Customer Reviews

The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World

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4 star:		(9)
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Edit of 11 Sep 08 to add links.

This book should be read together with Imagine: What America Could be in the 21st century, edited by Marianne Williamson. Taken together, the two books are inspirational while still being practical.

Cultural Creatives as a book, and some of the other reviews, tend to over-sell the success of the emergence of an alternative lifestyle to Traditionalists (stereotyped as somewhat red neckish and religious rightists) and Moderns (stereotyped as ravish the earth anything-goes corporate carpetbaggers). The reality is that there are as many "cultural creatives" as there are people with disabilities in the United States--50 million. Not one quarter of the population, as one reviewer claims.

Having said that, by way of somber stage-setting, I cannot say enough good things about this book. It should be required reading for every citizen, every student, and every public official. In a very real sense, this book strikes me as a truly seminal work that could help millions of individuals reframe their personal connection to one another, to their Republic, and to the earth.

This is neither a tree-hugger book nor a mantras R us book. This book provides a thoughtful review of how different movements--first the environmental movement, then the human rights movement, and finally the consciousness movement--have come together to define an alternative lifestyle and alternative paradigm for political and economic and social relationships in the larger context of a sustainable "whole" earth.

I found this book motivational and meaningful at both a personal level and a larger national level. At the personal level, its detailed and well-organized description of fifteen very distinct aspects of a "cultural creative" lifestyle helped me understand--as it has helped many others--that there is actually a category of people who have come to grips with and found solutions that enrich their lives--and this explains my great disappointment that the book does not offer a "resources" section at the end. I would have been very glad to discover, for example, a "Cultural Creative" journal or magazine that combined a strong book review section, art and culture, a consumer reports section tailored to the higher standards of the "CCs", new innovations in home restoration and remodeling, vacation options known to be attractive to CCs, etcetera.

At the higher political level, I found the book constructive and just this side of a tipping point. An increasing number of people, all of them generally outside of Washington and not associated with Wall Street, clearly have some strong positive values and a real commitment to achieving reform through "many small actions". What this group has lacked is a means of communicating and orchestrating itself on a scale sufficient to demand respect from politicians and corporation. The Internet now provides such a vehicle--and as the Internet explodes from 3.5M people worldwide to 3.5B people worldwide, in the next ten years, I am convinced that Cultural Creatives may finally come into their own as a new form of global political party. Cultural Creatives would sign the Kyoto Treaty (and know what it is); Cultural Creatives would demand a 100% increase--from a half-penny a dollar to a full penny a dollar--in America's foreign diplomatic and humanitarian assistance budget--and Cultural Creatives could conceivably give the Republican Party a real beating in the next Congressional elections if President Bush persists in breaking his campaign vow on reducing carbon emissions. A peaceful revolution in our national agenda may truly be a near-term reality.

This is not a book where a summary can do it justice. It needs to be experienced at an individual level and ideally also at a community level, where it could be understood and accepted as a common point of reference for individual choosing to live "in relation" to one another and to the world, at a level much higher and more satisfying than our current arrangements. When this book makes it to the best-seller list, America will have matured and there will be hope for our children's future quality of life.

Other books along these lines:
The leadership of civilization building: Administrative and civilization theory, symbolic dialogue, and citizen skills for the 21st century
How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, Updated Edition
The Tao of Democracy: Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World That Works for All
Society's Breakthrough!: Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All the People
Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World
One from Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization
Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration
Collective Intelligence: Mankind's Emerging World in Cyberspace (Helix Books)
Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace

Psychologists Paul Ray and Sherry Anderson have written a handbook for people who are working to make this world a better place. Their book, THE CULTURAL CREATIVES - HOW 50 MILLION PEOPLE ARE CHANGING THE WORLD - is a guidebook for those who are interested in saving the planet, nurturing their personal relationships, and being sensitive without being stomped on.

You might be a Cultural Creative if you're into: books and music; arts and culture; stories; social causes, especially issues dealing with women and children; and authenticity. The authors have created an interesting test to gauge where you stand in the mix and use a lot of graphs throughout the book to identify cultural creatives and their issues.

If you're from the '60s and you've ever wondered what to do with all the energy created during that period of our lives, this book will open your eyes. If you've sometimes felt like an alien in your own family, the authors will offer you comfort because you're not alone. Even if you're just wondering why cultural creatives are so passionate about their lives, this planet, and their causes, this book will help you put it all together.

Cultural Creatives include such personalities as: Pope John Paul XXIII; Martin Luther King, Jr.; The Dalai Lama; Annie Dillard; Georgia O'Keeffe; Marc Chagall; Yo-Yo Ma; Robert Redford; Katharine Hepburn; and Bill Moyers. Pretty good company, don't you think?

While the book represents a lot of research on the part of the authors, the data is never presented in a dry, boring format. I found it hard to put the book down. The information resonated with me -- I'm from the 60's -- and it gave me hope for the future of our species and our planet.

Enjoy!

If you've ever felt odd, out of place, unusual or aware of seeing things differently from most, it might be because you are a `Cultural Creative.' This book is exciting because of the life it brings to the study of values in a thus far overlooked but growing cultural segment in America. This previously quiet but powerful group wields greater and greater influence in all aspects of life.

Dr. Paul Ray surveyed over 100,000 Americans in the nine years before his 1996 report 'The Integral Culture Survey: A Study of the Emergence of Transformational Values in America' where he identified three distinct subcultures of values - Traditionals, Moderns and Cultural Creatives. He reveals, that this is a 'very unusual time in history - for change in the dominant cultural pattern happens only once or twice a millennium.' This is both wonderful and scary news.

Paul's wife, partner and coauthor, Dr. Sherry Anderson stands in her own right with the wonderful 'Feminine Face of God: The Unfolding of the Sacred in Women' where she forewarned that the 'awesome planetary crisis in which we are now living is literally flinging us towards ... the next developmental step: to be in good relationship with all life...' Together they have injected vitality into the reams of data with up-close and personal interviews. They have partnered to create a wonderful, readable and intimate view into contemporary thinking and the dynamics between differing worldviews. A peep into the book reveals:

"Direct personal experience is also important to Cultural Creatives in the projects they create and give their time and money to support. They expect to follow through on their values with personal action. Many are convinced that if they are not engaged, their convictions are "just talk." They express more idealism and altruism, and less cynicism, than Americans. Sixty-five percent say "having your work make a contribution to society" is very or extremely important. Fifty-four percent say "wanting to be involved in creating a better society" is very or extremely important. And their actions line up with these values ..."

This significant work is progressive, insightful, optimistic and absorbing. It contributes to the worlds of values, culture and social transformation and it is good news to Cultural Creatives because it is validating and affirming. With far-reaching implications this is a book to curl up with and continue discussing and pondering long after the last page is turned.

This is an important book that deserves your attention if you are concerned about endangered species, global warming, nuclear weapons, pesticides and pollutants, domestic violence, poverty, discrimination, spiraling medical costs and health insurance, women's issues, global interconnections, or spirituality. Based on thirteen years of research and a survey of 100,000 Americans, there are 50 million Cultural Creatives (26 percent of the adults) living in the United States (p. 4). According to co-authors Paul Ray and Sherry Anderson, Cultural Creatives are interested in personal authenticity (p. 8), appreciate "intimate, engaged knowledge that is imbued with the rich, visceral, sensory stuff of life" (p. 9), give their time and money to support their convictions (p. 10), are concerned about global ecology and the well being of the people of the planet (p. 11), care about the quality of relationships and equality between the sexes (pp. 12-13), and value personal growth, spirituality, service to others, and activism (p. 15). "They are disenchanted with 'owning more stuff,' materialism, greed, me-firstism, status display, glaring social inequalities of race and class, society's failure to care adequately for elders, women, and children, and the hedonism and cynicism that pass for realism in modern society. They also reject the intolerance and narrowness of the Religious Right. They are critical of almost every big institution in modern society, including both corporations and government" (p. 17). They read books, listen to NPR, and watch less television than others (p. 35). Cultural Creatives include Ken Wilber, Annie Dillard, Robin Williams, and Robert Redford (p. 38).

It comes as no surprise that our country is dominated by a Modern 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. It's the culture of professional football, basketball, and baseball leagues, chain stores and malls; most TV programs; and most 'mainstream' magazine and newspaper articles" (p. 25). Moderns set the rules and standards for our society (p. 25). They value making a lot of money, climbing the ladder of success, "looking good," shopping, and trends (p. 27). "Time is money," they say; "bigger is better" (p. 27). "Modernism lays out a dream that most of us take to be a promise," Ray and Anderson observe. "If you follow the yellow brick road to success, you will end up with the good life: the diploma, the job, the house, the cars, the promotion or the stock options or both, the children, their education and their accomplishments. But this road is really not so much a life path as a career path. The guideposts to success are really signs to the marketplace" (pp. 47-48). While the Moderns are still trying to "think outside the box," the Cultural Creatives "have sailed beyond the familiar horizon" (p. 43), and they are living their lives "outside the box."

This book penetrates our society deeply. The implications found here are far-reaching, and many Traditional or Modern readers may find this book alarming. In their insightful, landmark study of Cultural Creatives, Ray and Anderson use personal interviews, historical perspectives, and social analyses to reveal that our country may be on the verge of "great change" as Cultural Creatives replace Modernist standards in the new millennium.

G. Merritt

I found this book very encouraging. In the corporate-owned mass media, there's a persistent theme that the sixties were a temporary aberration: for a few years, people wore tie-dyed T-shirts, smoked pot, held nude encounter groups, marched for peace, and joined exotic religions; but it was all just a fad, and now everything is back to normal again. The authors point out that, on the contrary, while the big issues of the sixties aren't getting the media attention they used to, in fact they have had a profound effect on society: comparison of survey results from the 1950's and the 1990's shows that there's been an immense shift in public opinion about such subjects as racial equality, women's rights, alternative medicine, and ecology. Also, all the old hippies and radicals haven't died off or dropped out of politics; they're still working for the same "causes," but most of them have transferred their activism to more local, specific arenas.

The authors make an important point that I think mainstream politics often misses: The people they label "cultural creatives" belong to a wide variety of political parties, organizations, and religions, and are passionate about issues rather than politics; so a political strategy that attempts to draw this diverse but active group into supporting a single party or platform (e.g., "If you believe in X, then you should vote for these Democratic candidates") won't succeed.

The book is several years old, and the political/social landscape in the U.S. has changed since 2000. But (based on my own experience) I feel that the authors' conclusions about who the Cultural Creatives are and how they got that way are valid. On the other hand, I think they missed a few things:

(1) They discuss the role of institutes such as Esalen in the human consciousness movement, but don't mention other media: magazines such as Utne Reader, radio programs like New Dimensions, many PBS radio and TV stations, alternative newspapers, etc. In areas of the country where someone who holds non-mainstream opinions can often feel isolated, these media played (and continue to play) a major role.

(2) The Internet has been a major factor in global connectivity for at least 20 years, but the authors give it only about a page of rather vague discussion. While using the Internet for direct political action is a relatively new phenomenon (MoveOn.org, one of the most visible groups, was founded in 1998 in response to the Clinton impeachment), issues-oriented web sites and mailing lists, ranging across the political spectrum, have been around for much longer. I also think the authors underestimated the general effects of the Internet on human relationships: as an acquaintance of mine in Europe once put it, if you have 'Net buddies in another country, you're far less likely to drop a bomb on it.

I think the book is persuasively argued and the authors draw reasonable conclusions from the (very extensive) statistical data. I found some of the lengthy discussions about Traditionals and Moderns rather tedious, but in general this is an exciting and important book that deserves to be widely read.

I've just read some of the negative reviews of this book and felt compelled to re-post my initial review....where's the harm in wanting to do good? I can't imagine a "Mother Russia" scenario, as one reviewer suggests.

Oh, well, that's why there's chocolate and vanilla.

For my money, the 'movement' these authors highlight will most likely run afoul...there is hope for our planet.

Psychologists Paul Ray and Sherry Anderson have written a handbook for people who are working to make this world a better place. Their book, THE CULTURAL CREATIVES - HOW 50 MILLION PEOPLE ARE CHANGING THE WORLD - is a guidebook for those who are interested in saving the planet, nurturing their personal relationships, and being sensitive without being stomped on. You might be a Cultural Creative if you're into: books and music; arts and culture; stories; social causes, especially issues dealing with women and children; and authenticity. The authors have created an interesting test to gauge where you stand in the mix and use a lot of graphs throughout the book to identify cultural creatives and their issues. If you're from the '60s and you've ever wondered what to do with all the energy created during that period of our lives, this book will open your eyes. If you've sometimes felt like an alien in your own family, the authors will offer you comfort because you're not alone. Even if you're just wondering why cultural creatives are so passionate about their lives, this planet, and their causes, this book will help you put it all together. Cultural Creatives include such personalities as: Pope John Paul XXIII; Martin Luther King, Jr.; The Dalai Lama; Annie Dillard; Georgia O'Keeffe; Marc Chagall; Yo-Yo Ma; Robert Redford; Katharine Hepburn; and Bill Moyers. Pretty good company, don't you think? While the book represents a lot of research on the part of the authors, the data is never presented in a dry, boring format. I found it hard to put the book down. The information resonated with me -- I'm from the 60's -- and it gave me hope for the future of our species and our planet. Enjoy!

This is a fascinating book that I couldn't put down when I first got it. Anderson and Ray write in a style that is both intellectually stimulating and easy for lay audiences to understand. As a "cultural creative" myself, the book had a helpful, optimistic tone.

But the book is far from perfect. As some other reviewers have astutely pointed out, the authors fail to take into consideration that people might overlap more than one of the three groups outlined in the book. What happens when a "modern" couple from Omaha decide they want to move back to "traditional" Grandpa's farm in the country to raise their kids? Anderson and Ray don't give fair treatment to cross-over between the groups. This is unfortunate, and gives an incomplete picture of the United States.

Next, as someone who took a good amount of sociology in college, I was disappointed with the book's treatment of how one becomes a modern, traditional, or creative. More individual case studies, instead of a macro-level analysis would have been helpful.

Like many of the reviewers (probably those that identify themselves as cultural creatives) I found this a surprisingly helpful, hopeful and compelling book that gave me quite a jolt as it seemed to put my entire life in a cultural context when my experience was of being outside and crying in the wilderness. It's a startling feeling. I did want to send the book to other people and in fact have ordered five of them to give to friends.
Like a couple of the other reviewers, I did see that it was clear that the authors wanted a specific result from the process of writing the book, that they saw themselves as cultural creatives and thought that was a good thing and wanted other people to be so too. However, I don't know that that is a bad thing and that it invalidates their statistical research. I do know that multi-variate statistical methods such as the cluster analyses used in this book are legitimate, and often under-used methods of understanding the world, and they can add a great deal to our understanding of complex patterns. What I believe is that the authors found a pattern they were happy to find and in this non-academic book they wanted to explore some rather vast social implications.

Wow! What a read! Kudos and thanks to Paul H. Ray and Sherry Ruth Anderson, co-authors of The Cultural Creatives. Beginning my cultural creative journey at age 30 (in 1960) I had no idea at age 70 I would learn there are 50 million of us.

Not wishing to repeat what has already been noted in the previously posted 5 on-target customer reviews--particularly those of Dr Natasha.Todorovic, Terry H Matthews and John--I offer two things: a) a summary review note; and b) announcement of a critically significant culturally creative presence `out there' which has eluded the co-authors' gaze.

a) In broad brush stroke, The Cultural Creatives is cultural history primarily of the American people and secondarily of the Atlantic community of the past 50 years, It is cultural history laid out in a captivating way. Being extensively empirically grounded, the study offers valuable self-understanding for cultural creatives who, we are told, are on the cutting edge of a major cultural shift. Additionally, the study is cast with a mobilizing bent. It's a call to collective as well as individual culturally creative action. As such Cultural Creatives is so much more than a futurist treatment as was Alvin Toffler's Future Shock of the '70s or John Naisbitt's Megatrends of the '80s. This is about doing much more than simply coping with major and swiftly occurring cultural change. That this is a call to organized pioneering leadership action is corroborated by the co-authors' website.This being the case, I call attention to a culturally creative plan of pioneering leadership action which crossed my path some seven years ago and is NOT noted in this study.

b) In 1989 former two term maverick U. S. Senator Mike Gravel (Alaska 1969-81) formulated the dream, idea and plan of action for directly enacting the structural prerequisite for statutory implementation of a culturally creative way of life. It is called the Philadelphia II (P2) project . Today still standing just below the level of sustained national media visibility, Philadelphia II is there ready and inviting to those cultural creatives who desire to go into organized action NOW in a constitutionally grounded, peacefully revolutionary orderly way.

Both the project's necessity and timeliness to cultural creatives flows from the fact that institutionalization of any change in the civic arena requires enabling political legislation. Since our founding we, the people, at the national level have had to rely entirely upon elected elites for this. We have been deprived of the statutory procedure to establish policy and make laws directly. All we are able to do is beg, plead, protest to our elected `leaders' and/or civilly disobey for enabling legislation. In this age of advanced telecommunications and abundant possibility for realizing a deliberatively informed public this state of affairs, i.e., representative democracy without direct democracy, is out of date.

Why should cultural creatives ( one quarter of the people) rely upon non-cultural creatives ( i.e., elected representatives in government who are bought and paid for by special interests) to enact into policy and law a culturally creative agenda?

Enactment of the National Initiative for Direct Democracy, being sponsored by Philadelphia Two- when-enacted directly by the People through its electorate --will provide the workable tool for cultural creatives to institutionalize their values through majoritarian decision under the rule of law.

Two concluding notes: a) Mike Gravel and Philadelphia Two merit mention if only in an appendix in any subsequent edition of The Cultural Creatives; b) in the interest of full disclosure I admit I have not only been a supporter of Philadelphia Two since I learned of it seven years ago but I now serve as Secretary of its Board.

Just what is a Cultural Creative? Authors Paul Ray and Sherry Ruth Anderson conducted a study for the EPA (1998) to ascertain citizen views about the environment. What they discovered was 50 million CC individuals who are changing the world one step at a time. The authors supply a test the reader can use to determine whether they are a `Traditional' (25 percent of the population); a `Modern' (50 percent); or a CC (25 percent).

Using their three "types" to explore cultural values, including attitudes towards the environment, the authors have uncovered a lot of good and bad news. Not surprisingly perhaps, all three groups think the environment is very important (good) while disagreeing about many other cultural issues including the best way to deal with the environmental mess that is killing life on this planet (bad). The authors suggest that while most folks are aware of the attitudes and opinions of the `Modern' and `Traditional' types because they can be found arguing in newspapers, on tv and in person, the opinions and activities of the Cultural Creative types are more elusive.

Ray and Anderson have assembled a huge amount of information and synthesized it into a fairly coherent package. They leave virtually no sociological source untapped as they report on everything from AIDS to Zen. Their book is nicely complemented with survey results and graphs (simple and easy to understand) and plenty of references for further reading. While I don't agree with each and everything these authors say (only 95 percent), I do believe thinking people (especially Moderns..which I used to be) need to read this provocative book.

I underlined so many passages and pasted sticky markers on so many pages I don't know where to begin to describe the content, except to say this is not a doom and gloom book that will make you want to swallow rat poison. This book offers examples of a better way to live. It offers HOPE for our planet. To put the CC message in a nutshell..if we want life to continue on this planet we must act and act now.

You may not agree with all you read, but you will probably find the authors arguments compelling and may discover you are already a Cultural Creative or on the way to becoming one through the process of self-actualization (yes, they include Maslow, Jung, Joseph Campbell, and Wicca and Catholic nuns).