Anglo Values vs. Human Values: Talking about Values in a Global World

Abstract

Scholars and political leaders agree that in the contemporary world where the tempo and intensity of international and intercultural contacts is continually growing, communication about values has become increasingly crucial. But in what conceptual language can people and peoples across the world communicate about values? As this chapter illustrates, currently, questions about values tend to be asked in the conceptual vocabulary of English, with English value words such as “fairness,” “honesty,” “violence,” and “cooperation” playing a crucial role. The chapter illustrates the Anglocentrism of current global discourse about values with examples drawn from recent books by Steven Pinker, Daniel Everett, and Marc Hauser and it shows how global conversation about values can be conducted more meaningfully on the basis of universal human concepts (such as GOOD and BAD) and how it can be freed from its conceptual dependence on English words and Anglocentric assumptions.