Leaders | Value judgments

Authoritarians are on the march

They argue that universal values are the new imperialism, imposed on people who want security and stability instead. Here is why they are wrong

One arm unattached while the other are together
Image: Travis Constantine

THE FALL of the Berlin Wall in 1989 held out the promise that growing prosperity would foster freedom and tolerance, which in turn would create more prosperity. Unfortunately, that hope disappointed. Our analysis this week, based on the definitive global survey of social attitudes, shows just how naive it turned out to be.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Authoritarians are on the march”

From the August 12th 2023 edition

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