America's crisis of values : reality and perception
著者
書誌事項
America's crisis of values : reality and perception
（Princeton paperbacks）
Princeton University Press, 2006, c2005
- : paperback
大学図書館所蔵 全4件
注記
Includes bibliographical references and index
"Second printing, and first paperback printing, 2006"--T.p. verso
内容説明・目次
内容説明
Is America bitterly divided? Has America lost its traditional values? Many politicians and religious leaders believe so, as do the majority of Americans, based on public opinion polls taken over the past several years. But is this crisis of values real? This book explores the moral terrain of America today, analyzing the widely held perception that the nation is in moral decline. It looks at the question from a variety of angles, examining traditional values, secular values, religious values, family values, economic values, and others. Using unique data from the World Values Surveys, the largest systematic attempt ever made to document attitudes, values, and beliefs around the world, this book systematically evaluates the perceived crisis of values by comparing America's values with those of over 60 other nations. The results are surprising. The evidence shows overwhelmingly that America has not lost its traditional values, that the nation compares favorably with most other societies, and that the culture war is largely a myth. The gap between reality and perception does not represent mass ignorance of the facts or an overblown moral panic, Baker contends.
Rather, the widespread perception of a crisis of values is a real and legitimate interpretation of life in a society that is in the middle of a fundamental transformation and that contains growing cultural contradictions. Instead of posing a problem, the author argues, this crisis rhetoric serves the valuable social function of reminding us of what it means to be American. As such, it preserves the ideological foundation of the nation.
目次
List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xv Chapter One: A Question of Values 1 The Widespread Perception of Crisis 2 Three Ways to Think About a Crisis of Values--Loss, Unfavorable Comparison, and Division 6 Threats to America as an Imagined Community 10 Conclusion 13 Chapter Two: America's Values in Global Context 17 Two Dimensions of Cultural Variation and Change 18 Global Cultural Maps 22 Loss of Traditional Values 35 Unfavorable Comparisons with Other Societies 38 Why Have Some Values Changed and Others Stayed the Same? 42 Conclusion 61 Chapter Three: Culture War 64 The Culture War Thesis 65 The Polarization of Americans 73 Linkage of the Hierarchy of Beliefs 85 The Connection between Social Capital and Moral Visions 95 Is There an American Culture War--Could There Be? 103 Conclusion 107 Chapter Four: Dynamics of Crisis 110 Tides of American History 112 An Interpretation of the Dynamics of Crisis 134 Conclusion 156 Chapter Five: The Search for Meaning 159 Mixed Systems, Cultural Contradictions, and Cognitive Dissonance 161 Rising Spirituality and the "New Age" 166 The Special Role of Absolutism in America 173 An Integration of Opposites 180 Summary of Key Findings 183 Appendix A: World Values Surveys 189 Appendix B: Statistical Tables 197 Notes 251 Index 299
「Nielsen BookData」 より