Rethinking Modernization and Value Change in China

Moral Decline or Emancipative Shift

Datos Bibliográficos

ID10077072
AutoresXue Gong (0000-0003-1573-9118, University of Vienna, autor de correspondencia)
Año2025
Fecha de publicación2025-12-03
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Cross-Cultural Psychology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0022-0221 • E-ISSN: 1552-5422
EditorialSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00220221251385541
OpenAlexW4416942165
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas47

Modernization, particularly in Western contexts, is often conceptualized as a driver of emancipative value change; the Chinese experience offers a different narrative—one in which modernization is associated with the erosion of shared moral norms and the emergence of a so-called moral crisis. Despite these competing views, empirical research remains limited regarding whether modernization in China erodes shared moral norms or fosters emancipative value change. Using data from the World Values Survey conducted in China in 2007, 2012, and 2018, this study examines both perspectives by analyzing intergenerational differences in moral values and standards. It finds that, compared to pre-reform generations, post-reform generations exhibit higher moral standards and demonstrate more diverse and emancipative moral values. In addition, moral standards have increased over time across the general population. These results suggest that the so-called moral crisis in China should be understood as a transformation of morality rather than its decline. These findings help to clarify an influential concept, illuminate how China’s modernization shapes the moral outlook of its citizens, and contribute to comparative debates on socio-economic modernization and value change

China · Modernization theory · Moral development · Moral disengagement · Moral standards · Morality · Value (mathematics · World Values Survey · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Chinese history and philosophy · Cultural Differences and Values