The Universalism Value: Meaning, Trade-offs, and Profile.
Universalism is the value of concern that reaches beyond your own. In the Schwartz theory of basic values it covers social justice, equality, tolerance of those who are different, broad-mindedness, and the protection of the environment. Where benevolence cares for the people close to you, universalism extends that care to all people and to nature - including strangers, out-groups, future generations, and the planet. When it ranks high among your priorities, fairness and the wider common good are primary reasons for action.
The universalism value
Universalism is one of the ten basic values in the Schwartz theory. Its motivational goal is understanding, appreciation, tolerance, and protection for the welfare of all people and for nature. It extends concern beyond one's own circle to humanity at large and to the natural world, and it rests on recognizing that resources and the environment are shared. Universalism sits on the Self-Transcendence side of the values circle, opposite the self-enhancement values of Power and Achievement, and it pairs naturally with Benevolence and Self-Direction. A high relative priority on universalism describes how wide someone's circle of concern is drawn, not a claim that a wider circle is the only right one.
This page explains what the universalism value means, what it looks like when it ranks high, the self-enhancement values it structurally conflicts with, and the neighboring values it reinforces. The framing is descriptive throughout. Prizing universalism is not morally superior to prizing personal success or status; it is a different ordering of what you treat as worth pursuing - here, the welfare of all people and of the natural world.
What the universalism value means
Each Schwartz value is defined by its goal, and the goal of universalism is understanding, tolerance, and protection for the welfare of all and for nature. Its markers include social justice, equality, broad-mindedness, wisdom, a world at peace, a world of beauty, unity with nature, and protecting the environment. Schwartz argues it emerges when people must look beyond the immediate in-group - encountering others unlike themselves and confronting the limits of shared natural resources.
As with every value, the signal is relative priority, not raw intensity. Many people endorse fairness in the abstract, so an assessment reads universalism against your own average across all ten values - what you favor when the wider good and your own or your group's advantage diverge. A high relative standing means that when those compete, you tend to weight the broad welfare of people and nature heavily.
What prioritizing universalism looks like
People for whom universalism ranks high apply their concern impartially, extending it to those outside their immediate circle and to the environment. The pattern shows up as a steady orientation toward fairness and the common good rather than as occasional charity.
- Caring about social justice and equal treatment for people unlike oneself, not only one's own group
- Weighing environmental impact and the interests of future generations in everyday choices
- Seeking to understand and tolerate different views, cultures, and ways of life
- Being willing to accept some personal or in-group cost for a fairer or more sustainable outcome
The trade-off: universalism versus self-enhancement
On the values circle, universalism sits opposite Power and Achievement, the self-enhancement values. This is the structural tension that defines the universalism value: extending impartial concern to all people and to nature pulls against the pursuit of personal status, dominance, and competitive success those opposing values seek. Someone high in universalism may feel real friction when getting ahead, or advancing their own group, would come at the expense of fairness or the wider good.
The conflict is built into the model, not a flaw in either profile. A universalism-led person and a power-led or achievement-led person will diverge on the same question - whether to maximize personal gain or to weigh the shared cost, whether to favor the in-group or treat all parties equally - and neither orientation is correct in the abstract. Knowing your standing on this axis is useful because it forecasts where impartial concern will compete with the drive to advance yourself or your own.
The values universalism pairs with
Adjacent values on the circle share a motivational basis and combine readily. Universalism borders Benevolence on one side and Self-Direction on the other, and it reinforces both. With Benevolence it shares concern for others' welfare - the two differ only in reach, from the close in-group outward to all of humanity and nature. With Self-Direction it shares broad-mindedness and independence of thought: tolerating difference and protecting a fair, open world both rest on valuing autonomy and the free exercise of judgment.
For this reason, universalism-led profiles often run alongside care for close others (Benevolence) and a prizing of independent, open thinking (Self-Direction), and somewhat against the power and achievement values across the circle. None of these neighbors is required; they are simply the priorities that tend to accompany universalism because they serve compatible goals.
Also relevant: Schwartz values explained
Frequently asked questions
What does it mean to value universalism?
It means that understanding, tolerance, and protection for the welfare of all people and for nature rank high among the goals you treat as worth pursuing. In the Schwartz model this is a relative priority: when the wider common good and your own or your group's advantage diverge, you tend to weight the broad welfare heavily. It describes how wide your circle of concern is drawn, not a claim that a wider circle is the only right one.
What value does universalism conflict with?
Universalism sits opposite Power and Achievement on the values circle. Extending impartial concern to all people and to nature pulls against the pursuit of personal status, dominance, and competitive success those self-enhancement values seek, so a strong pull toward the wider good and a strong pull toward getting ahead are hard to satisfy at once. The conflict is structural, not a personal failing.
How is universalism different from benevolence?
Both are self-transcendence values about the welfare of others, and they sit next to each other on the circle. The difference is reach: benevolence is care for the particular people in your close circle, while universalism extends concern to all people and to nature, including strangers, out-groups, and the environment. They are compatible and often held together.
Is valuing universalism a good thing?
The Schwartz theory is descriptive, not prescriptive - no value is better or more moral than another, so universalism is not a verdict of virtue. A high relative priority on universalism simply tells you that the broad welfare of people and nature tends to win when your values conflict. Its usefulness is self-understanding and foresight about where impartial concern will compete with personal or in-group ambition.
References
- Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 25, 1-65.
- Schwartz, S. H. (2012). An overview of the Schwartz theory of basic values. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1).
- Sagiv, L., & Schwartz, S. H. (2022). Personal values across cultures. Annual Review of Psychology, 73, 517-546.
Built and led by a PhD psychometrician who designed international assessment frameworks for the OECD. About the team · How our tests are built and validated