James Purnell, a Minister in Britain’s government and of course an MP, slated to rise in the Brown government lays out the case for a creative policy.
… I therefore want to set an ambitious but achievable goal today: to make Britain the world’s creative hub. To meet that goal, there are two questions we need to answer: what
makes Britain creative, and how can we turn that creativity into
industrial success. In other words, how can we turn talent into hits
and hits into profits.
The whole agenda here is a must read. Whether you agree or not, look at how he sees Britain as the world’s creative hub. He notes the US size, but says Britain is nimbler and is stronger pound for pound. I have been saying for a long time sooner or later someplace, somewhere will figure out how to leverage the emerging creative economy and build real policy infrastructure which can accelerate its growth. I have been also saying it is not likely to be China or India but a smaller, nimbler country or region or combination of regions. Lots of places have assets – could be Britain, or Canada, or Sweden or some combination of Scandinavian regions or Australia or New Zealand.
But the real question is this: Could you even imagine a US Senator or Congress person or member of the Executive Branch who can even begin to think this way. Name one? What does that say about America’s longer-run competitive advantage?
May 30th, 2007 at 9:50 am
Britain’s biggest problem will be its rising Moslem population which is insisting on the predominance of sharia law. Just in terms of demographics (which, as we often hear, is destiny)this will make the development of a creative Britain difficult. The same may be said of Scandinavia and Europe as a whole. An active jihadist minority acting like the mafia can make life very difficult for those who wish to be creative. Remember Theo Vangoh. That murder was not a good sign for the creative class anywhere in Europe given the long arm of sharia law.
May 30th, 2007 at 10:49 am
One thing to keep in mind is that a lot of these types of initiatives are being done at the local/state level. Not sure how this works in britain. That said, the US likely needs a national debate on these issues.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:49 am
Looking for creativity?
Please look at http://www.personal.psu.edu
God Bless
ps – “Beast” refers to how hardworking I am & I have a MBA
June 1st, 2007 at 4:11 pm
What is really discouraging is that cities with an existing creative class are being crushed by the grip of suburbanism. My personal favourite, San Francisco, has become a bohemian theme park without the bohemians. ….Long-run advantage? I think not.
http://www.architecturalephemera.blogspot.com
October 7th, 2008 at 10:40 am
I’ve only just the read this post.
Charles Rostkowski – do you know how many Muslims there are in the UK? Around 1% of the population at last census. Have you been reading The Daily Mail or The Sun too much? Get real!
Creativity depends on diversity and tolerance. If you knew anything about Muslims and Sharia Law, you’d know that the main objections relate to financial and divorce law. What exaclty are the implications for borrowing and divorce for Muslims on the ability of the UK to exploit the creative class? Close to zero, perhaps? Only scaremongerers equate Sharia Law with beheadings and stonings.