略论美国社会价值观及其变迁

价值观是全面深入地认识一个民族或社会的根本入口。本文从美国主体价值观的内容和特征、历史背景、价值变异、历史和现实影响等方面对美国社会价值观的轮廓作了初步勾勒，并着重对其中最具美国特色的几种价值取向进行了评述。文章认为，个人主义、平等自由、节俭勤奋、乐观进取是美国生活方式的内核，这些观念的形成是独特的自然环境、政治理念、宗教信仰和历史传统诸方面交相作用的结果，工业化和城市化的飞速发展使社会价值观的嬗变生生不息，别具一格的价值观构成了美国历史和社会进步的强大内在动力。

On the American Social Values and Its Change

Values is a basic entrance to understand Profoundly and widely a nation or a Society. This Paper draws the outline of the American Social Values by describing its Content, Special feature, historical back-ground, Change and impact on the history and the present. The Paper deems that individualism, equality and liberty, thrift and hard work and optimism and progressing are the Core of the American life style. These Values were forged in the co-effect of the special nature enviroment, the politied ideas, the reli- gious belief and the historical tradition, and were Changed in the process of the industrialisation and the ur- hanization. The unique Values formed a strong inherent motivation of the development of the American his- tory and Society.