The Shifting Foundations of Social Capital Formation in the Pacific Basin: Towards More Autonomous Personalities

Abstract

Whereas past accounts of the Pacific Basin stressed the penchant for orderliness and control including the tendency to use values education to shape habits of national loyalty and obedience, the élite respondents of the 21 settings participating in the Sigma survey suggest a new era may be emerging with an increased emphasis on personal autonomy and responsibility. Looking to the future in the Pacific Basin, the élites indicate that values of nationalism are likely to be balanced with increased civic consciousness. Values of hard work are to be balanced with increased creativity and competitiveness. Values of unique national heritages are to be balanced with increased respect for the traditions and languages of others. And values of hierarchy and patrimony are to be balanced with the values of equity and respect for the rights of women as equal partners in the labor force. Perhaps the major dilemma faced by Pacific Basin educators is that their current views, if put into practice, may foster increased personal autonomy but at the cost of weakening past approaches to preserving and strengthening social capital.