Values are one of the most powerful determinants of human behavior and experience. I've written about values in the past, but always regarding how values affect the individual. In particular, I've emphasized whether or not a person focuses on what they want or what they do not want in each important values area, since the results of each approach are very different.

Over the next three issues I want to go more deeply into the subject by describing a developmental model of values that applies to both individuals and social groups. This model is called Spiral Dynamics, and was the subject of my November 2004 talk at the United Nations.

Understanding Spiral Dynamics will allow you to:

* Determine the most highly valued criteria of an individual or social group?
* Know what drives their thinking and behavior?
* Know how to communicate with them, manage them, help them, or defend yourself from them?
* Understand your own motives, actions, and personal evolution?
* Understand the real driving force between national and international conflicts that seem to be about religion, class, gender, politics, economics, nationalism, and other common distinctions...
* Understand why current attempts to solve these problems don't work and what really needs to be done to resolve them.

Values are a set of assumptions about the world that indicate what is important. As such, they determine how time is spent, which is hugely important in determining what happens in life. On a societal level, values have a great impact on what is important to a society, how resources are allocated and distributed, and how decisions are made. In this way, societal values determine almost every aspect of life.

Values also act as a way of evaluating behavior and other decisions after the fact, both for your own actions and those of others.

The Spiral Dynamics model of values is based on decades of research by Clare Graves, a professor at Union College in Schenectady, New York. Graves was a contemporary and colleague of Abraham Maslow of Hierarchy of Needs fame.

Graves set out to verify the Maslow model but found that it did not fit large segments of society. As a result, he began to explore other alternatives. After decades of research, he found that Maslow's model was only one of eight possible values structures, one of eight different models of the world.

Graves discovered that there are two major aspects of any values structure:

1) An existential situation; in other words, a set of social conditions and their related problems and challenges 2) A set of responses and coping mechanisms which evolve in order to deal with the existential situation and its attendant problems and challenges.

Graves noted that as life conditions change, the related responses and values also change. In other words, a person or group lives at and responds from a certain values level because of the environmental situations they are faced with. You, too, go through various values levels as you grow up and face different life situations, something I'll discuss in more detail later on.

According to Graves, eight values systems have appeared up to now, and he postulated the emergence of others as new existential situations arise. As you will see, identifying the values level from which a given person or social group is operating gives a tremendous amount of information about what is important to them, how they will behave, how they will make decisions, and how to relate to them.

We'll also see that most, if not all, current world problems--and many problems you might face as an individual in various social interactions--are actually conflicts between values levels. In fact, I think you'll find this to be the most fascinating aspect of this subject.

I'm going to give you an overview of each values level but first we need to cover a few more basics. Values levels consist of two basic and alternating types. One type is individualistic and expressive, where individuals break away from the group, creatively break new ground, and take action for individualistic and expressive rather than group-oriented reasons.

The other type, alternating with the individualistic and expressive systems, is group-oriented and sacrificial. In this type, actions are based on group needs, and individuals are asked to sacrifice for the good of the group. As time passes, the insoluble problems of each values level--whether it is of the individualistic or sacrificial type--eventually lead to the emergence of the next level, each type alternating with the other.

As each values level gives way to the next, each new level is more complex than the preceding level and can handle a more complex set of problems. You may recognize this concept from my writings about Ilya Prigogine regarding how complex systems evolve to higher levels of functioning in response to environmental input that the old system is incapable of handling.

In this case, as biopsychosocial conditions become more complex, and as the responses of the current values level fail to adequately handle them, new responses and new ways of thinking evolve. These new responses are more complex, and give society more choices and more flexibility. Each new values level involves a new and different way of thinking, different decision-making processes, and different criteria for what is important. Each new level relies upon or is associated with a new set of ideas, variables, problems, and solutions.

In this article I'm going to summarize the eight values levels, and then in the next two articles I'll go into each level more deeply. I will then discuss the positive and negative qualities of each, how and why and under what circumstances each level may evolve into the next, and finally discuss how your understanding of these values levels allows you to understand current world problems, why they are happening, and what the potential solutions might be.

I think you will be very surprised to see that from this new perspective, both the world situation--and your life--are not at all what you thought they were. I think you're going to be very intrigued by how these values levels relate to your own personal and spiritual growth.

There are various naming protocols for these values levels. For the purposes of this article I'll use the terminology of the National Values Center, who have continued Graves' work after his death. In their system each level is assigned a color. In addition, I'm going to number each level, which I think makes them easier to remember and keep track of, especially when first learning them.

Level One is Beige. This is the level of the band, as depicted, for instance, in the Clan of the Cave Bear books. Beige first appeared about 100,000 years ago. This is the level of pure survival through sensory acuity. At this level, individual everything is about day-to-day procurement of food, water, warmth, and shelter. This level represents the beginning of human experience, the first step away from our animal nature. Though people did interact in this level, all behavior and decision-making is individually driven. The basic theme is to act individually to ensure survival. The only people on the planet at this level today are homeless people, and a few others groups I will describe later.

Level Two is Purple. This is the level of the Tribe, where a group is formed for protection against what appear to be mysterious and dangerous forces and first appeared about 50,000 years ago. Purple is a sacrificial system, in which the basic theme is to sacrifice self for the tribe and the spirits. If asked to describe what life is all about, Purple would say, "To please the spirits and honor the ancestors. We live for the tribe." There are still many people in the world living at this values level, including many aspects of Purple that appear in modern, industrialized societies.

Level Three is Red. This is another expressive, individualistic level, that of Power Gods. In this level, individuals go outside the tribal group to meet their needs, in effect grabbing whatever they want because they are stronger and more powerful. Red is the law of the jungle, and the basic theme is to express self now, impulsively, and the hell with others. Red first appeared about 10,000 years ago. One way Red manifests today (there are others I will discuss later) is in street gangs. If asked to describe what life is all about, Red would say, "Life's a bitch... You gotta watch your backside, because no one else will. Everyone's on the take, everyone has a price. If you want something, you gotta take it. You might be dead tomorrow. All I want from people is respect."

Level Four is Blue. This is another group-oriented, sacrificial system. At this level, a certain set of ideas are seen as The Truth, and all behavior and decision making centers around promoting, preserving, and adhering to this truth. The basic theme of Blue is to sacrifice self as authority dictates in order to obtain later. Blue first appeared about 5,000 years ago. This is the level of monotheism, purpose, and right and wrong, in which truth brings order to a chaotic world.

Blue can be about any perceived truth, whether it is "the American Way," Communism, the Catholic Church, the views of a religious cult, the British Empire, or any other collection of rules and beliefs. When asked what life is all about, a "Blue" West Point cadet might say, "There is a higher calling that transcends everything else: Duty, honor, and country. It's in the Army. It's in my religion. I learned it from my parents. It's part of our nation's heritage. I've taken an oath to defend it and the flag that represents it. I'm prepared to die for it. In this way we guarantee our way of life for future generations. It is God's will that we spread freedom and democracy across the Earth."

Level Five is Orange. This is another individualistic, expressive values level, often referred to as Strive Drive. This is the capitalist system, where individual effort strives to create certain outcomes and increased wealth. At this level, mobility, individualism, economics, science and technology, and entrepreneurial action are important. The basic theme of Orange is to express self now in a calculated way to obtain benefit now.

Orange first appeared about 1,000 years ago, and there are many people and societies, or parts of societies, operating at this values level. If an example of Orange, such as an entrepreneur, is asked what life is all about they might say, "The world is my oyster. The challenge of life is to win the biggest and finest pearls one can, then sell them and grow bigger ones. I enjoy the best life has to offer since this may be all there is. I've worked hard. I play the game well. There are risks, but that's what makes it exciting."

Level Six is Green. This level is often called Circle Bond, and is another group-oriented, sacrificial system. This is the level of the network, feelings, environmentalism, human rights, liberty, equality, collectivism, and social activism. The basic theme of Green is to sacrifice self to obtain now, but for self and others. Green first appeared about 150 years ago, and over the last several decades has become an increasingly prominent part of western culture.

A typical Green--for instance, a social activist--might give this answer when asked what life is all about: "What a marvelous question. I'll answer first, but then you must share your views with me. I feel that life's all about people and belonging, understanding the need for harmony and community. There are so many in need, but government does so little to help. It all boils down to love. We must move away from materialism and competitiveness before we lose our humanity."

Level Seven is Yellow, often called Flex Flow, and is an expressive, individualistic system. In Yellow, a holistic and existential awareness of systems and their interactions is important. The basic theme is to express self, but not at the expense of others or the Earth.

You may remember that the Spiral Dynamics model is cyclic in nature. Yellow, the seventh values level, is the first level in what Graves called "the second tier." At this point the second turn of the spiral begins, with Yellow revisiting Beige survival needs, but at a planetary, rather than individual, level. For Yellow, complexity, competency, chaos theory, systemic interconnections, and information are of primary importance.

Yellow first appeared about 50 years ago. The number of individuals operating at this level is small at this point. A parks ranger might be an example of Yellow--a more solitary individual working on his own to deal with an aspect of planetary problems. When asked what life is all about, the parks ranger might say, "I get a lot of personal satisfaction from working here to reclaim and preserve our natural habitat. I believe we should be celebrating and respecting life as it is. The world is incredibly complex, and I think we should seek to understand how everything relates to everything else, how nature has its own tempo and flow, of which we're but a small part."

Level Eight is Turquoise. This is another sacrificial, group-oriented system, in which addressing global species-wide issues in order to bring order out of chaos is of primary importance. The basic theme of Turquoise is to sacrifice self and others, as needed, for global survival. Globalism, eco-consciousness, and the ability to deal with the complex patterns of human and ecological interaction, are important issues for Turquoise, which first appeared about 30 years ago. There are very few individuals operating at this level.

Graves postulated that other levels would emerge as conditions warranted. Ken Wilber has offered the suggestion that the ninth, tenth, and eleventh levels might correspond to what Eastern philosophy calls Cosmic Consciousness, God Consciousness, and Unity Consciousness. At this point, we'll have to wait to find out if he is right about this.

There is much more to say about each of these values levels. The above is just a brief taste. In the next two articles I will examine each in detail, and then discuss how this model can be applied to various individual and societal situations. To finish this introductory overview, and prepare you for that deeper analysis, I want to offer several definitions and assumptions, and then in the next two issues we'll look much more closely at each of these levels and how they operate.

First, it's important to note that all levels are potentially present in all of us at different times and in different situations. A person could, for instance, be Green in one area of life, Red in another, and Blue in another. For instance, a person might be Green politically, Red when playing sports, and Blue when practicing his or her religion. In previous centuries, most societies were limited to a mix of only a few values levels values--mostly two, three, four, and perhaps five. In addition, there was much less interaction between values levels. In the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries, with the increase in global exploration and communications, societies have become a complex mix of many more, or even all, values levels. As we will see, this has led to a variety of serious problems at almost every level, from personal to local to international.

In the United States, the political right is primarily Blue, the left is primarily Green, while the business community--along with the science and technology sector--is mainly Orange. Many aspects of the labor movement are Purple, as are many fraternal organizations. Bikers, street gangs, organized crime, and prison populations are examples of Red. There are also a small number of homeless or mentally ill people operating from Beige. And, a few are operating from Yellow and Turquoise, and perhaps a very small number of individuals are operating at the even higher levels postulated by Ken Wilber.

It is also important to realize that Spiral Dynamics is a developmental model, in that each person or society must experience each level sequentially?--with no skipping of levels. We'll see later why this is significant as we look at the various problems created by the complex interactions between these various values levels.

As we look more carefully at each values level, and it's interaction with the others, also keep in mind that to a person operating from a given values level the levels below seem criminal and insane, and the levels above seem incomprehensible.

It's also important to realize that Spiral Dynamics describes types of behavior, NOT types of people. Values levels represent behavioral responses to situational problems and challenges, and as these situations change, the human responses to them change--even though the same people may be involved.

In the next two parts of this three part series we'll look more deeply at each values level, how and why each evolves into the next. We'll look at how world and societal problems are a direct outgrowth of the interaction of these various values levels. Finally, we'll discuss how as individuals we move through various values levels as our life progresses, and how this model directly affects you as an individual.

 

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