Shifting Values: America in Evolution

The Atlantic/Aspen Institute released the results of their  2012 American Values Survey this week. It’s worth a peek if you’ve got a minute or two.

Amid the results, you’ll find the expected: a profound decline in optimism, family trumps everything else, and a widespread view that only the values of the very wealthy are respresented in the political system. Plus first generation immigrants and the wealthy believe the economic system to be fair, while about half of the rest of us do not.

The big takeaway for me is the finding that younger generations may hold the view that what’s good for business is not good for America. This could be profound for major consumer goods manufacturers and financial institutions…unlike their elders, younger generations have shown much more of a predilection for voting with their feet and their dollar.

You can view the results of the study here.

Tags: American; values; business; strategy