As you many know (if you’ve read my post, ‘Are We Re-living the Decline of Rome and the Birth of a Renaissance‘) I’m a big fan of author Patricia Martin and her new book, ‘RenGen: the Rise of the Cultural Consumer and What it Means to Your Business’.

It (in short) rocked my world and opened my optimistic eyes to a growing demographic of people who are profoundly changing the way we are living and doing business in the world. That includes me.

I had some questions for the author which she graciously agreed to answer in this interview:

Cheryl: What is a Cultural Consumer in the Renaissance Generation and who are the RenGen?

PM: The RenGen, short for Renaissance Generation, is a cultural movement created by the confluence of art, education, entertainment and business. This is the generation that will speed the shedding of our current and lead us to the creation of a new society. This process is occurring because given the seismic shifts in our world, our old values, belief systems, even our understanding of money, is no longer relevant. A powerful new player is at the center of this movement: the cultural consumer. Cultural consumers thrive on information and ideas to fuel their creative self-expression. As the RenGen gathers force in our civilization, it will change how we live and work.

Cheryl: While reading your book, I had several profound ‘aha’ moments where many of the characteristics you described fit me exactly, in both my personal and professional lives and the lives of many people around me. It was astounding. I’d always considered myself a creative but never really saw myself as part of a growing demographic of cultural consumers until now. Can you talk more about that and if you’ve experienced something similar?

PM: One of the most gratifying experiences for me as an author is to hear from people all over the world that they feel validated by the book. I arrived at my ideas about cultural consumers by tracking the data and listening intently to people as thoughtful, creative individuals. Now that the book is out, I seem to have hit on something even bigger than my estimates. People are getting in touch with their inner creatives. They are expressing themselves, and given our new administration, they are getting ready to contribute these energies to improving our world situation in any way they can.

Cheryl: What is a knowledge economy?

PM: The knowledge economy is swiftly becoming the idea economy. Knowledge is almost a commodity now, ideas are where the action is. Knowledge economy refers to the enterprise associated with working in education, technology, the arts, design, entertainment and business.

Cheryl: I’ve noticed many people (these days) are deciding not to have any children. Is that indicative of Ren Gen-er?

PM: People are delaying having children. This is changing the family  dynamic in our culture. But it’s been proven that need for nurturance a person gets from family and community actually increases as the stress of life escalates. This fact, in combination with economic realities, will put pressure on us to morph our notion of family. I expect a return to extended family, but with a twist. Like-minded people will form alliances. They’ll share homes and forge a new style of communal living that holds in creative tension things like freedom and responsibility; individuality and community; independence and cooperation; mindfulness and action. Communities will become more intentional–meaning they will set out clear goals for living. There is a community in Indiana, for instance, that intentionally lives as a community where people facing hardship and disabilities are embraced among the fold. This creates challenges, but it also stimulates opportunities, innovation, and creates jobs. We will see more of this kind of community building.

Cheryl: Do you see the recent stock market crash as part of the death/re-birth cycle of a Renaissance? Are you feeling optimistic?

PM: Indeed. The financial crisis on Wall Street is a reckoning. But it’s also the most dramatic sign of the brighter news that lies ahead–the coming renaissance. The truth is that the money business in America has long been excessive, indulgent, greedy and reckless. Financial markets suffer from our least attractive cultural trait: we are addicted to the short term. We like our success instantly, thank you. We like it in our business, celebrity, and it even cropped up in our politics this election year. This makes us vulnerable as a people and fragile as a financial power.

Cheryl: You mention three cities as main Ren Gen cities; Seattle, Philadelphia and Providence. What about Portland, Oregon? In 2003, the Oregonian wrote an article about the city of Portland as home to a majority of cultural creatives.

PM: I love Portland. It has so much going for it. But when I did the initial round of research I visited over 20 cities. Portland was growing and morphing. I’ll bet it has come very far since then, but at the time, Seattle trumped it.

Cheryl: What is your next project? Will you be writing a follow-up book?

PM: I’m in the first phase of research. On my desk sits a four inch stack of Census Bureau data that has been sliced and diced with the help of a brilliant young librarian, Sarah Erekson, from the Chicago Public Library. I was the library’s Scholar In Residence for 2008. It was an intellectual feast and I gorged myself.

As for the topic? Sorry. It’s under wraps for now!