Creative Class War How the GOP's anti-elitism could ruin America's economy

[Zo Zig]

By Richard Florida, in Washington Monthly Jan/Feb 2004
Interesting article on the cultural shifts in the nation and its effects on the economy.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0401.florida.html

<snip>
"These migrations had not only economic consequences but cultural ones. The last 20 years has seen the rise of the "culture wars"--between those who value traditional virtues, and others drawn to new lifestyles and diversity of opinion. In truth, this clash mostly played out among intellectuals of the left and right; as sociologist Alan Wolfe has shown, most Americans manage a subtle balance between the two tendencies. Still, the cleavages exist, roughly paralleling the ideologies of the two political parties. And increasingly in the 1990s, they expressed themselves geographically, as more and more Americans chose to live in places that suited their culture and lifestyle preferences."

[teryang]

1. This is a brilliant analysis

Thanks for posting.

I disagree with the authors usage of the term elites. The repuke party is the party of the elites, the old elites. The owners of the older capital intensive infrastructure. These older elites are threatened by the free-wheeling creativity of the parvenues of high technology and communications. They view the world from the apex of their fuedal corporate pyramids.

They are also heavily dependent upon government largesse, government contracts, subsidies, and favoritism in legislation and foreign policy or they can't be competitive. They are so uncompetitive and lacking in creativity that they pursue wide scale frauds and now advocate war and seizure of resources (colonialism) as a profitable activity. The anti-elite posturing of repuke demogogues is actually nothing more than obsurantism designed to knee cap the creative intellectuals spearheading social and economic change to the relative financial and social decline of traditional American elites from the heavy industries.

The obscuratism of the media, the increasing secrecy and manipulation of government, the promotion of intolerance and theocracy, and the manufacture of phony threats to repress the population, the unjustified ruthless wars and coups, are warning signs to anyone with half a brain, that maybe they should start looking for a better place to live while they have a chance.

[RainDog]

3. agreed that Florida gets it right and wrong...

when he spoke in my town, one of the local green politicians (so I read...I was at work) asked Florida (and the crowd) where the musicians and artists and writers were for his talk...

and answered the question by saying that many were working at miniumum wage jobs, which no where near pay the bills, in order to also have time for their arts (which also do not pay the bills).

this is the issue which Florida misses, and I think he misses it because he lumps "creative class" with tech people.

I don't mean to say people in these occupations are not also creatives, but it is a different sort of creativity which pays, unlike most of the arts.

Throughout history, artists, writers, muscians were subsidized by wealthy patrons, or were from wealthy families and were subsidized in that way.

Our nation does not believe in supporting the arts in any meaningful way (and equates great writers with Danielle Steele sorts, which, imho, has NOTHING to do with art...there are many writers like her who were the hacks of their ages who are mostly unknown today, though they were popular in their day, like Maria Edgeworth, say, while William Blake got money from Priestly, suffered bouts of mental illness (Van Gogh is another example)..

Nowadays of course, there is an MFA mill, and artists can also earn money teaching, but not everyone can do that...

I received an "emerging artist" grant a while back, and it was enough to survive for one month, if I was frugal...

So, the people who like the bohemian aspects of artists' lives, or whatever, who have mainstream jobs end up pricing those same people that attract them to a place out of the rental markets.

And, yes, elite is a term that can mean more than one thing. Creatve class "elite" is not the same as the moneyed elite, and the two have very little in common, and their world views, esp. collide.

[bemildred]

5. I find it a bit shallow, but not actually wrong.

It is Romanseque: old money patricians, new technology barbarians,
and bread and circuses plebians. It is important to remember
that the barbarians want to become patricians themselves, they
aren't trying to bring it down, but they will anyway. Of course
we are living in the decacent center of a decadent civilization
and it would be wise to consider one's options. I intend to buy
some popcorn, find a suitable quiet vantage point and watch the
show.

[teryang]

6. it is a narrow perspective and...

...somewhat subjective but it rang a chord with me. I had written an essay on a similar theme about a year and a half ago but abandoned it because I couldn't express it as well as this author.

[bemildred]

7. It is economic in it's outlook.

The point is that to really compete economically and globally,
the ruling class would have to liberalize and empower the rest
of society, and that would lead to the end of their rule, so
instead they have, knowingly or not, chosen decline. An educated
and informed American population would remove them for incompetence
if not their moral failings.

This is an issue that some other ruling elites are struggling
with, China comes to mind.

It is well written, and I did not mean to criticize, it's just
that coming from the hi-tech community myself I take a somewhat
jaundiced view of the hyperbole that surrounds it. At times
I may get carried away a bit with my cynicism. :-)

Edit: have some popcorn?

[teryang]

13. points well made

I never regard your remarks as cynical. It is a criticism that I hear all the time (in the real world) but you have to call it as you see it. People assume that it is negative to do so. How could anyone be negative in contemporary America? If you can't discern a problem then it doesn't exist, right?

I had a friend who always said after one of my diatribes, "I'll be having my strawberry daiquiri in the garden."

[bemildred]

16. The truth makes you free. Knowlege is power (and fun too).

But it is true many prefer a good strawberry daiquiri and
the power of positive thinking, and who are we to tell them
they are wrong? Friends must be taken as they are.

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

2. That creative class theory is somewhat suspect.

I've read some of Floridas work & im not completly convinced of his theorys.

[mrdmk]

4. The problem with anti-immigration is that

As the human population increases, the size of the earth remains the same. Thus as global warming takes hold, there will be less land mass for all land dwellers to exist upon. This is something that takes a lot of imagination to comprehend which seems in short supply these days. It seems if most people will be left holding the bag saying, "What happened here?"

To say the least, the Bush Jr. Administration needs to leave Washington.

[Zo Zig]

8. Question

Can the red states drive the economy? The traditional values of that group are driving the creative energy out of our society. This really is an interesting analysis of our ideological differences in this country.
Pass the popcorn...

Edit
The elites really are not the creative forces in the society, just the gate keepers of a sort. The other side of the coin would apply in the more traditional groups of society as well. If the two groups move to the centers of their choice than the elites can only use wedge issues to futher divide groups.

[Wells]

9. Checkmate, Bush Dynasty....

The Creative Class War was reprinted recently in an urban planners website I frequent. In my experience, the creative achievements of this sector of the economy are almost wholly misinterpreted by the activist/dissident, mainstream environmental organizations, and in general, a broad sector of people from all walks of life.

I'm not here to be a cheerleader by saying to doubtful, skeptical, disheartened doomsayers that the work in which Richard Florida participates has achieved Breakthrough.

A recognizable division between the practices of the Old and an emerging New ERA is now in prominent discussion within this field. The disagreement, controversy, even animosity toward planning fields is a smokescreen. I ask that those who are disillusioned with the new urbanism, (various downtown construction projects), carefully consider the resource use, energy efficiencies, environmental restorations, tax expenditures benefiting a broad public realm, societal 'blending' (however incomplete), that occured within the housing and transportation industries, over the decade of the 1990's.

A course of planning entitled Regionalism, (or MAR, Metropolitan Area Regionalism), stands to become the next venture advancement in history. Its tenets derived from the new urbanism stand to multiply that fields achievements unpredictably more than tenfold, while reducing the new urbanisms shot-in-the-arm needle stings: gentrification, displacement, rising costs of living. Regionalism boldy strengthens our local and regional economies which are the only replacement for the globalization economy, and its irrefutably unsustainable dependence upon long-distance transport; just as can the internet, if allowed. The internet makes a far better tool for communication and education than for commerce and 'race to the bottom' trade.

A few parting words: Regionalism does not encourage impossibly futuristic technofixes in transportation such as General Motor's ultra-bogus computer-controlled drive systems and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, Maglev, etc. But, it will allow expected growth to maintain moderate levels of existing, practical technologies, improved far beyond today's experience. There is no replacement for petroleum, though the Bush administration will repeat another century of Oil Wars if not checked. The solution is less travel and transport.

[bemildred]

11. Interesting points.

The looming end of cheap energy will have unforseeable consequences.
Our food supply, for instance, is deeply dependent on the "efficiencies"
obtained by massive use of cheap energy. The real crisis point
occurs where it takes more petroleum to get the petroleum out of
the ground than comes out of the ground. Then it becomes useless
as an energy source. Even such "replacements" as ethanol, in the
current dispensation, require large inputs of petroleum for their
generation.

The Hydrogen economy is, of course, 95% crap. It takes energy to
generate hydrogen and ship it around and store it. You must answer
the question: Where is that energy coming from or you have solved
nothing.

Nevertheless, it is easy to see a range of less energy intensive
ways to design and order our lives, and such changes have manifest
benefits for those that adopt them, now or later, you cannot lose
unless you are in love with sitting in traffic in your SUV. One of
the reasons I like small college towns is they always seem to have
excellent public transport and stimulating and educated citzenry.

[Wells]

12. but lost on deaf ears....

I rushed my original writing, to quickly spur discussion, but predictably, few have a more complete understanding and failed to take the bait; even thoughful Bemildred. Iraq is suffering a nearly centry-old Oil War; a war for the resource that powers the motorization age. The Bush Dynasty has been an active participant since WW1. Despite the advancements to civilization that the internal combustion engine and transportation/construction infrastructure has brought, its' misuse and abuse predict significant downsizing within the next 50 years; gradually or cataclysmically. No alternate fuel/energy replacement or transportation technofix can stop its inexorable progression.

Those who are disillusioned with the new urbanism, (various downtown and inner-city construction projects), should more carefully consider its resource use, energy efficiencies, environmental restorations, tax expenditures benefiting a broad public realm, societal 'blending' (however incomplete) that occured within these housing industries over the decade of the 1990's, under the umbrella of the 'creative class'. The initial costs of a new product are always higher.

A course of planning entitled Regionalism, (or MAR, Metropolitan Area Regionalism), stands to become the next venture advancement in history.

Its tenets derived from the new urbanism stand to multiply that fields achievements, while reducing its shot-in-the-arm needle stings: gentrification, displacement, rising costs of living.

Regionalism strengthens local and regional economies; the only replacement for the globalization's irrefutably unsustainable dependence upon long-distance transport.

[bemildred]

15. Surely you are not baiting us?

But alright, I admit I went off on a tangent. I suppose
partly that is because I tend to see that issue disconnected
from the urban situation. It is true that I know diddly about
urban planning too, so it's hard to run your mouth credibly in
those circumstances, eh? It's a big subject too, and I hardly
know where to start. Have you seen "Human Scale" by Kirkpatrick
Sale?

It is indeed a good argument against globalization, but there are
several others, I am most fond of the ecological argument, nature
hates monocultures and single points of failure, and doesn't care
a fig for "efficiencies of scale". From the ecological and
evolutionary points of view giantism is fragile and inefficient.
I must admit I haven't figured out how to explain whales yet, but
the general idea holds up well.

A predictable counter-argument is that transport by ship is very
cheap (it is) and there will always be coal. But that does not
help much with all the transport by truck. I don't see coal
fueled steam trucks. I suppose we could bring the trains back.

One of the best pro arguments is that it makes a much more congenial
lifestyle, people do not realize these days what a big pain in the
ass motor vehicles are, they are a huge sink for time, energy, and
money and everybody just takes it for granted.

[Wells]

10. Checkmate the Bush Dynasty...

To make title statement perfectly clear...

[boobooday]

14. Ya gotta love Richard Florida

Champion of artists everywhere.

http://www.wgoeshome.com