ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes significant contributions to the understanding of social and cultural values in a global age by bringing researchers from different disciplines and different countries together. It introduces the concept of self-sufficiency and suggests that self-sufficiency values may dilute the negative effect of materialism on happiness. The book aims to develop a scale of self-sufficiency values based on a “middle path” that is embedded in Buddhist teaching with its three core elements: moderation, reasonableness, and self-immunity. It examines the value systems and their influences on the process of fragmentation in the culture and the development of the subcultural ethos. The book explains the success of the Independent Do It Yourself Lifestyle Blogging Business model through the Indie Girl Culture, a subculture of young women that has developed around the model.
