I feel it necessary for me to start this post by saying I am not an anarchist or someone who wants modern governments to be torn down or replaced with something new and 'better', I just feel it is important to point out what we see as flaws in our societies so we can better understand the situation, gain perspective, and make change if it will better us as a society along with the individuals within any given society.
Why society doesn't want creativity:
I think the main reason society tries to dull peoples creativity and individualism is because it lowers productivity for society. Creative aspects of someones personality lower productivity because the majority of jobs in the world are hindered by these traits, the majority of a population realistically need to work like 'worker ants', as the average job requires people to follow rules, follow a script and do as they are told.
I see 'worker ant' jobs as working in; call centers, cubicle jobs, shop work, government work, police work and so on... The majority of jobs at their standard level require people to follow instructions and complete tasks in a strict order and basically do as they are told. Also real worker ants work like a factory line, all working in tune with each other to complete a task, which most jobs require.
Creative people with a strong sense of individualism will naturally not follow rules because they like to create their own path, do task in their own way and their own time because that is the best way to be creative. Thinking outside the box and finding the best way for themselves to complete a task.
If everyone in the world was a creative type; how much do you think would get done?
Probably a lot less than now because creative types want to create they don't want to follow a script, do as they are told or say what they are told.
Programming:
People also get programmed by society, really from as soon as you enter school. (the intent or morality behind this is something for another post I think) From day one everyone is required to wear the same uniform, to represent the school, which means to act how the school wants you to, also all wearing the same uniform and having to have certain lengths or styles of hair all take away peoples individualism which gets them used to working as a team to represent something bigger than them.
Throughout school you are also programmed to conform, speak when spoken to and definitely don't speak out of tern, you learn a full routine of what you should spend each hour of your day doing. You are taught to answer questions in a certain way and solve problems using specific methods. The majority of peoples developing life in many countries is spent in formal education, for example in the UK we start nursery at around 3 years old and then you legally have to be in education until you are 16 at which time you can either stay in education or get an apprenticeship, though it is highly encouraged that you not just stay in school until the age of 18 but also attend university.
If you do go to university you will finish at earliest by the time you are 21/22 which means you would have spent 18/19 years in formal education, following instructions, following a schedule, completing tasks in a the way you are told. Basically your entire developing life being taught to conform and not be creative.
Why society does want creativity:
Though strangely society also celebrates creative people, we often hold creatives at the top of society, for example; artists, sports players, inventors and more can often become celebrities that become almost worshiped and widely admired. I would put this admiration down to one the skill it takes but also because most people at some point in their lives want to do what celebrities do.
Society wants creatives but only a small amount of creatives because these are the people that push change, invent and create new ways of doing things, new ideologies and all that good stuff, but as I said not everyone can be like this or productivity would go out the window.
We as a society need a small amount of people that come up with new ideas, even in 'worker ant' jobs you will see creative types quickly climb the ranks into important positions because they think up new ideas for people to work or how an office should look or act to boost productivity.
With a small amount of creatives society gets its main bunch of people it needs to do 'worker ant' jobs to keep high productivity, as a result creatives can come up with ideas in which the people can work better and other creatives provide entertainment for the masses and keep people happy and willing to be a 'worker ant'. Creatives give people hope that they themselves could one day be in a position where they could be free to create or someone around them that they believe in could also gain this 'freedom'. It keeps people happy knowing that them working is not just feeding themselves and their family but also allowing people they know or even themselves to eventually become a admired creative.
I'm sure most of you will know someone that has done well for themselves through carving their own path, they have become a success in their own way and that makes you happy to see because it means not only that it can be done but that you got to be part of it. It can also cause some discontent with people become jealous but for me if I see someone I know doing well in a creative field and getting recognition it makes me happy and inspires me.