Environment and Regional Cohesion in the Enlarged European Union – Differences in Public Opinion - Landscape Modelling: Geographical Space, Transformation and Future Scenarios - page 46

priorities of self-expression, and quality of life and, importantly, also in environ-
mental concerns. Post-materialist value orientations also imply critical attitudes to
authority, more critical and less easily led political opinion and a critical approach
to the European integration processes (Dostál, 2002, 2006). It is therefore worth-
while to explore and specify the importance of differences in intensity of the
post-materialist trend across the EU27. The individuals in the rich post-industrial
societies who feel in material terms (i.e. economically) relatively safe and free to
devote attention to concerns that are not immediately threatening them, tend to
develop cognitive insights which produce risk awareness in more abstract terms
of the “world risk society”. In other words, it seems that with increasing economic
safety there is associated decreasing egocentrism and increasing consciousness as
regards environmental uncertainties and risks of increasing regional inequalities and
these socio-cultural tendencies are reflected in changing public opinion in individual
post-industrial countries of the global system and also across the enlarged European
Union (see Dostál, 2008). The large number of surveys carried out in western post-
industrial countries documented the shift frommaterialist survival value orientations
towards post-materialist values that clearly appear to be more sensitive to envi-
ronmental considerations. “Individual security increases empathy, making people
aware of long-term risks. The rise of self-expression values fuels humanistic risk
perception. These risk perceptions are fundamentally different from the egocen-
tric threat perceptions that underline survival values” (Inglehart & Wenzel, 2005,
p. 33). Accordingly, one can claim that the extent to which the post-materialist
cultural expressions and perceptions of risk and environment and inequalities tend
to prevail over materialistic survival values, reflects the levels of socio-economic
development of countries concerned (see also Inglehart, 1997).
In Table 4.2 there are five indicators representing typical post-materialist and
materialist opinions. These indicators are also derived from the survey of Standard
Eurobarometer no. 64 carried out in the 27 countries. The structure of principal
component loadings clearly shows the assumed distinction between post-materialist
and materialist orientations. There are high positive loadings on the dimension of
the emphasis given to protection of speech (0.935), demand of more information
on environmental and nuclear safety policy (0.844) and to the priority of the EU
to protect the environment (0.553). On the materialist side of the dimension there

Table 4.2 Dimension post-materialist value orientation 2

Component
loadings Indicators

(1) Protecting freedom of speech (QA33a; mean = 10.1%) 0.935

(2) More informed on environmental and nuclear safety policy (QA22; mean
=

0.844

26.1%)

(3) Priority of the EU to protecting the environment (QA34; mean = 22.2%) 0.553

(4) Priority of the EU to fighting unemployment (QA55; 43.7%) − 0.556

(5) Fighting rising prices (QA55; mean = 33.1%) − 0.835