The Political Economy of Creativity

Abstract

Historical, political, and social influences greatly constrict creative activity and creative self-expression in the arts, sciences, and entrepreneurship. Moreover, the differential distribution of power and resources among individuals and groups in society, as well as the impact of the norm of self-interest in Western capitalist cultures, deeply constrain creative self-expression. This includes political and religious censorship, corporate control and influence, copyright restrictions, as well as cultural and economic constraints. Communitarianism--the school of political thought that holds that individual self-expression is best nurtured within communities of association--proposes that creative activity emerges from a shared sense of community whose lingua franca is social capital, not merely human capital. Any creative product, therefore, emerges from a unique coincidence of individual intellective abilities; the social and cultural organization of a scientific, artistic, or entrepreneurial domain; the structure and complexity of the field of legitimization; and the distribution of power and resources within a group, community, or society.