Diverging Values

A fascinating (and a little scary) study on variance in values across 76 countries: link Not surprisingly, homosexuality, euthanasia, divorce top the diverged leaderboard. The leading converged values: more emphasis on technology, giving children a sense of responsibility (and one close to the most converged: cheating on taxes, no comment).

From the authors' summary: "Values emphasizing tolerance and self-expression have diverged most sharply, especially between high-income Western countries and the rest of the world. We also find that countries with similar per-capita GDP levels have held similar values over the last 40 years. Over time, however, geographic proximity has emerged as an increasingly strong correlate of value similarity, indicating that values have diverged globally but converged regionally."