The Network Society - University of Massachusetts Amherst

People in the San Francisco Bay Area have adopted an open-minded
approach to creativity in terms of both technology and different
lifestyles (e.g. this area was the home of the hippie movement, the gay
movement and various oriental philosophies in the West). Florida
points out that the competition for creative experts is increasingly
based on the cultural variety and open-mindedness of the region: this
includes vibrant restaurants, a bustling street culture, music clubs,
small galleries, new theatre and dance groups and multi-faceted exercise
and other leisure opportunities provided by the local authorities.
The most important thing is that the region is characterised by the
general value of freedom, which extends from the freedom of expression
to a vibrant restaurant culture and sexual permissiveness.
Global reciprocity
Challenges of the Global Information Society 367
This review is based on the principle that globalisation must be
reciprocal. Therefore, the objective of the proposals made in this
review, such as the need to increase immigration, is not just to protect
interests of individual countries. Underlying the proposals is a more
extensive ideology: caring and sustainable development.
It has been calculated that the opportunity for the citizens of developing
countries to obtain work permits, whether for a short or a
longer term, and irrespective of the type of work for which they are
granted, would be one of the most important ways to improve the situation
of developing countries. It would increase their annual income
by USD 200 billion, i.e. four times the current development aid. This
would be structurally very important, because it would transfer not
only money but also expertise and business from developed to developing
countries. AnnaLee Saxenian has shown that the brain drain
between Silicon Valley and Asia has been replaced by “brain circulation”:
the Chinese and Indian experts who worked in Silicon Valley
are returning to their home countries, where they are setting up businesses
and establishing networks between other domestic companies
and the best experts of the field (Saxenian 2004). It is unethical to
require that capital and goods must be allowed to move freely while
employees are denied this freedom. The rights of capital must be
complemented with the rights of people. The current situation is awkward,
as if we said to goods: “Freedom is your fundamental right. You
were born free!” and then told people: “But not you.”