Postmaterialism, a sociological concept popularized by political scientist Ronald Inglehart in his 1977 book The Silent Revolution, describes a fundamental transformation of individual values. It posits a shift from traditional materialist concerns, such as economic and physical security, to new priorities emphasizing autonomy, self-expression, and quality of life. Inglehart observed that post-war generations, having grown up in relative affluence, increasingly took their material security for granted. This led them to place greater importance on non-material goals like freedom of speech, gender equality, environmentalism, and personal self-realization, a shift that occurs gradually through intergenerational replacement in advanced industrial societies.

This theory is underpinned by two core hypotheses. The scarcity hypothesis, drawing on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, suggests that individuals prioritize goals hierarchically: basic survival needs (material ones like food, water, and safety) are paramount when scarcity prevails. However, once these fundamental needs are consistently met and taken for granted, the focus naturally shifts to "non-material" goals such as belonging, esteem, and intellectual satisfaction. The socialization hypothesis complements this by positing that an individual's basic values are largely formed and become fixed during adulthood. Consequently, cohorts that experience sustained material affluence during their formative years tend to prioritize postmaterialist values, whereas those who experienced scarcity will continue to emphasize economic and physical security, thus creating a generational divergence in value systems.

The spread of postmaterialism is empirically measured using various methods, most notably the "Inglehart-index." This index classifies survey respondents based on their choices between different political priorities, such as "maintaining order in the nation" versus "protecting freedom of speech," or "fighting rising prices" versus "giving people more say." This measurement tool has been widely adopted in major international surveys like the World Values Survey. For example, data from West Germany indicated a significant rise in "pure post-materialists" from 13% to 31% between 1980 and 1990, though this trend saw a temporary reversal following the economic and social stress of reunification. Overall, international survey data over several decades has largely supported the theory that sustained affluence fosters a growing embrace of these stable, postmaterialist value systems across societies.