After a series of bailouts organized in Washington and London, the truth of the current situation is finally becoming startlingly plain. We are in a fundamental economic, social, and political crisis. A new frugality will be forced upon citizens of the developed world regardless of whether they want it or not. The question for all societies will be how to deal with the extremely serious dislocations that will wrack our societies.
This will test whether, in the terms of Erik Olin Wright, the creative class will become a class not “in itself,” in other words, having its own interests, but not being able to express them, but rather a class “for itself.” In the 1930s, the industrial working class in the U.S. and Western Europe moved from being a class “in itself” to being a class for itself and transformed the political economy. Can the “creative class” do this? In other words, this is the test of whether it is a class.
Why must the creative class act? It must be the driving force for change. If there is no transformative energy, then we will have a long and brutish decline.
There are some things that we believe that the creative class will be for. For example, it should now begin to act, in its individual lives and as a political force, regarding the environment and global warming. As Rich has already spoken about tolerance, there is little need to mention that. Can we be “frugal” in terms of lowering our footprint on the planet? Should we envy and want a massive 12 cylinder sports car? Can we do that?
I welcome your reactions and suggestions. In my mind, the new frugality is a mark of seriousness. What can and should we be doing? We must open this debate now.