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May 22, 2008
Everyone becoming a Cultural Creative
by Ron Robins*
For many years I have envisioned the possible
psychological archetype of the rapidly growing numbers
of individuals engaging in socially responsible,
ethical investing. After much thought and research, I
believe they are likely to resemble what sociologist
Paul Ray calls the “Cultural Creative.” He coined the
term back in the 1990s after performing two extensive
surveys on Americans’ psychological values for the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help understand
and categorize Americans’ values to assist in the
development of their environmental policies.
Who are the Cultural Creatives (CCs)?
In 2000, Dr. Ray co-authored with Sherry Ruth
Anderson the book,
Cultural Creatives (CCs), where they describe
CCs as caring “… deeply about ecology and saving the
planet, about relationships, peace, and social justice,
about self-actualization, spirituality, and
self-expression.” They suggested that in the year
2000 there were more than 50 million CCs in America
(about 25 per cent of the U.S. adult population) and a
further 80-90 million in Europe. In a private
conversation I had with Dr. Ray in 2002, he indicated
that CCs could dominate western populations as early as
2020. I believe a case could now be made that this will
occur much earlier than that.
Spiritual and personal development were at the centre of
the values of the founding ‘core’ CCs. Referring to the
early development of CCs, Dr. Ray and Ms. Anderson
state, “As the ranks of beginners kept growing [in
the 1960s], hundreds of thousands stayed with the
process and went deeper. By the 1980s, the ‘movements’
numbers had swelled to a million or so, and by the
1990s, tens of millions were involved… But the
consciousness movement—full of contradictions, shallow
and deep, bubbling with new developments—is still in the
phase of accelerating growth.”
CCs imbibe green, socially responsible, ethical and
spiritual values
The fundamental shift I envisage in individual
consciousness is towards that of global ecology,
spirituality and social justice. This fits very well
with the definition of CCs.
Though Dr. Ray has not completed further surveys in
recent years as to the growth of CCs in western or
global populations, it is clear from the enormous
escalation of interest in green products and services,
the environment, ethical investing, corporate social
responsibility, spirituality, etc., that the numbers in
the CC camp are growing significantly. This is found
especially among the young as evidenced by a survey just
released by the UK Social Investment Forum (UKSIF). It
found that,
” … 65 per cent [of all teens] said they will use their
spending power to make a real difference in social and
environmental issues.”
Among adults, the ranks of the CCs are being filled from
a group Dr. Ray refers to as ‘Moderns.’ The Moderns are
the governing group in western societies. Their primary
values concern money and status.
As the Moderns decline, the CCs gain
In the U.S., Moderns number close to half of the
population. Dr. Ray and Ms. Anderson in their book
explain the role of Moderns as “… the normative
culture found in the office towers and factories of big
business; in banks and the stock market; in university
science labs and high tech firms; in hospitals and most
doctors offices; in mainline churches and synagogues; in
the ‘best’ schools and colleges …and most ‘mainstream’
and newspaper articles. The standard we take for
granted, the rules we live by, are made by and for
Moderns.”
However, the Moderns are declining in number as their
values, focusing on financial materialism, status and
lack of altruism, are under attack from both within and
outside of their group. Increasingly, such values alone
are seen as insufficient to meet the challenges of our
world. The shenanigans on Wall Street – with the
sub-prime mortgage and derivative fiascos and the gross
irresponsibility of corporate elites – are some of the
many reasons encouraging countless Moderns to re-align
their values. Thus, unknowingly, they convert to the
ranks of the CCs.
The future global society necessitates a psychological
archetype that reflects the demands of a new global
epoch. This new epoch requires values depicting openness
to the unfamiliar; a sense and inner experience of the
unity of all things; and a deep caring for nature, the
environment and humanity. And it also includes a
realization that a new vision of global economics is
critically needed. (See my
Enlightened Economics blog.) Cultural Creatives
(CCs) heading to be the majority in numerous countries,
imbibe these qualities. As such, their psychological
archetype is the one I believe will dominate in the
years ahead.
© Ron Robins, 2008
*
Ron
Robins, MBA, is founder and analyst,
Investing for the Soul, (www.investingforthesoul.com),
Huntsville, Canada. He advocates, writes and teaches on the subject of
ethical investing. To contact him, e-mail to
Ron Robins or call 705-635-3034. |
