This One Thing Will Make or Break a Free Society

In this episode, we explore Ronald Inglehart and Christian Welzel’s groundbreaking research in Modernization, Cultural Change & Democracy. Their central claim is clear: democratic institutions do not stand on laws alone — they stand on culture.

While surveys often show widespread “support for democracy,” this metric is shallow and unreliable. What truly predicts democratic stability is the presence of self-expression values: personal autonomy, liberty, tolerance, civic protest, interpersonal trust, and emphasis on human choice.

These values generate intrinsic support for democratic principles, making democracy effective rather than merely formal. Conversely, trust in institutions or membership in associations shows little predictive power.

The key insight? Democracy flourishes not when people admire institutions, but when they internalize freedom.

This episode examines how nations — and individuals — cultivate the values that sustain real democracy.

Reference

Inglehart, R., & Welzel, C. (2005). Modernization, cultural change and democracy: The human development sequence. Cambridge University Press.

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#Democracy #PoliticalCulture #HumanDevelopment #ModernizationTheory #SelfExpressionValues #PoliticalScience #CivicCulture #DeepSubjectPodcast