Dicta 2013 | Page 53

DICTAeducation In answering the second question, we should bear in mind that in recent years economic, technological and medical advancements have elevated Western standards of living to an unprecedented level. People in the Western world lead longer and healthier lives in conditions of relative affluence that have allowed for increased consumption and leisure time. At the same time, however, the strong emphasis on personal happiness and individual wants and needs, as fostered by modern consumerism, has contributed to the disintegration of traditional community values, the gradual erosion of the nuclear family and to increased mobility and uncertainty. What is more, access to desensitising