Values: where do they come from?

Values and Modern Society

How do values affect the way we live? Our values are what drive us to feed the hungry, heal the sick, and help those less fortunate than ourselves. They also drive us to kill the infidels, buy and sell useless and dangerous goods, and force our beliefs on others. In short, our values are such an integral part of our lives that it becomes almost impossible to see through them.

How do we develop our value system? Logically, such an important part of the human psyche should be subjected to all manner of thought and self-exploration. Instead, our values are passed down to us from our parents, taught to us by our friends, and absorbed from the culture around us. If we lived in a fascist society, we would learn one set of values. If we lived in a democratic society, we might learn another. Unfortunately, in most societies, including ours, we are subject to the manipulation of our values by other parties.

Organized religions, corporations, and governments all stand to gain by manipulating personal and societal values. A Darwinian struggle to survive is taking place between these entities. Our value system is constantly being buffeted by attempts to sway or cement the ideas of these parties. Many people, once a suitable value system is in place, choose to ignore, mock, or attack any other system that is or appears to be different. The distinction between a value system that is different and one that merely appears to be different is an important one. Many apparently conflicting systems of values are merely the clashes between cultures as they come closer together.

An example of this is the recent case of the Makah First Nations band trying to reclaim their history by killing and eating whales. Environmental activists and regular citizens alike denounced this action in no uncertain terms as a return to "savagery."
This is an interesting case. Here are two diametrically opposed groups who both claim the moral high ground (which is perfectly normal), but in the ensuing battle of public relations, both seem to violate values that one would think smack of hypocrisy. The environmentalists sink to such tactics as racist taunting, harassment, and physical confrontation. The Makah ended up using power boats and .50-calibre rifles to catch and kill the whale. Such actions by both parties seems to conflict with their originally-stated value judgments. In cases like this, one could make the justification, perhaps, that each party was forced to compromise certain values in order to uphold other, more important, ones. This is a specious justification.

This particular exaggeration of one value over the other is, sadly, all too prevalent in modern society. What else could cause a majority of people to accept as normal such a strangely disproportionate distribution of resources? Very few people, when asked, would say that sixteen percent of the world's population using eighty percent of the world's natural resources seems like a sound value judgment.Further,I very much doubt that anyone would agree that six million children should die from hunger every year so that the same sixteen percent can enjoy some dvds and four dollar coffees. Yet, when faced with uncomfortable challenges to his or her value system, the average person reacts with hostility and evasion. There are all too many refuges for the guilty conscience in modern society, too many warm, accepting hideaways where, for a reasonable fee, we can wallow in the glow of other people with values like our own.

It can be difficult to look objectively at one's own value system. The incorporation of deeply-ingrained ethics and morals form such an integral part of our environment that it may be impossible to separate ourselves from the values we hold. That being said, we can ask ourselves objective questions about the things we believe. Does our value system advocate the injury or oppression of other people? This can be a tricky question, one that could easily be glossed over. Buying an article of brand-name clothing made by maltreated workers from the developing world would fall into this category. What would drive someone to a decision like this? (Perhaps a desire to belong to a larger group, or, conversely to stand out from the same group.) Maybe he or she just wants high-quality goods at reasonable prices. Taken by itself, this is a perfectly normal desire. Taken rationally though, does this justify the oppression of another human being? Some may argue that buying such a product increases the chances that workers may conceivably achieve a better life for their families. This is line of reasoning is known as "collaborationism", although I can think of several terms that might serve better, none of which I shall use here. An interesting rebuttal to this might be to point to the record of economic growth (or stunning lack thereof) in the developing nations that participate in what essentially becomes government sanctioned slave labour. Essentially, either side of this particular debate can be expounded to the satisfaction of those wishing to find support for their own particular values.

Objectively following the consequences of ones value-driven choices is an arduous task, requiring clear, rational thought. Developing the ability to think in such a fashion should certainly be given a higher priority than it now currently enjoys. It is a much simpler method to allow a herd mentality to guide a person's thoughts in matters such as these.

Unfortunately, uncritical acceptance of any value system can lead to terrible consequences for both the individual and society, in general. It can only be through sustained mental effort and critical thinking that such inertia can be overcome. Sadly, the current state of the world does not seem to going in such a direction. Again, one can refer to mankind's repeated failure to master the baser aspects of its nature, and humanity at large being unable to permanently affect some sort of change that might allow people to reflect on the true nature of their value systems.