For a long time, we have had the idea that societies become more progressive with every new generation. If the context in which we grow up is more stable and prosperous, the more progressive are the values we develop. But is this really true? Where do our values come from, what has shaped us and is still shaping us today? In social science, these critical reflections help us finding solutions to new societal problems, and in daily life, this can help us find common ground with others and prevent rising polarization.
Quita Muis is an assistant professor at Tilburg University. She participates in the long-term, international survey program the European Values Study. Her main focus is research on polarization, with a focus on values and identities: how do our values and identities develop in a rapidly changing world and how does this influence politics and society? Her TEDx Talk will focus on the alleged cultural backlash, in which the surge in cultural liberalism in recent decades has created an authoritarian reflex in Western societies. Certain groups are said to hold more conservative and anti-democratic ideas. Science just disagrees on whether this is precisely the case among older or younger people.