Freedom rising: Human empowerment and the quest for emancipation

474 Pages·2013·8.133 MB·English

by  Welzel, Christian

FreedomRising
HumanEmpowermentandtheQuestforEmancipation
Thisbookpresentsacomprehensivetheoryofwhyhumanfreedomgave
waytoincreasingoppressionsincetheinventionofstates–andwhythis
trendbegantoreverseitselfmorerecently,leadingtoarapidexpansion
of universal freedoms and democracy. Drawing on a massive body of
evidence,ChristianWelzeltestsvariousexplanationsofrisingfreedoms,
providing convincing support for a well-reasoned theory of emancipa-
tion.Thestudydemonstratesmultipletrendstowardhumanempower-
ment – a process through which people gain control over their lives.
Most important among these trends is the spread of “emancipative
values,” which emphasize free choice and equal opportunities. The
authoridentifiesthedesireforemancipationasthesinglesourceofthe
various human empowerment trends and shows when and why this
desire grows strong; why it is the source of democracy; and how it
vitalizes civil society, feeds humanitarian norms, enhances happiness,
andhelpsredirectmoderncivilizationtowardsustainabledevelopment.
ChristianWelzelischairofpoliticalcultureresearchattheCenterforthe
Study of Democracy, Leuphana University Lüneberg, Germany, and
president of the World Values Survey Association. He is also special
foreignconsultanttotheLaboratoryofComparativeSocialResearchat
the Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg, Russia, and a perma-
nentaffiliateoftheCenterfortheStudyofDemocracyattheUniversity
ofCalifornia,Irvine.Arepeatedrecipientoflarge-scalegrantsfromthe
German Science Foundation, Welzel is the author of more than one
hundred scholarly publications in international peer-reviewed journals
insociology,politicalscience,andpsychology.Hisrecentbooksinclude
Modernization, Cultural Change, and Democracy (with Ronald
Inglehart, Cambridge University Press, 2005); Democratization (with
Christian Haerpfer, Patrick Bernhagen, and Ronald Inglehart, 2009);
andTheCivicCultureTransformed(withRussellJ.Dalton,Cambridge
UniversityPress,forthcoming).

WorldValuesSurveysBooksfromCambridgeUniversityPress
RussellJ.DaltonandChristianWelzel(eds.),TheCivicCultureTransformed:
FromAllegianttoAssertiveCitizenries,forthcoming.
DohChullShin,ConfucianismandDemocratizationinEastAsia,2012.
PippaNorrisandRonaldInglehart,SacredandSecular:PoliticsandReligion
Worldwide,2011.
PippaNorrisandRonaldInglehart,CosmopolitanCommunications:Cultural
DiversityinaGlobalizedWorld,2009.
RonaldInglehartandChristianWelzel,Modernization,CulturalChange,and
Democracy:TheHumanDevelopmentSequence,2005.
RonaldInglehartandPippaNorris,RisingTide:GenderEqualityandCultural
ChangearoundtheWorld,2003.

Freedom Rising
Human Empowerment and the Quest
for Emancipation
CHRISTIAN WELZEL
LeuphanaUniversity,Lüneberg,Germany
32AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,NY10013-2473,USA
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
education,learning,andresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence.
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107664838
©ChristianWelzel2013
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2013
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Welzel,Christian,1964–
Humanempowermentandthecontemporaryquestforemancipation/ChristianWelzel.
pages cm
ISBN978-1-107-03470-9(hardback)
1. Socialvalues. 2. Liberty. 3. Democracy. I. Title.
HM681.W453 2013
303.3072–dc23 2013015876
ISBN978-1-107-03470-9Hardback
ISBN978-1-107-66483-8Paperback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof
URLsforexternalorthird-partyInternetWebsitesreferredtointhispublication
anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchWebsitesis,orwillremain,
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ToAMY,
theLove
andInspiration
ofMyLife