuries of Western dominance, what will the world order be in the 21st century? |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/with-the-end-of-four-centuries-of-western-dominance-what-will-the-world-order-be-in-the-21st-century/ |access-date=2023-11-05 |website=Brookings |language=en-US}}{{Cite journal |last=van Haastrecht |first=Boris |date=2014-06-01 |title=De evolutie van een droom - Mark Mazower, Governing the world. The history of an idea (Penguin Books; Londen 2012)475 p., €15,99 ISBN 9780141011936 |url=https://doi.org/10.5117/tvgesch2014.2.haas |journal=Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis |volume=127 |issue=2 |pages=345–347 |doi=10.5117/tvgesch2014.2.haas |issn=0040-7518|url-access=subscription }}

Western values have been used to explain a variety of phenomena relating to the global dominance and success of the West, such as the emergence of modern science and technology.{{Cite journal |last=Saha |first=Arunoday |date=1998-11-01 |title=Technological innovation and Western values |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X9800030X |journal=Technology in Society |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=499–520 |doi=10.1016/S0160-791X(98)00030-X |issn=0160-791X|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite news |title=To Defend Western Civilization, Start With Science |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2017/07/18/537882769/to-defend-western-civilization-start-with-science |work=NPR}} They have been disseminated around the world through several mediums, such as through the spread of Western sports.{{Cite journal |last=Gupta |first=Amit |date=2009 |title=The Globalization of Sports, the Rise of Non-Western Nations, and the Impact on International Sporting Events |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09523360903172390 |journal=The International Journal of the History of Sport |language=en |volume=26 |issue=12 |pages=1779–1790 |doi=10.1080/09523360903172390 |issn=0952-3367 |s2cid=145484613|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last=Houlihan |first=Barrie |date=2022-10-02 |title=Challenges to globalisation and the impact on the values underpinning international sport agreements |journal=International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics |language=en |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=607–620 |doi=10.1080/19406940.2022.2100807 |issn=1940-6940 |s2cid=250655805 |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free |hdl=11250/3034827}} The global esteem which Western values are held in has led to them being adopted by many countries,{{Cite journal |last=Josan |first=Andrei |date=2012-05-20 |title=Review of Niall Ferguson, Civilization: The West and the Rest, Allen Lane, Penguin Books, London, 2011, pp. 385 |url=https://doi.org/10.46298/jpe.10630 |journal=Journal of Philosophical Economics |volume=V Issue 2 |issue=Book reviews |doi=10.46298/jpe.10630 |issn=1844-8208}} which some consider to be leading to a harmful decline of non-Western cultures and values.{{Cite book |last=Usongo |first=Kenneth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6f5fEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 |title=The Cultural and Historical Heritage of Colonialism: Interrogating the Postcolony |date=2022-02-17 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1-5275-8083-1 |language=en}}

A constant theme of debate around Western values has been around their universal applicability or lack thereof; in modern times, as various non-Western nations have risen, they have sought to oppose certain Western values, with even Western countries also backing down to some extent from championing these values in what some see as a contested transition to a post-Western era of the world.{{Cite web |date=2022-12-08 |title=Opinion: Even the West no longer thinks Western values are universal |url=https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3202570/even-west-no-longer-thinks-western-values-are-universal |access-date=2023-11-05 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}{{Cite news |title=Western values are steadily diverging from the rest of the world's |url=https://www.economist.com/interactive/international/2023/08/03/western-values-are-steadily-diverging-from-the-rest-of-the-world |access-date=2023-11-05 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}{{Cite web |last=Aybet |first=Gülnur |date=2017-04-29 |title=Making the most of a post-Western world |url=https://www.dailysabah.com/op-ed/2017/04/29/making-the-most-of-a-post-western-world |access-date=2023-11-19 |website=Daily Sabah |language=en-US}} Western values are also often contrasted with Asian values of the East, which among other factors highly posit communitarianism and a deference to authority instead.{{cite book |last1=Pae |first1=Hye K. |chapter=The East and the West |date=2020 |title=Script Effects as the Hidden Drive of the Mind, Cognition, and Culture |series=Literacy Studies |volume=21 |pages=107–134 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-55152-0_6 |doi-access=free|isbn=978-3-030-55151-3 }} Within the West, Peter Harrison has argued that Western morality has historically been centered more around virtue than values, and that it has been in constant dialogue with standards of morality from both the past and other civilizations.{{Cite web |date=2018-01-17 |title=An Eccentric Tradition: The Paradox of "Western Values" |url=https://www.abc.net.au/religion/an-eccentric-tradition-the-paradox-of-western-values/10095044 |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=ABC Religion & Ethics |language=en-AU}}

The adoption of Western values among immigrants to the West has also been scrutinised, with some Westerners opposing immigration from the Muslim world or other parts of the non-West due to a perceived incompatibility of values;{{Cite web |title=Migration and Cultural Change |url=https://www.cato.org/research-briefs-economic-policy/migration-cultural-change#:~:text=The%20idea%20that%20immigration%20leads,native%20culture%20and%20its%20values. |access-date=2023-11-05 |website=www.cato.org}}{{Cite web |title=Roots of tolerance : What explains Western values among children of immigrants? |url=https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Roots-of-tolerance-%3A-What-explains-Western-values-Berggren-Ljunge/f7be5493e158e346560726b403db7a3af0ebabe1 |s2cid=189806782}} others support immigration on the basis of multiculturalism.{{Citation |last=Chin |first=Rita |title=The Crisis of Multiculturalism in Europe: A History |date=2017-08-07 |work=The Crisis of Multiculturalism in Europe |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781400884902/html |access-date=2023-11-06 |publisher=Princeton University Press |language=en |doi=10.1515/9781400884902 |isbn=978-1-4008-8490-2|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last=Colombo |first=Enzo |date=2015 |title=Multiculturalisms: An overview of multicultural debates in western societies |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0011392115586802 |journal=Current Sociology |language=en |volume=63 |issue=6 |pages=800–824 |doi=10.1177/0011392115586802 |issn=0011-3921 |s2cid=146318590 |hdl-access=free |hdl=2434/318630}}

• Natural Law
• Anti-Western sentiment
• Eurocentrism
• European values
• Western education
• {{Annotated link|Westphalian system}}

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Category:Sociology