What is the difference between a value and a norm, and how do the two relate?
A value is an idea or way of behaving held to be desirable — it is graded ("more or less good"); a norm is a rule that says what you must, may or must not actually do — it is binary and binding.
| Value (Wert) | Norm | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An idea, conception or behaviour regarded as important and worth striving for | A rule, standard or prescription |
| Held by | An individual, a group, an institution, a community | A community that expects compliance |
| Expressed as | good / bad / evil / neutral | required, permitted, forbidden |
| Character | Evaluative and gradual — things can be more or less good | Binary and obligatory — you comply or you don't |
| Bears on | What is desirable | An action: doing or refraining |
| Examples | Health, prosperity, environmental quality, justice, dignity, freedom, success, happiness | Human rights; "do no harm to others"; "don't be late" |
The important nuance about values: the more generalisable an idea is, the more objective the value becomes. "I like punk music" is a purely subjective preference; health, prosperity and environmental quality are values almost anyone would sign up to, which is what gives them weight in an argument.
The relation between the two is one of derivation: norms are the practical implementation of values. A value on its own tells you nothing about what to do on Tuesday morning; the norm derived from it does.
Tip: Value = adjective ("that would be good"). Norm = imperative ("you shall not"). If you can put "-er/more" in front of it, it's a value; if it splits the world into allowed and forbidden, it's a norm.
Go deeper:
Ethics Unwrapped: Values — a one-page working definition with business examples.- Wikipedia: Value (ethics) — how values are classified, and why generalisability makes one more objective.
- Stanford Encyclopedia: Social Norms — the serious treatment of what a norm is and how norms get enforced without a state.