How creativity became the reigning value of our time

Summary

Creativity as a concept emerged in the mid-20th century during post-WWII America as a cultural tool to address conformity, bureaucracy, and suburbanization. It gained widespread attention in the 1950s with brainstorming methods for corporate innovation but has faced criticism for promoting individualism within structured systems. The obsession with creativity reflects broader societal anxiety about change and challenges traditional hierarchies. Despite its romanticized benefits, critics argue that prioritizing self-realization may have narrowed opportunities for many, especially those less aligned with conventional success metrics.

Additional Summaries

Creativity isn’t as timeless as we think—it didn’t even exist as a concept until 1875 and became widely discussed only after 1950. Samuel Franklin argues that creativity emerged in post-WWII America as a response to growing conformity, bureaucracy, and suburbanization, offering a way to embrace individualism within order. The rise of brainstorming in the 1950s reflected this shift, sparking debates over whether creativity could be systematized for corporate use or remained an individual trait. Franklin critiques the modern "cult of creativity," which he sees as overly focused on self-realization and following passions, often at the expense of broader economic and social inclusivity.

Creativity, once thought to be ancient, emerged formally as a concept in 1875, yet it became a central cultural obsession post-WWII in America, driven by the need to combat conformity and bureaucracy. This shift led to brainstorming techniques becoming popular in corporate America during the 1950s, aiming to foster individualism within structured systems. The "cult of creativity" has influenced societal values, promoting self-realization and passion but at a cost to inclusivity and economic equality. Reflecting on its impact, creativity's modern trajectory raises questions about its role in a rapidly evolving world shaped by technologies like AI.

Given how much we obsess over it, the concept of creativity can feel like something that has always existed, a thing philosophers and artists have pondered and debated throughout the ages. How exactly did we go from never talking about creativity to always talking about it? What, if anything, distinguishes creativity from other, older words, like ingenuity, cleverness, imagination, and artistry? Like a lot of kids, I grew up thinking that creativity was this inherently good thing. What was being sold as the triumph of the creative class wasn’t actually resulting in a more inclusive or creative world order.

Creativity feels like something we’ve always had—but it wasn’t until 1875 that it officially came into existence as a formal concept. Before 1950, creativity was practically non-existent in meaningful discussions, making its recent emphasis during World War II all the more puzzling and transformative. The idea of fostering creativity in teams through techniques like brainstorming spread in the 1960s, marking the beginning of a cultural shift around the notion of “creativity as a solution to our problems.”

Additional Summaries