“Who Do You Think Who You Are?” : A Critique of the Thai Creative Class

1. “Who Do You Think Who You Are?” : A Critique of the Thai Creative Class ViriyaSawangchot Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia Mahidol University, Salaya Campus

2. “Who Do You Think Who You Are?” : A Critique of the Thai Creative Class • The Creative Class as a key concept invented by Richard Florida, a professor of regional development, Carnegie Mellon University, USA, in his highly cited books, The Rise of the Creative Class(2002) and The Flight of the Creative Class(2005).

3. “Who Do You Think Who You Are?” : A Critique of the Thai Creative Class • At the core of Florida's economic argument is the claim that what motivates economic growth in recent creative economy is "creativity”. • Indeed, written in accessible language appealing to business and policy-making audiences, the books also popularize a concept of the Creative Class, arguing that “creative people” are a key driver of creative economy.

4. “Who Do You Think Who You Are?” : A Critique of the Thai Creative Class • This paper would like to highlight its theoretical limitation of the creative class and examine a methodology in measuring the Thai creative class in Post-developmentalism context of Thailand.

5. “Who Do You Think Who You Are?” : A Critique of the Thai Creative Class

6. “Who Do You Think Who You Are?” : A Critique of the Thai Creative Class “ the opportunity for Thailand to continue to transform itself from a low-wage manufacturing base into an economy that is founded on creative and innovation- one is that is knowledge-based”. The Prime Minister Meets Investment Prime Minister Abhsit Vejjaiva’s keynote address on 18 June 2010. Impact Arena.

7. “Who Do You Think Who You Are?” : A Critique of the Thai Creative Class” The “ISAN RETROSPECTIVE “at Thai land Creative Design Center (TCDC), November - December 2006. The “ISAN Retrospective” , the 1st exhibition of TCDCCDC is organized to show the various treasures of the northeast region of Thailand and aims to encourage people to utilize their creativity for the benefit of the country.

8. “Who Do You Think Who You Are?” : A Critique of the Thai Creative Class

9. “Who Do You Think Who You Are?” : A Critique of the Thai Creative Class • As Florida phrases it, Marx's theory of class as a relation of ownership to the means of production [private property] no longer makes sense: "[m]ost members of the Creative Class do not own and control any significant property in the physical sense”. • Moreover, the current privileging of the "creative class" is itself a transitory class strategy that ultimately works against their interests as workers.

10. “Who Do You Think Who You Are?” : A Critique of the Thai Creative Class Concluding remarks • Creative class studies should have to avoid the heroic and celebrity characteristiccharacteristics of creative people. • The study of creative class should open to being perceived and used in different ways by different groups represented in different societies in different locations, depending on their positions in production, exchange and consumption in creative economy.