Resumo de The Flight Of The Creative Class

Richard Florida has written another provocative book that makes a compelling case that creativity is one of the primary drivers of the modern economy. Florida's concept of the creative class includes not just artists, but engineers, entrepreneurs and other such groups that play essential roles in today's economy.He first developed this argument in The Rise of the Creative Class. This time, in The Flight of the Creative Class, he sounds the alarm that the United States could lose out in the global competition for talent, with dire consequences for our economy and society.Florida argues that what he calls the "3 Ts" drive economic growth?Talent, Technology, and Tolerance. The first two Ts are standard economic textbook fare; it is the third T that makes his argument innovative. Florida suggests that tolerance of immigrants, bohemians, artists and gays is essential in the modern economy. He has developed a Creativity Index to take these factors into account, and show that cities and regions that have done well on this index have thrived in today's high tech economy.As you might imagine, many social critics have focused on the part about tolerance for gays in attacking Florida's work. It's worth noting while that component has gotten much of the attention, Florida is making a broader point that creative people are attracted to regions that embrace all forms of diversity, and have a thriving cultural life and other such amenities.In this newer book, Florida expresses concern that the post 9/11 political environment, with its Homeland Security requirements, has had the effect of discouraging would be students, engineers and entrepreneurs from coming to the U.S. As I was finishing the book last week, I read a news story of a cancer research project that was going to be cancelled because one of the primary researchers in the project couldn't get visa clearance in time. Florida has many other such examples of talented individuals that have needed to look elsewhere to apply there talents?and these other countries, with their open immigration policies, stand to benefit.Florida states that a major strength of American culture has always been its "dynamic adaptability, its skill at mutating to accommodate new people and new economic realities". The U.S. in the 1990s experienced its greatest wave of immigration ever, helping support the buoyant high-tech economy of the time. He concludes that we must continue to maintain (or return to) our tradition of being a dynamic, open society, if we are to continue to thrive.I do have two quibbles with the book. First, Florida does raise the issue of growing income inequality as the economy is increasingly comprised of highly paid creative class types, and low-wage service sector jobs. However, this is a topic that warrants more in-depth treatment and strategies than was provided here. Second, in extolling the importance of creativity to people's satisfaction in our "post-materialist" economy, Florida tends to minimize the challenges that many of us face to afford housing and health care, raise children, etc., especially with the high cost of living in high technology regions.These issues aside, The Flight of the Creative Class is a compelling work, raising important issues about our culture, politics and economy. I'd put this on a short-list of "must reads" for understanding the issues of the day, along with books like Bowling Alone and The World is Flat.

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