Richard Florida describes the emergence of a new socio-economic class, one that creates
ideas and innovations rather than products and is the driving force of post-industrialism
rather than industrialism.
According to Florida, there are two layers to the creative class. First, there is a “Super-
Creative Core” consisting of “scientists and engineers, university professors, poets and
novelists, artists, entertainers, actors, designers and architects, as well as the thought
leadership of modern society: nonfiction writers, editors, cultural figures, think-tank
researchers, analysts and other opinion-makers.” Second, there are “creative professionals”
- those who “work in a wide range of knowledge-intensive industries such as high-tech
sectors, financial services, the legal and health care professions, and business
management” - as well as many technicians and paraprofessionals who now add “creative
value” to an enterprise by having to think for themselves. All these, taken together, constitute
a true economic class that “both underpins and informs its members’ social, cultural and
lifestyle choices.”
ideas and innovations rather than products and is the driving force of post-industrialism
rather than industrialism.
According to Florida, there are two layers to the creative class. First, there is a “Super-
Creative Core” consisting of “scientists and engineers, university professors, poets and
novelists, artists, entertainers, actors, designers and architects, as well as the thought
leadership of modern society: nonfiction writers, editors, cultural figures, think-tank
researchers, analysts and other opinion-makers.” Second, there are “creative professionals”
- those who “work in a wide range of knowledge-intensive industries such as high-tech
sectors, financial services, the legal and health care professions, and business
management” - as well as many technicians and paraprofessionals who now add “creative
value” to an enterprise by having to think for themselves. All these, taken together, constitute
a true economic class that “both underpins and informs its members’ social, cultural and
lifestyle choices.”
