Creative-Class Struggle

Florida: The point is that the U.S. doesn't have just one competitor -- either the Netherlands or China. Faced with only one of these, the U.S. would win hands-down, whether against Ireland or Japan. But that's not how the global economy works. We are competing against all of these countries simultaneously, and the cumulative effect of an Ireland plus a Sweden plus an Australia plus an India is something very real to worry about.

Hanft: Do you believe that there is any likelihood of building a Creative Class in heavily Muslim cities or regions? One would like to hope that this is a way to modernize their society, but isn't the Creative Class generally -- and we know this is a stereotype -- far less religious, and certainly less fundamentalist, than other demographic groups?

Florida: I don't feel particularly qualified to talk about this, other than to say that creativity exists everywhere, and in all different kinds of human beings. That area has certainly seen many of the most creative movements and cities in world history, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it does again someday. Let's hope it's sooner rather than later.

Hanft: Do you think today's Creative Class is flourishing because of the educational system here in America, or in spite of it?

Florida: It cuts both ways. I think our education system brings people together who might not otherwise interact, and in that more social sense it can be an extremely useful incubator. But our K-12 system, and even our universities now to some extent, are still stuck in an industrial-age mindset. Churning out factory workers for assembly lines served us very well 50 years ago; in the creative economy, it's a recipe for stagnation, not success.

Hanft: How important are major universities in creating Creative Class ecosystems? Isn't there an entire Creative Class subculture that has grown up in Palo Alto because of Stanford? Which other universities are doing a good job? Which are failing?

Florida: Absolutely. The university is perhaps the single most important institution of the creative age. It's certainly what gave the U.S. its huge edge in the 20th century, by virtue of attracting the best and the brightest from all around the world. Unfortunately, it's also the most mismanaged institution in many cases. Without naming names, let's just say that the single biggest problem with all universities these days is their apparent inability -- and in some cases blatant disinterest -- in educating our population broadly across all social, economic, and ethnic demographics.

Hanft: If David Ricardo was writing his Law of Comparative Advantage today, would he include a large Creative Class as a geographic advantage, equal to or more important than labor costs, weather, a great harbor?

Florida: Yes, the huge difference being that talent is a FLOW, not a stock. The places that win this global competition of talent will be the ones that realize that talent moves. Like any instability, that presents people with both a huge advantage and a huge disadvantage.

Hanft: Name a Creative Class TV show, book (other than yours), car, vacation and dessert.

Florida: Let's leave this on a creatively cryptic note: check out KaosPilots in Denmark, which I read about in Ode magazine. Now there's a creativity incubator...