Postindustrial societies rely on new sources of power such as atomic, wind, thermal, and solar energy and new uses of computer automation. Former sources of power such as coal, oil, and gas are in less demand as renewable energy sources grow in affordability and accessibility. Computer-controlled robots have taken over many jobs once carried out by humans. The control of information and the ability to develop technologies or provide services have become key sources of money and power.
Values of 21st-century postindustrial societies favor scientific and creative approaches to problem-solving, research, and development, along with attitudes that support the globalization of world economies. Satellites, cell phones, fiber optics, and especially the Internet continue to transform postindustrial societies of the information age, linking people from societies around the world. Globalization is a force that cannot be stopped.
In a study of postmodern communities, sociologist Richard Florida links creativity to the local cultural climate and to economic prosperity. His research has important practical applications and is useful to policymakers in local communities. As his research in the next Sociologists in Action makes clear, the organization of society and the means of providing the necessities of life have a profound impact on values, beliefs, lifestyle, and other aspects of culture.
Sociologists in Action
Richard Florida The Creativity Class and Successful Communities
Like the transformations of societies from the hunter-gatherer to the horticultural stage or from the agricultural to the industrial stage, our own current transformation seems to have created a good deal of “cultural wobble” within society. How does one identify the elements or the defining features of a new age while the transformation is still in progress? This was one of the questions that intrigued sociologist Richard Florida, who studied U.S. communities.
Professor Florida visited especially prosperous communities that seemed to be on the cutting edge of change in U.S. society. In these communities, he did individual interviews and focus-group interviews. Focus-group interviews are semistructured group interviews with seven or eight people where ideas can be generated from the group by asking open-ended questions. He also used existing (secondary) data collected by various U.S. government agencies, especially the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau. The collected data helped Professor Florida identify the factors that attracted creative people to certain areas.
Currently, more than one third of the jobs in the United States—and almost all the extremely well-paid professional positions—require creative thinking. These include not just the creative arts but scientific research; computer and mathematical occupations; education and library science positions; and many media, legal, and managerial careers. People in this “creative class” have an enormous amount of autonomy in their work; they are given problems to solve and the freedom to figure out how to do so. Florida found that modern businesses flourish when they hire highly creative people.
Florida’s research led him to collaborate with Gary Gates, a scholar who was doing research on communities hospitable to gays and lesbians. Gates and Florida were amazed to find that their lists were nearly identical. Florida found that creative people thrive on diversity—ethnic, gender, religious, and otherwise—for when creative people are around others who think differently, it tends to spawn new avenues of thinking and problem-solving. Tolerance of difference and even the enjoyment of individual idiosyncrasies are hallmarks of thriving communities.
Florida is now very much in demand as a consultant to mayors and urban-planning teams, and his books have become required reading for city council members. Some elected officials have decided that fostering an environment that attracts creative people leads to prosperity because business will follow. Key elements of creative communities include local music and art festivals, organic food grocery stores, legislation that encourages interesting mom-and-pop stores (and keeps out large “box stores” that crush such small and unique endeavors), quaint and locally owned bookstores and distinctive coffee shops, provisions for bike and walking paths throughout the town, and ordinances that establish an environment of tolerance for people who are “different.”
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Richard Florida heads the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and the Creative Communities Leadership Program. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and his doctorate in urban planning from Columbia University (Florida 2017).
Thinking Sociologically
Why do some communities attract creative people? What are some characteristics of these communities? What might be advantages—or disadvantages—to living in a creative community? Would you like to live in such a community? Why or why not? How do you think growing up in such a community would impact your choice of a career and friends?
What will the future bring? Futurologists predict new trends based on current activities and predictions of new advances and technologies on the horizon. Among the many ideas for the future, technological advances dominate the field. Predictions include the increasing use of cell phones connecting the poorest corners of the globe with the rest of the world. One billion mobile phone users are predicted for China by 2020, with 80% of the population having cell phones. With discovery and efficient use of energy being central to sociocultural evolution, alternative energy sources from wind to solar power will become essential to meet demand. Plug-in hybrids, natural gas, and electric batteries may replace gasoline motors. One million hydrogen-fueled cars are predicted for the United States by the year 2035, and far more for Europe and Japan. Gas may be on the way out. Rechargeable batteries that run for 40 hours without interruption will run most home appliances by 2030. Other energy advances include LEDs (light-emitting diodes); energy on demand from mix-and-match sources; “smart” home devices; “smart” city infrastructures to meet needs for energy, transit, and roads; breathalyzer cars; extinguishers that put out forest fires with sound; edge-of-space balloon rides; and so much more (Kleinman 2014; Science Focus 2016). Brain computer interfaces will give paralyzed people the ability to control their environments (National Institutes of Health 2012). These are just a few of the many predictions of what will affect societies and alter human interactions.
In much of this book we focus on complex, multilevel societies, for this is the type of social environment in which most of us reading this book now live. Much of this book also focuses on social interaction and social structures, including interpersonal networking, the growth of bureaucratic structures, social inequality within the structure, and the core institutions necessary to meet the needs of individuals and society. In short, hardware—society—is the focus of many subsequent chapters. The remainder of this chapter focuses primarily on the social software—culture.
Culture: The Software
Culture, the way of life shared by a group of people, includes the ideas and “things” passed on from one generation to the next in a society, including knowledge, beliefs, values, rules and laws, language, customs, symbols, and material products. It varies greatly as we travel across the globe. Each social unit of interdependent people, whether at the micro, meso, or macro level, develops a unique way of life with guidelines for the actions and interaction of individuals and groups within society.
As you can see, the sociological definition of culture refers to far more than “high or elite culture” shared by a select few—such as fine art, classical music, opera, literature, ballet, and theater—and also far more than “popular culture”—such as reality TV, professional wrestling, YouTube, and other mass entertainment. Popular culture is mass produced and consumed and becomes part of everyday traditions through its practices, beliefs, and material objects. It influences public opinion and values. Music, a form of pop culture, has many forms; for example, rap music often focuses on urban culture’s politics, economics, and inequality and provides an outlet for frustrations through musical commentary. Much of pop culture has been shaped by technology, as we see in texting and social media. The rapid change in this aspect of popular culture is illustrated in the next Engaging Sociology.
Engaging