Class X: values and trends of formation in the conditions of the creative economy
The article analyzes the process of formation of Class X, a new class called creative. It is shown that the need to form a creative class and a creative economy is due to the creative limits of the organizational era. Creativity is becoming a driving force. Knowledge has been declared a tool and working material of creativity; innovation has been turned into a product of creativity, acquiring various forms, such as a new technology, a new model of social relations, new forms of scientific and artistic practice. Referring to the Theory of Class X, set forth by P. Russell, the author explores the features that determine belonging to the Class X, highlighting among the indicators of these features the talent index, the creativity index, and the new creative ethos. As shown in the study, the economic function of the creative class determines the social and cultural decisions of creative professionals and their way of life. It is shown that the creative class consists of those who produce economic values in the processes of creative activity. The composition of the creative class is diverse, but the principle of unification of the Class X is its real role in the economy. In this case, the economic function, as stated in the article, plays the role of the foundation on which the identity of the representatives of the creative class is built. The author notes that the ability of representatives of Group X to refuse to interpret the designated group as a single and integral one is a specific property of the creative class, although the platform connecting the creative class is determined by tastes, interests, and preferences. This idea underlies the statement about the value system corresponding to the creative class. In comparison with the traditional one, it has undergone a radical transformation, including as the dominant values those of them on which the creative identity of Class X is based - the values of the system of an economy of abundance and economic stability (“the post-scarcity era”). Among them are the values of the way of life, which is defined by analysts as a transit from the values of survival to the values of “selfexpression” (the priority range of value preferences includes the categories “quality of life”, “standard of living”, “lifestyle”). The system of designated values (“post-materialistic values”) is classified in the article on grounds such as individual originality, personal abilities and merit, any manifestations of diversity (individuality, meritocracy, diversity and openness).