SCIENCE, technology and innovation flourish exponentially in democratic and liberal societies. This is a proof of the inseparable relationship between democracy, creativity and innovative cultures. Creativity and innovation require thinking outside the box. Innovation provokes more imaginations which develop a culture of scientific discoveries and technological advancements. By definition of innovation, it looks that those people who do not have skills to create scientific discoveries would not be innovative. Similarly, the word creativity seems that people who have only developed skills of imaginations and who can put their imaginations into paintings or writing or those who can write fictional novels or Hollywood films would only make the sense of being creative people or people who have only artistic skills are creators.
But there is a secret in the meaning of the word creative that anyone can be innovative or creative like in business the marketing professionals who find the new ways to reach customers or grocery store clerks who have designed the system to simplify the customer services would also be a creator. So, it is wrong to limit the definition of creator or innovator in the technological box of innovators. As innovators really meaning one’s unique experience to inspire new ways of thinking and doing. Innovation means to identify challenges and finding and tailored a specific way or solution to a problem. Innovation means observing the world and finding a new way to analyse it. Innovations require all characteristics of creativity like great imaginations and ideations.
Creativity drives innovation: The creative industries play a powerful role in fostering an innovative ecosystem. Storytellers across the world telling their innovative stories all the time on global television, films, music, dance, fine arts and fashion industries. In this way they help societies to build inspiration and momentum in all spheres of life. This results in adaptation of new ideas or systems of government. Similarly business stories are also told everyday by creators and innovators on social media, podcasts, comic, video and audio books. Why Pure Creativity and Innovation require Democratic System to Flourish Human civilization has globally made great technological advancement for the last few decades. The growing creative and innovative cultures are growing fast due to the internet, smartphones and 3D printing technologies.
The self-driving cars, 3D printing industries and other digital industries are a result of dynamic approaches and understanding of various subject areas of the digital industry. Experts in the creation of digital industries and fast growing digital economies are due to coding experts in the field of digital industries. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Zuckerberg and Lary Page have created the digital industries of Smartphone, software, smart phones, Facebook and Google that have a huge impact on humanity by making a global village of global populations, by developing their extraordinary skills of coding by merging the different subject areas of computer, mathematics, economics, engineering and business in single codes from dynamic subject areas.. Similarly, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, space exploration industry, electric cars like Tesla and many other advanced technologies are a result of their creative and innovative minds supported and nurtured in democratic system of the West – where they have tapped into a digital renescence system of organizing and managing knowledge.
For creativity and innovation, they have integrated the old system of education with a new digital system of education for technological advancements. Especially western and global democratic systems of governments are supporting and facilitating the creators and innovators and favour creativity and innovation more than totalitarian and authoritarian governments, because in democratic societies the freedom of speech, thought expression allows people to question and challenge the existing ideas which lead to the solution of complex problems while in authoritarian societies such freedom is restricted which have adverse effects on brain growth and to think creatively.
In democratic societies, the governments are accountable to its citizens and have to be answerable to all societal problems. Citizens have to select their representative for protection of their democratic rights and human values. That is why governments have to promote policies that encourage innovation. But authoritarian governments often prioritize the interests of only small groups of people. That is why they ignore the funding and support to public institutions that are helpful to nurture the creativity and innovations to facilitate the public at large. The academic institutions like universities, research organizations and creative institutions like books, film, art and music industries are not supported by these government fundings which could foster creativity and innovations. This research funding to public institutions could be helpful to researchers to pursue the solutions of societal complicated problems.
But democratic governments frequently allocate funding to such institutions to resolve national and global problems. On the other hand, in democratic countries corporations like private sectors also donate and support research in their institutions. In authoritarian governments, information is sometimes restricted to flow freely to all public sectors; which could be helpful in creativity and innovations. Private sectors in some democratic governments are supporting research in healthcare and environmental sectors.
Innovation index in democratic countries: It is generally observed and analyzed that non-democratic countries have lower innovation scores. If we analyze the innovation scores of global countries, we would find that countries with most democratic governments have more creativity and innovation scores than undemocratic countries like South Korea, France and the USA have significantly higher scores of innovations. So being democratic is associated with more innovations. It means there are more patents and copyrights in democratic systems that contribute globally to countries ‘economics and overall GDP. Countries like China and Russia are also investing a massive expenditure in space exploration research. Their governments are allocating a lot of funds to their Research and Development (R&D).
Most creative and innovative nations are getting power over planet earth and space and becoming superpowers by creativity and innovation in their systems of governments. The tax system of these governments diverts a lot of funds to R&D. For example, in Russia and China, advanced weaponry including hypersonic missiles, modern rockets for space travels and international space stations are the proof of allocations of huge funds to their research and development sectors.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in London.
Email: [email protected]
views expressed are writer’s own.
