WORLDLY

The Paired Statements for Worldly:

“I believe that faith in the supernatural is a harmful self-delusion and that submission to religious authority is dangerous. I think that true morality only develops in a fully permissive society.”

Figure 1. WORLDLY espousers

Throughout this analysis of espousers of the WORLDLY Attribute we will find that, with the exception of the Prospectors, there is a predominance of male espousers over female. We will also find that, with the exception of the Settlers, there is a predominance of the AB socio-economic group.

The statement pair underlying WORLDLY contains quite a lot of words, and it is the very different ways those words are understood, given prominence or disregarded that is apparent in the different Maslow groups.

At the heart is the classic difference between “freedom to” and “freedom from”. Laws, obedience and punishment all figure in this complex landscape, as does the tension between acceptance of religious, secular or ‘any’ authority to control individual choice and behaviour.

In values research it is sometimes the case that an academically tested set of scales attempting to measure factors like freedom, group morality and individual ethics throw up agreements between people with very different reasons for their responses.

The UK is experiencing a range of such polarized cultural issues. At times commentators are forced to invent new words or apply new meanings to established words. This process is part of the rich heritage of the English language – yet today this often acts to obfuscate meaning rather than clarify it. An example might be how the word ‘woke’ has acquired both a positive and negative connotation, depending on the individual using it. The dictionary defines the term as meaning being aware of injustices, etc.. In its negative - not woke - it can be used to imply 'ignorance' in others. But it also gets used in a derogatory tone to describe those who claim injustice in traditionally celebrated settings - like 'The Empire' and 'Britannia rules the waves'. In both cases, the usage is meant to imply dangerous or 'bad' people.

The institution and influence of the state religion (Church of England) and its role in setting basic moral principles has decreased as the UK has become a more secular, consumerist society.

This is mirrored by decreased trust in those who set the rules for everyone else. WORLDLY is measuring a set of conflicting causes of rejecting the establishment narrative for the rules (church state morality) – and also any alternative morality derived from a higher source, be it a personal spirituality or an alternative organized ‘religious practice’.

The rejection of mainstream – church, state and other - morality and ethics (to be “free from”) is matched by a concomitant desire for “freedom to” do whatever the WORLDLY espouser wants to do.

Does this lead to chaos and cultural breakdown? Or does it lead to non-traditional forms of thinking and behaviour based on changing needs driven by demographic, economic, political, technological and environmental trends as they clash with current realities?

Conclusion

Attempting to interpret and describe the general profile of WORLDLY espousers only gets part of the way to the deeper insights our research has measured. Only taking this apart by the Maslow groups yields any clarity.


Breaking WORLDLY espousers out by the Maslow groups shows some interesting differences.

Maslow Group Population (base) % Attribute % Index
Pioneers 37.7 37.6 100
Prospectors 36.8 36.5 99
Settlers 25.5 25.9 102


Figure 2. WORLDLY espousers - Pioneers

Pioneer espousers of WORLDLY are the group most likely to question any kind of authority that attempts to control their choices and actions. It’s not that they are ‘lawless’; nor do they consider themselves above the law – rather it is that they want, often loudly and stridently, to be ‘free to’ make their own choices – especially when the status quo goes unquestioned by many others.

Decades ago, the WORLDLY Pioneers in the UK griped that voting for MP’s was a form of ‘selling out’; the political parties were all the same and voting just encouraged the existing institutions of power to continue to block ‘the will of the people’.

Today the institution of party-political government is fraying around the edges; and its practical institutions (the NHS, Social Services, Police Forces, etc.) are struggling to remain fit for purpose.

These Pioneer espousers of WORLDLY use their own conscience as their lodestone and regard blind obedience as the worst betrayal of morality. Indeed, this is what marks the difference between morality and ethics. Morality is imposed from outside, while ethics are imposed from within.

WORLDLY Pioneers have a tendency to initiate new cultural movements that transcend the right vs left, elite vs masses, or gender/race divisions that often frame cultural narratives.

The desire to be free can take many forms that may be contradictory at many levels, but the unfettered freedom these Pioneers desire is one step beyond what most people think of as free, or feel comfortable with. Old memes and metaphors that have been used successfully, often for centuries, are under scrutiny by millions in the 21st Century

On the ‘freedom from’ aspect, these Pioneers also question ‘from what?’ or ‘from whom?’. They believe that there is too much power in the hands of too few people]. They also believe that one way to increase access to their particular version of freedom is have a more even distribution of wealth, and the opportunities that it opens up for the individual.

Technology and the dominant economic system, and the businesses and corporations that support it, continue to create economies of scale and increased productivity. But it is becoming clear that inequalities, that seem a by-product of the approach, will be difficult to unwind in the complex UK culture. Without change there will be a wide-spread questioning and disruption of working practices upon which current government policies and philosophies are based.

This is one area the WORLDLY Pioneers will agree on pretty easily. As jobs disappear or continue to be ‘dumbed down’, there will be a rising call among these Pioneers for a Universal Basic Income. Multiple controlled studies of UBI in very different cultures have shown that this economic instrument facilitates the freedom to think, feel and create based on freedom from poverty, fear and lack of choice.

Naysayers often argue that UBI will lead to an apathetic underclass that lives off the taxes of ‘hard working people’. Modern research proves repeatedly this to be untrue, and it is especially untrue about the WORLDLY Pioneers. They are almost 40% more likely than the general population to be peeking and poking around world culture generally and local community processes specifically and often form bridges of knowledge between disparate groups – just for the fun of it. Rules, boundaries, status and heritage are open to question and debate. Good ideas don’t need the approval of a Bishop or Minister of State – or any other authority for that matter.

These WORLDLY Pioneers are amongst the least likely to say that religion is important to them, even when compared to Pioneers in general. So, the words ‘religious authority’ ring alarm bells for them. To these people, religion is just another form of authority that seeks to prevent ultimate control over one’s own freely chosen actions. Their very conscious ethics guides them away from such authority imposed by others. They do not reject morality as such, but tend to make it more personal to themselves and thus be able to be responsible for their choices.

What chimes with them are the words ‘true morality’, which to them means ethics.

Conclusion

Pioneer espousers of WORLDLY are predisposed to this Attribute by virtue of their questioning of authority in general, and religious authority in particular. Their guiding star is their own sense of right and wrong – what they would describe as their ethics.


Figure 3. WORLDLY espousers - Prospectors

Prospector espousers of WORLDLY sit clearly on the ‘freedom to’ side of the fence. But what do they want the freedom to do, or to be?

Their key drivers are, as always with Prospectors, the acquisition and display of symbols of value. They can satisfy these needs in a variety of ways.

First is by material acquisition – being rich and having lots of expensive things. Remember that rich to an ‘average’ wage earner (about £25,000-£30,000 per year), is far different from a person who receives £10 Million plus per year. But both will have a point at which they define rich – usually as ‘more than what I have now’.

They want to be free to accumulate more – even if it is just to ‘upgrade’ something that is otherwise perfectly functional. New means ‘new to me’, but particularly it signals the status to which they aspire.

At the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum that may mean they buy/acquire more established brands, or things that appear to carry some association with more expensive brands – ‘knock-offs’ as they are sometimes called.

At the upper end of the economic spectrum – over represented among WORLDLY Prospectors – this may result in having to rent public storage facilities to hold all their acquisitions that won’t fit into the place they live – even if they have more than one place to live. This is classic ‘freedom to’ taken to limits that the Pioneers would be unlikely to be find attractive.

The second means is through a particular aspect of what this will buy – their home. But it will be or become, in their dreams or in reality, a home that others will admire. This is an area where their fantasies can be realised.

Looking at other over-indexed Attributes like PLEASURE (140), FUN (138), OVER-SPEND (138) and IMAGE (134) can give us a good guide to the way they will want their home to look. They are likely to be users of home decorating and design websites; be knowledgeable about where and what to buy – or know the best person to advise them. If rich enough they will employ their own designers to make their dreams come true.

The third means is by being seen to be successful, and to bask in the fact that it impresses those who matter to them. They will know and acquire, to the extent that their financial resources enable them, symbols of value in all aspects of their life. Price helps them know ‘what success looks like’; the more expensive it is, the more it is associated with success.

At work and in their social life, another part of their success image is to be demonstrably ‘in charge’ and to have others do what they are told. Working to advance up a ‘league table’ of any sort; or maybe being the leader of a group of friends or with a local gathering are all assumed to be sensible objectives to the WORLDLY Prospector. They feel this is a way of taking power – and to be in control is power to them.

For the most part this is the profile of go-getter that others recognize and are more than willing to let ‘get on with it’. Taking control just downright feels good for these people. However taking control also means being responsible for results and not all WORLDLY Prospectors have the necessary competence to sustain control. When this occurs, unlike most people, they have a propensity to coerce others, because they believe it is important that they get what they want – freedom to do what they want. If that sometimes means physical coercion, well so be it. Getting what they want is the important thing.

This cluster of over-indexed Attributes becomes a driving force for their world view and guide to their behaviours when AMBITION (60% more likely than the rest of the population) is top of the mix.

These Prospector espousers want money, success and power – but they also want their peer, reference or aspirational groups - and, if possible, the world – to know how successful they are. The WORLDLY Prospectors do not acknowledge the established power of others, and are willing to use all means available to do what they want to do. And what they want to do is to leave something of lasting importance. They want everything they do to lead to public displays of power, wealth and importance based on their control of others.

In the world of charity and philanthropy these WORLDLY Prospectors are natural targets for fundraisers. Putting their name on anything from a park bench, that outlives them, to the commissioning of a building with their name on it - is creating something of lasting value to them.

Judging these people in terms of morality or ethics is to confuse who they really are – their values honour very different Attributes. They are the ultimate pragmatists who recognize no authority based on hierarchies or traditional forms of power. That creates the foundation either for great good or great evil, but their over-arching concern is that they feel good about themselves.

Conclusion

These Prospectors are, above all, ‘WORLDLY’. That means they are jarred by the word ‘supernatural’. They are equally disturbed by the words ‘submission to’. In mitigation, the Prospectors, as a whole, are more likely to say that religious belief is important to them. In the end, they are more likely to follow the idea of ‘one life, live it!’ than to depend on the promise of a better life after this one.


Figure 4. WORLDLY espousers - Settlers

In many ways, their rejection of the basis of traditional authority – religious teaching based on beliefs in a higher power – is unlike the majority of other Settlers, who want to be told the boundaries of ‘proper behaviour’.

Settler espousers of WORLDLY are solidly on the ‘freedom from’ side of the fence. What they want is protection from their fears, perceived threats and dangers, but do not have the comfort of an authoritative religious belief or trust in the authorities they traditionally rely upon to provide protection from those they fear/hate.

The word ‘supernatural’ carries particular weight. It is something they don’t associate with their own religion, if they have one. In the UK this is primarily the Church of England or the Catholic Church, but like the majority of people in the UK (69%) they say they are not very religious or not religious at all. The UK is very secular, and the role of religion is material and pragmatic – set in buildings and operating to schedules of activities – along the lines of other businesses. Religion in this format is acceptable, “knowable”, in a way that is amenable to the Settler values system.

But combination of the supernatural and authoritative religion creates a perception of ‘strange’ religions. Settlers do not like strangeness. They do not like the unknown and unknowable at the basis of much religion in human societies.

The WORLDLY Settlers are most likely to fear what they don’t understand. This is quite unlike the Pioneers, who are attracted to the unknown, or the Prospectors, who can be intrigued by the unknown.

Like Settlers in general, these espousers’ response to threats and transgressions is through discipline and punishment. When it comes to crime, these Settlers believe that only the harshest retribution will have any lasting impact on perpetrators. For some crimes, especially sex crimes and harm to children, they are not content with simply locking criminals up; they want the option of public corporal punishment – maybe even the death penalty.

This harshness is based on their belief that everyone should be accountable for their own behaviour . If you choose a particular path that offends public morality (whatever that is at any given moment) then you accept the benefits/rewards as well as the consequences. This is straightforward personal responsibility, something they should be able to control.

A phrase dear to the heart of any WORLDLY Settler is “It’s my right!”, i.e. my choice, and I don’t need your approval; you have no authority over me.

This orientation can drive extreme individualistic behaviour – but is mostly fringe in the UK. This usually does not lead to organized challenges to public morality. Overall, they may have ‘spikey’ attitudes and behaviours; but these attitudes tend to preclude them from acting sustainably with other people holding similar beliefs. They are unlikely to form groups that have a coherent set of rules to guide their purpose.

These are not optimistic people. They feel that life has dealt them a bad hand, and they don’t see any prospect of it getting better. They often feel their lot in life has been manipulated by others – poor parenting, poor education leading to poor social circumstances, and poor economic opportunities. They believe that to ‘free themselves from’ the situation can guide them to the ‘freedom to’ take personal control over their life now; not remain subject to the forces that have controlled their lives to date.

Truthfully, they have a dream of a ‘freedom to’ that is hindered by other aspects of their own values system. They feel as if they live in a small grey world, and though they can identify the ‘causes’ of their plight (usually some form of authorities/experts telling me what to do; “making me do it”) they do not have the vision or hope needed to create a cure.

The basic pessimism about life and their chances in it has led to some harsh attitudes to others who transgress public morality. But the shaming and punishment of others does not make them feel any better about their own lives.

They are not kind to themselves. They lead a functional life – not a life they aspire to – but a life that gets them through the day/week/month. Rather than visions of the future, they cling to a romanticised version of the past – when they had ‘rights’ and weren’t controlled by others.

In a monochrome ‘now’ they are unlikely to ‘dress to impress’ like the WORLDLY Prospector would. Like the Pioneers they don’t really care what others think of the way they dress – with the difference being the WORLDLY Settlers are far less likely to see any point at all in trying to impress. If true morality only emerges from a fully permissive society, the pessimistic inhibition of self-expression (the way they dress) can be seen as a moral choice – and one that troubles their minds.

Not being kind to others, and ultimately to themselves, also results in not ‘patting themselves on the back’ for doing well, or living up to their own values. They don’t give themselves little treats. One of the big drivers of self-esteem is to ‘just do something’ – and congratulate yourself for a ‘job done’ – even if no one else even notices. Though the WORLDLY Settler believes a moral society is possible, in which they are ‘free to’ do as they want, they do not have a sense that they matter, as a person.

Their sense of self agency, which could empower hope and action to create the moral society that they desire, is low or missing. Instead, its lack facilitates a spiral of pessimism and acquiescence that blocks them, psychologically, from achieving the peace of mind they long for so much.

Conclusion

Having a good time is a basic desire for human beings. The desire to do what you want to do is common to all people, but the needs for safety, security and belonging usually takes precedence over this. First one needs to be free from a life of pessimism, doubt and fear of unjust authority. The WORLDLY Settlers can identify the basis of their nightmares but do not feel safe enough to dream and envision a better way of life. However, they watch, listen and read about the world, and this stokes their fears. For them, a ‘permissive society’ is not some ‘hippy-dippy, do whatever you like anarchy’ or some ‘Hooray Henry hedonism’ – it is a society in which they can make and enjoy a life for themselves - in peace.