And the societal values of the past few centuries have been rooted in those principles.
When I talk about it, it's generally philosophical. At one point, the general population was aligned in their values. People prioritized values differently and the had different opinions on how to apply those values in a practical way in their daily lives, but it was all derived from one place.
I could go on for hours and hours about creating culture using values and traditions. It's something that I studied extensively through my twenties and have it implemented successful across disparate teams throughout my career. Having common values is paramount. If you want to do away with those values, I'll listen to your argument for why, but you'd also better have another set of values to replace the old values. If you don't have replacement values, chaos will ensue.