Rising support for reproductive freedoms: emancipatory breakthroughs into a bulwark of tradition

Amy Alexander (), Christian Welzel () and Ronald Inglehart ()
Additional contact information
Amy Alexander: Georg-August University
Christian Welzel: Center for the Study of Democracy, Leuphana University, Scharnhorststr.
Ronald Inglehart: Higher School of Economics

HSE Working papers from National Research University Higher School of Economics

Abstract: This article presents evidence for a rising emancipatory spirit, across generations and around the world, in a life domain in which traditional family, fertility and sex (FFS) norms have been most resistant to emancipatory gains since the ages: reproductive freedoms. We propose an explanation of rising emancipative values that integrates several theoretical approaches into a single idea—the utility ladder of freedoms. Specifically, we suggest that objectively improving living conditions--from rising life expectancies to broadening education to better technologies—transform the nature of life from a source of threats to suffer into a source of opportunities to thrive. As living conditions begin to hold more promise for increasing population segments, societies climb the utility ladder of freedoms: supporting universal freedoms becomes increasingly instrumental to use the opportunities that a more promising life offers. This trend has begun to spill over into a life domain in which traditional FFS norms have until recently been able to block emancipatory gains: reproductive freedoms. We present (1) cross-national, (2) longitudinal, (3) generational and (4) multi-level evidence on an unprecedentedly broad basis in support of this theory.

Keywords: emancipative; values; -; existential; opportunities; -; reproductive; freedoms; -; secular; values; -; sex; norms; -; utility; ladder; of; freedoms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 39 pages
Date: 2013
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-upt
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published in WP BRP Series: Sociology / SOC, December 2013, pages 1-39

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