Inglehart-Welzel's Traditional vs. Rational index revisited: A comparison between China and the West

Inglehart-Welzel's 'Traditional-Rational' Index has been widely accepted as a way to summarize changes in values between agricultural and industrial societies. An empirical re-examination of the Index using the most recent World Values Survey data, however, suggests that it fails to represent the value profiles of mainland Chinese. I introduce a five-item measurement called 'Confucian Index of interpersonal relations'. It aims to capture some salient values in Chinese culture and show that, in China, Confucian values that govern interpersonal relations within one's immediate social environment are not in conflict with support for democratic government and social liberal values, such as tolerance and trust. The opposite is very much true in the rich West, where those who endorse 'Confucian' values are less tolerant of social diversity and where Inglehart's Index does make a lot of sense.