SPIRAL DYNAMICS VALUE MEME’S
Spiral Dynamics, developed by Dr. Clare Graves, Don Beck, and Chris Cowan, asserts that humanity is highly adaptable to current life conditions. Humans will, sooner or later, adjust to their environment and develop increasingly complex worldviews that provide updated solutions to emerging problems. Adoption of a new worldview does not entirely discard the previous one; rather, the old is integrated as a foundational part of the new.
The conceptual worldviews in Spiral Dynamics are referred to as value memes: systems of fundamental values and collective intelligences applicable to individuals and entire cultures. Each meme represents a core system of values summarized in an organizing principle, or circuit/circle; When a new meme/circuit gains acceptance among a critical mass of people, the prevailing culture updates, ushering in new habits, ideas, and practices.

“A circuit or a wheel’s purpose is to move information from one place to another.”
Each vMEME is made up of a comprehensive worldview narrative, including; beliefs, social group types, motivational patterns, goals, and organizational dynamics. Attempts to implement structures or solutions from a higher-level meme too early will fail. Below is a detailed summary of the stages.
Stage
Culture
Focus
Approx. % Population — vMEMEs
8
Turquoise
Holistic culture
0.1% — “A self-sacrificing, self-regenerating and self-sustaining ecosystem of wholeness — an ever-continuous flow of re-creative impermanence, still forming.”
7
Yellow
Integrative culture
1% — “Authentic self-expression aimed at self-realization, often by helping others achieve self-realization.”
6
Green
Sensitive culture
10% — “Superficial sacrifice of self-interest to achieve harmony with surroundings.”
5
Orange
Entrepreneurial culture
30% — “Calculated self-expression to achieve personal goals and success.”
4
Blue
Obedience culture
40% — “Sacrifice of personal desires to attain reward and fulfill a higher purpose through obedience.”
3
Red
Feudal culture
20% — “Impulsive self-expression to satisfy desires and avoid shame and guilt.”
2
Purple
Tribal culture
10% — “Sacrifice to elders’ traditions for group survival.”
1
Beige
Stone Age culture
0.1% “Automated, unconscious self-expression for survival.”
Stage 1: Beige – Stone Age Culture — FACET 16
Instinctive, survivalist meme, starting ~100,000 years ago — 0.1% of population
Basic theme: Do what you must just to stay alive.
• Uses instincts and habits just to survive.
• Distinct self is barely awakened or sustained.
• Food, water, warmth, sex, and safety are priorities.
• Forms into survival bands to perpetuate life.
• Lives “off the land” much like other animals.
1. Beige – Stone Age Culture
“Semi-Stone Age” cultures are dominated by the need to satisfy the most basic survival instincts, giving rise to relatively animal-like behavior and forming loose, clan-based groups. Few cultures operate this way today. If famine strikes a Beige culture, there is a high risk that the entire group will perish. This approach to the world is seen in newborns, the elderly and senile, the mentally ill, homeless individuals, people experiencing starvation, and in the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease. They comprise approximately 0.1% of the population.
Worldview/Narrative: The world is a struggle for survival.
Stage 2: Purple – Magical Tribal Culture — FACET 17
Magical, animistic meme, starting ~50,000 years ago — 10% of population
Basic theme: Keep the spirits happy and the tribe’s nest warm and safe.
• Obeys desires of spirits and mystical signs.
• Shows allegiance to chief, elders, ancestors, and clan.
• Individual subsumed within the group.
• Preserves sacred objects, places, events, and memories.
• Observes rites of passage, seasonal cycles, and tribal customs.
Animalistic “tribe” cultures revolving around magical, spiritual, and nature-mystical phenomena, based on a cyclic worldview. This perspective gives rise to distinct tribal groupings. Great emphasis is placed on rituals to appease the spirits of ancestors. Blood ties are strong. Leadership of the clan requires respect for its rules and loyalty to its chief. Changes and transitions are expressed through symbolic ceremonies and rites. Characteristic features include guardian spirits, voodoo-like curses, oaths and blood, amulets, and superstition. Purple cultures constitute roughly 10% of the world’s population.
Worldview/Narrative: The world is my kin and my tradition.
Attributes: Animism, tribal life, bloodlines, strong rituals, respect for elders, superstition, magical practices, amulets, symbolic ceremonies.
Stage 3: Red – Feudal Culture — FACET 18
Impulsive, egocentric meme, starting ~10,000 years ago — 20% of population
Basic theme: Be what you are and do what you want, regardless.
• The world is a jungle full of threats and predators.
• Breaks free from domination or constraints to please self.
• Stands tall, demands respect, calls the shots.
• Enjoys life fully, without guilt or remorse.
• Conquers and dominates rivals.
Exploitive and harsh. Authority systems partially expressed through slavery and the exploitation of unskilled labor. Driven by a top leader and the delegated power system. Assumes that people are lazy and must be compelled to work. True leaders must suppress natural human tendencies. Motivated by conquest. Red cultures can be seen in feudal kingdoms, among certain rock stars, and in rebellious youth. They make up about 20% of the world’s population.
Worldview/Narrative: The world is a hierarchy where the strongest are on top.
Attributes: Feudalism, rock-star egos, rebellious youth, authoritarian structures, conquest-driven motivation.
Stage 4: Blue – Purposeful Obedience Culture — FACET 19
Authoritarian, purposeful meme, starting ~5,000 years ago — 40% of population
Basic theme: Life has meaning, direction, and purpose, with predetermined outcomes.
• Sacrifice self to transcendent Cause, Truth, or righteous Path.
• Order enforces a code of conduct based on eternal principles.
• Righteous living produces stability and future reward.
• Impulsivity is controlled through guilt; everyone has their proper place.
• Laws, discipline, and regulations build moral fiber.
Authoritarian obedience to the truth as defined within the social group. A purposeful and patriotic spirit encourages the people to follow authority. Feelings of guilt arise when one deviates from group norms. The pursuit of “the greater good” is achieved through self-sacrifice. Blue cultures function very well in industrial economies, with strict but usually fair discipline. The United States has largely moved away from Blue industrial cultures, which are now growing in Mexico, Taiwan, Malaysia, and other regions, eventually spreading to Africa. Blue cultures are recognizable by their normative, moralistic management methods and pyramid-shaped organizational structures. Examples include scouting organizations, Puritanical America, Confucian China, and Islamic fundamentalism. They constitute approximately 40% of the world’s population.
Worldview/Narrative: The world is in a war between good and evil.
Attributes: Industrial economies, pyramid hierarchies, patriotic ethos, moralistic administration, disciplined structures.
Stage 5: Orange – Entrepreneurial Culture — FACET 20
Achiever, strategist meme, starting ~1750 with the Industrial Revolution — 30% of population
Basic theme: Act in self-interest by playing the game to win.
• Change and advancement are inherent.
• Progress through understanding nature and finding optimal solutions.
• Manipulate resources to create abundance.
• Optimistic, risk-taking, and self-reliant people deserve success.
• Societies prosper via strategy, technology, and competitiveness.
Oriented around entrepreneurial success, where each person rationally calculates what is in their personal interest. Motivation is largely based on economic gain. People respond more to perks, bonuses, and money than to loyalty, group membership, or vocation. Rational capacity allows individuals to test many options, while competition improves productivity and fosters growth. This is likely the dominant meme in the world today. Key concerns are independence and control over the environment. It gives rise to free-market economies and multi-party democracies. Examples of Orange mentality include Ayn Rand, Wall Street, the cosmetics industry, Dallas, Hong Kong, and Mediterranean yachts. Represents roughly 30% of the world’s population.
Worldview/Narrative: The world is a market for buying and selling.
Attributes: Free markets, multiparty democracy, independent achievement, Wall Street, Ayn Rand, global capitalism.
Stage 6: Green – Sensitive, Egalitarian Culture — FACET 21
Communitarian, humanistic meme, starting 1847 with the Communist Manifesto — 10% of population
Basic theme: Seek peace within and explore caring dimensions with others.
• Human spirit freed from greed, dogma, and divisiveness.
• Feelings, sensitivity, and caring outweigh cold rationality.
• Distribute resources and opportunities equally.
• Decisions via reconciliation and consensus.
• Spirituality and harmony enrich human development.
Characterized by group sensitivity and humanistic traits. Focused on community, personal development, equality, and the environment. Work is motivated by human connection, contribution, and learning from others. Being liked is more important than having competitive advantages. Values openness and trust, fears rejection and disapproval. Leaders act as less directive mentors. Hierarchies are flattened in pursuit of equality. However, this can lead to inefficiency and stagnation, which in the worst cases may regress into Orange “go-getter” individualism. Examples of Green mentality include Carl Rogers, Esalen, Greenpeace, Jacques Cousteau, Jimmy Carter, John Lennon, Doctors Without Borders, the ACLU, Ben & Jerry’s, and animal rights movements. Comprises about 10% of the population.
Worldview/Narrative: The world should be a caring, supportive place.
Attributes: Human rights, environmentalism, egalitarianism, consensus-driven organizations, community focus.
2nd Tier
“The health of the entire spiral is the prime directive, not preferential treatment for any one level… Second‑Tier integral awareness more creatively helps with the solutions to those pressing problems.”
— Ken Wilber
Conscience-driven evolutionary growth
“I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run — success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it”
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
Stage 7: Yellow – Integrative Culture — FACET 22
1st Tier, integrative meme, emerging ~20th century — 1% of population
Basic theme: Live fully and responsibly, learning to become.
• Life is a kaleidoscope of hierarchies, systems, and forms.
• Magnificence of existence valued over material possessions.
• Flexibility, spontaneity, and functionality prioritized.
• Differences integrated into interdependent natural flows.
• Chaos and change are understood as natural.
• Employs technology intelligently and explores biohacking.
The first meme belonging to Second Tier. Represents a profound change in the ability to take multiple perspectives. Motivated by learning for its own sake and focused on integrating complex systems. Yellow embraces change and enjoys challenges as a sign of growth, recognizing it as an essential part of life. Characterized by a systems-analytic orientation; higher understanding and fascination with how all parts interrelate to form the whole. Unique talents are recognized and highlighted to contribute to the environment. Ecologically oriented but operates behind the scenes. Often works at the periphery of organizations to fine-tune situations and processes quietly. First-tier thinking can be confused or overwhelmed by Yellow mentality in action. Examples include Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time, chaos theory, eco-industrial parks, and Wired magazine. Represents approximately 1% of the world’s population.
Worldview/Narrative: The world is a complex communication system.
Attributes: Systems thinking, ecological awareness, recognition of unique talents, behind-the-scenes facilitation, integration of 1st tier thinking, interest in information society, Wired magazine, chaos theory.
Stage 8: Turquoise – Holistic Global Village — FACET 23
2nd Tier, holistic meme, emerging 1964 — 0.1% of population
Basic theme: Experience the wholeness of existence through mind and spirit.
• Self is distinct yet part of a larger compassionate whole.
• Everything connects ecologically.
• Energy and information permeate the environment.
• Holistic, intuitive thinking and cooperative action.
• Collective human intelligence applied to global problems, without compromising individuality.
An integrated global holism maintained through constant calibration of the delicate balance among all interacting life forces. Synthetic and experience-based focus on spiritual, boundary-transcending union with the whole. Contributive work forms the foundation of a healthy life. Emotions and information are integrated in a perspective where they enhance each other rather than cancel one another out. Honors all available perspectives, including all previous memes. Reality “is” and is experienced through a multidimensional structure; awareness of energy connections, holographic representations at all levels of life and work, with a drive to apply collective human intelligence to larger societal and global challenges—all without compromising individuality.
For further reading, see: the Gaia Hypothesis, Ken Wilber, Teilhard de Chardin, David Bohm, McLuhan’s The Global Village, Gandhi’s idea of pluralistic harmony, Swaraj. Currently, Turquoise has limited global influence. Represents roughly 0.1% of the world’s population.
Worldview/Narrative: The world is a global village where all must coexist.
Attributes: Holistic thinking, Gaia hypothesis, pluralistic harmony, recognition of previous memes, multidimensional awareness, global consciousness, cooperative networks.
Stage 9 : Indigo — Typographic man — FACET 24