ABSTRACT
The values of populations today are radically different from those of even the recent past. Dade has been using the world values survey to examine and measure how values are shifting since the 1970s, whilst Rose first made use of his research whilst at Greenpeace in the 1990s. Building upon the work of writers like Maslow and Inglehart, we describe how our cultural values model divides society into three groups: Settlers, Prospectors and Pioneers. We show they are distinct in the values, behaviour and expectations of leadership and how those values filters affect adaptation and change. We show how Brexit is an example of Settlers feeling left behind economically and culturally and punishing political elites for failing to learn these lessons. If we are serious about sustainability we need to rebuild connections across the values groups to remedy the current overstretched social elastic that pervades most developed societies and is making adaptation more difficult.
