Since the demise of the hippie era in the early seventies, the societies of the western world have gradually drifted back into materialistic-conservative backwaters that are even more intellectually impoverished then the pre-Elvis fifties. Since a creativity peak in 1968, the clock seems to tick backwards. The current federal government, and clones in other countries are a result, rather than a cause of this process.  These conservative backwaters smell bad and lack the vital oxygen of creativity.  Does that mean there is no creativity around? Of course, there is creativity. Can it develop to its best? Certainly not.  Creativity is being stifled in a systematic pattern. I’m giving a few reasons why it is the way it is.

• A marketing approach is being adopted for life. Marketing has influenced (or should I say poisoned) everybody’s thinking. This could be either a conscious, or unconscious process. People are building their cases on statistics and perceptions. Who is the biggest enemy of creativity? Perception and paradigms.  In the publishing industry questions like: ‘Who is going to be the target audience’ often dominate over other elementary issues, such as truthfulness, charm or quality.

• A shift in motivation. Before the seventies someone became a doctor, because he or she felt attracted by the profession. Now doctors study medicine to make money. And so do lawyers. And work for the mafia. It’s good money, too, after all. Some ‘successful’ writers adjust perfectly to their audience and feed it with mental hamburgers.

• Being risk-averse and manipulative. The conservative establishment is violently risk-averse. Instead of preparing the ground for new mental or emotional experience through creativity, billions of dollars are used in massive advertising campaigns to push the audience like sheep in the “right” (and political??) direction. Look at the average Hollywood movie. Hardly any new movie is produced, that couldn’t be called a cook-up of some older (and often better) product. Look at the reasons to start a war in Iraq: Lies, manipulation, the press being steam-rolled and strong-armed.  The same might be true for large parts of the publishing industry. Be known in whatever way, hire a ghostwriter, and write for a given target audience. The motto being: The people consuming hamburgers today will be feeding on hamburgers tomorrow. The packaging may change a little bit. The latter may be called product diversity.

• Fun is being removed from business.  With an ever-increasing focus on business, there isn’t much joy left in doing any job. Personal recognition? In the trash bin. Short-term results are more important than people and attitudes. Hello, is there anybody doing anything else apart from working, eating and sleeping?

• Alternative life styles are cancelled. In my younger years I saw many people experimenting with different life styles, such as living on a treetop, living on a boat, moving to India for a few month, or living together with friends. Nobody seems to be experimenting any longer. This can result in a very narrow perception for what life stands for. We are dealing here with a vicious circle: Mentally impoverished writing is delivered to a mentally starved audience. 

Now, why should there be any hope? Well, history has shown repeatedly that the pendulum swings back and forwards. Obsessive focus on money and conservatism means the next society to come won’t be in love with money and will explore new avenues of life. Because there are just too many questions with no answer. Because there are just too many dreams that cannot find a theatre to play. To hell with conservatism!

Sooner or later, America and the rest of the western world will experience a mental revolution.  People will give up mental models such as the ‘American Way Of Life,’ and superman, her guardian angel. They’ll dump their SUV’s, and their TV’s with the stock market results running on the bottom.  People will actively seek and form spiritual communities in a quest for sustainable values and a meaningful life. In this era, new forms of communication, music and writing will blossom.