The Rise of the Creative Class

Richard Florida has served the church well and he doesnt even know it. In his ground-breaking work, The Rise of the Creative Class (followed by the Flight of the Creative Class), Florida identifies the emerging economic force called the creative class. This class is a product of the creative captial generated by high tech industries, visual and aural arts (live music). By developing a creative index to statistically determine geographical centers of creativity, Flordia locates the cetners of creativity in the US and in the world in his second book. What's the big deal?

Well, the creative class exists alongside the working class (Detroit) and the service class (Las Vegas), both of which have a robust self-consciousness and political influence. The creative class, however, does not know it exists. Moreover, wherever these creative centers arise (Boston, D.C. Austin to name some from the top five), they also generate considerable economic inequality. The people of the CC are generally rather unaware and self-absorped. Flordia's aim is to provide teh CC with self-consciousness that will produce social responsibility. How can theses wealthy and successful people contribute to society constructively? How can they reconcile economic inequality? How can they be a transforming influence in the cities in which they live? These are incredibly important questions. And if you are reading this blog, then there is a good change taht you are associated with the creative class. How can we as church leaders, agents of reconciliation and redemption, engage and redeem the negative impact and influence of the CC? How can we shepherd people into thinking and living redemptively in their communities, using thier creative and economic capital for the social good. How can the church respond to the various issues rasied by Florida's book? This is something I hope to apply myself vigorously to, wherever God leads. Oh for the rise of the Redemptive Class!!