Rejecting a society’s core value makes a person seem foreign to it

Evidence

For example, a core value frame for American society is individualism—the pursuit of individual goals, individual advancement, individual happiness, and individual freedom is a core similar­ ity of belief that unites Americans. This core value influences our laws, insti­ tutions, and social practices, and explicit rejection of individualism is seen as un-American. By sharing this “similarity of belief” or value frame, Americans have a common perspective; indeed, following Durkheim, it is reasonable to assume that every group develops some group-specific values, norms, and values. Of greater interest for this chapter are the similarities between groups within a society and systematic differences across societies in the extent that individualism is valued and the extent that groups or collectives are valued. Valuation of individual versus group interests is a key to understanding cul­ tures (Hofstede, 1980). — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide, 1002

Categorization

• XREF: Individualism-versus-collectivism (Hofstede) is the dimension bridging the small-group inclusion mechanism and the envious-outgroup scapegoating mechanism the reader is tracing. — connects to: Aspirations toward cultural membership can be undermined by the aspirant’s own values and style — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 415
• SEED: Angle: ‘Un-American: How a shared value frame draws the line around who belongs’ — the value frame as both unifier and exclusion device.

Broader Connections

• Aspirations toward cultural membership can be undermined by the aspirant’s own values and style #expands (0.85) — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 415