Richard Florida's new book II
I've read Richard Florida's new book, "The Flight of the Creative Class", and I can say that he's right on the money. He seems to be a little late with his new thoughts. But on target.
Florida's first book, "The Rise of the Creative Class", was used almost as a manifesto by economic developers and community volunteers, some in this community, looking for ways to jazz up downtowns, and to pump new jobs and new prosperity into their cities.
His assertion: That people who work in the "Creative Class", which includes writers, artists, even lawyers and top managers, bring energy, excitement, and a capacity for innovation that helps a community generate its own prosperity without having to rely on big corporations.
But some here objected to his narrow definition of "Creative Class", which implied a class structure and neglected to address approximately 80 percent of the Triad's workforce. That's why Action Greensboro chose a different name for its look at the subject: Creative Character.
And since Florida's first book, my reporting has shown that many more of this region's jobs have a creative component, even if they're not in Florida's creative classifications. (More to come in our print edition on this issue.)
So Florida's new book does a little back-tracking, and a little further explaining.
He's eager to address his critics. And he's emphatic that he didn't intend to exclude anybody in his first book. That he believes that for the nation's economy to survive, all jobs must become creative.
And he introduces a new concern -- that with international mobility and restrictive immigration here in the United States, the most creative people may choose to leave or avoid this country altogether.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. immigration has grown much more difficult.
Think about the computer workers from India that have, for years, supplemented this country's tech fields. Those numbers may wane as people choose to stay in their home countries or go to work in other nations where entry policies are not so restrictive.
It seems that Florida's trying in his second book to be all things to all people. And while he's dead on with many of his assertions, I can't help but wonder if he's appealing to popular sentiment rather than following his own unique research.
Comments (3)
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Uh, what do restrictive immigration laws have to do with creative people leaving the U.S.?
Posted on May 3, 2005 9:29 PM
I think Florida's hyposthesis is this: Many intellectual property-based companies rely on immigrants to fill jobs that require specialized knowledge or experience. A critical mass of experience gives those companies a competitive advantage in a global market. Restrictive US immigration laws are now making it harder for those workers to enter our country; of course, there are other opportunities in other countries. As the critical mass of talent shifts to other countries, there will be an exodus of US workers seeking the best opportunities to ply their trade.
Posted on May 4, 2005 9:08 AM
Lex:
I probably wasn't clear enough. Florida's worried about two things:
1) That people who might have come to this country in the past, high-tech workers from India, for example, will be discouraged by restrictive immigration rules.
2) That American citizens who are highly mobile and educated, like people who might have worked in Silicon Valley, will be attracted by opportunities in other countries, like Ireland or Australia.
So his concern is that the best and brightest will avoid the United States or that our homegrown folks will leave the country.
Posted on May 4, 2005 10:16 AM