Catalysing the p2p revolution? Discovering the change potential of 200m cultural creatives

According to this documentary, based on further developments of the original thesis of Paul Ray nearly 30 years ago, one third of the western population has made a shift to environmental and post-material values:

(I interpret the cc-thesis as the cultural revolution of the 60s now firmly settled in human consciousness, but I’m not sure the CC-thesis accounts for the new generations, who are building further on that legacy, into much more explicit ‘p2p’ ways)

Watch the trailer here:

Some introduction to the documentary, by Frigyes Fogel:

“Cultural Creatives are emerging without anybody organizing their presence, without anyone seeking to create political power from their existence, and without any group having any interest in them. They are emerging simply because in real historical development the growth of human consciousness can not be stopped, no matter how much today’s establishments and intellectual elites try to ignore and even hide their appearance.

So they are all here, among and around us: 80 million Cultural Creatives in the United States and 120 million in Europe, all with a similar mindset — the citizens of a new world. They are the ones who are really preparing the future and its new social structures for us, and are doing so right now. They are the ones who anticipate the future as an astonishing opportunity never before available to mankind throughout the whole course of its history here on earth. Their message: The time is ripe to take the shaping of social life into our own hands.”

Here are further details on the sociological characteristics of cultural creatives:

Dr. Ray and Dr. Anderson created a questionnaire to identify cultural creatives in Western society. The below characteristics were identified as qualities of a cultural creative. Agreement with 10 or more indicates status as a cultural creative.

* love of nature and deep caring about its destruction
* strong awareness of the planet-wide issues (i.e. global warming, poverty, overpopulation, etc.) and a desire to see more action on them
* willingness to pay higher taxes or spend more money for goods if that money went to improving the environment
* heavy emphasis on the importance of developing and maintaining relationships
* heavy emphasis on the importance of helping others and developing their unique gifts
* volunteer with one or more good causes
* intense interest in spiritual and psychological development
* see spirituality as an important aspect of life but worry about religious fundamentalism
* desire more equity for women in business, life and politics
* concern for the violence and abuse against women and children
* want politics and government to spend more money on education, community programs and the support of a more ecologically sustainable future
* are unhappy with the left and right in politics
* optimism towards the future
* want to be involved in creating a new and better way of life
* are concerned with big business and the means they use to generate profits, including destroying the environment and exploiting poorer countries
* unlikely to overspend or be in heavy debt
* dislike the emphasis of modern cultures on making it and success, on consuming and making money
* like people, places and things that are different or exotic

Values

Dr. Ray and Dr. Anderson assert that “values are the best single predictor of real behavior”. The list below outlines the values that dictate a Cultural Creatives behavior:

* Authenticity, actions must be consistent with words and beliefs
* Engaged action and whole process learning; seeing the world as interwoven and connected
* Idealism and activism
* Globalism and ecology
* The importance of women

Core cultural creatives also value altruism, self-actualization and spirituality.”

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