Creativity – Vice or Virtue?: A Study of Different Visions of Creativity
Creativity – Vice or Virtue?: A Study of Different Visions of Creativity

Summary/Abstract: This essay is about ‘creativity’ and the way it is perceived in modern western society. Most people tend to see creativity in a rather simple fashion as something positive, and in view of its benefits for the individual, for culture and for society, it is generally agreed that creativity should be given a more prominent role. However, in a modern, globalized society this ‘angelic’ view can present a misleading picture of the phenomenon. So what is its role and how should it be reconceptualized? The author takes two diferent ideological visions of creativity, a progressive, humane and democratic view in contrast to a market-led economic one. Paradoxically as it may be, these two opposing visions share much of the same rhetoric and the author attempts to strip away some of the confusing layers that mask these positions. Mrnarević shows that the value of creativity is shifting from a traditional humanistic and cultural model to serve the new economic doctrine. It is believed that this shift is unwise since it ignores other aspects of creativity, which are of vital importance for society if it is constructively to deal with pressing issues that challenge it, such as reducing economic inequalities and other effects of a competition-based culture.

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