A comparison of open and closed societies, their coexistence, complementarity, as well as the directions of their development are presented: a detained society and a reflexive society. The orientation of society towards openness is determined by the orientation of society's participants towards the development of external, still unknown, space: innovation, creativity in all its manifestations, new values, not yet formulated. The participants' perception of the openness and closedness of a society depends on the thinking preferences of these participants: focusing on local values and sources, for a closed society, and turning to external sources, for an open society. The participant's creative view (his perception) on the openness and closedness of society is presented.