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the creative engine
Jul. 29th, 2007 10:40 pmI just listened to a couple of superb talks by Richard Florida again. (If anybody else wants to hear them let me know and I'll put them online. The transcript to one is still at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/arts/booktalk/stories/s1072885.htm ). He is economics professor at Pittsburgh in USA and points out that open and tolerant communities with innovative, vibrant social scenes are responsible for economic growth in modern western countries. He explains that the best indicator of economic fertility for a city is what he calls the 'bohemian index' and that it also correlates directly with the amount of gay and lesbian culture in that city. It has nothing to do with taxes or business incentives or sports stadiums.
It occurred to me that creativity, openness, diversity, and tolerance are the antithesis of what our current prime minister wants for our country. He wants an Australia based upon mining, indentured slavery, and monotonously conformist white culture. He wants to exclude gays, artists, writers, musicians, and other drivers of the creative economic boom.
We have a small window of opportunity and, as far as I can see, it is rapidly dwindling. Soon China and India will be the creative capitols of the world. All the money funnelled into those countries by businesses desperate for cheap products means their middle classes are rapidly growing.
We need to recognise the importance of our creators and reassert our real strengths. We have lost a lot of time and squandered our advantages. Free education, public declarations of tolerance for alternative lifestyles, boosting opportunities for creative industries -- all these are needed as soon as possible to help our country grow and take a leading part in the economics of the 21st century.
But I don't really expect it to happen. Howard lives many decades in the past. He still believes firmly in the mining and farming based economy of the 50s and his so-called "healthy" Australian economy is fuelled by cheap products from China and massive personal debt while his government reneges on their half of the social contract by slashing public services.
I don't think Rudd will be much use either. He is religious and seems out of touch with reality almost as much as Howard. I don't feel very optimistic.
It occurred to me that creativity, openness, diversity, and tolerance are the antithesis of what our current prime minister wants for our country. He wants an Australia based upon mining, indentured slavery, and monotonously conformist white culture. He wants to exclude gays, artists, writers, musicians, and other drivers of the creative economic boom.
We have a small window of opportunity and, as far as I can see, it is rapidly dwindling. Soon China and India will be the creative capitols of the world. All the money funnelled into those countries by businesses desperate for cheap products means their middle classes are rapidly growing.
We need to recognise the importance of our creators and reassert our real strengths. We have lost a lot of time and squandered our advantages. Free education, public declarations of tolerance for alternative lifestyles, boosting opportunities for creative industries -- all these are needed as soon as possible to help our country grow and take a leading part in the economics of the 21st century.
But I don't really expect it to happen. Howard lives many decades in the past. He still believes firmly in the mining and farming based economy of the 50s and his so-called "healthy" Australian economy is fuelled by cheap products from China and massive personal debt while his government reneges on their half of the social contract by slashing public services.
I don't think Rudd will be much use either. He is religious and seems out of touch with reality almost as much as Howard. I don't feel very optimistic.