The English model of creativity: cultural politics of an idea

The paper presents a socio-political analysis of New Labour's rhetorical uses of the idea and values of creativity to shape cultural policy in England. It examines how the current idea of creativity in policy discussions has been politically reconceptualised as a means of responding to broader socio-political and economic agendas. The paper explores the extent to which the New Labour's social-market political paradigm has contributed to shaping and reshaping the government's creativity rhetoric. It is suggested that the English model of creativity in policy discourse is politically constructed rather than being based in the available literature and research associated with creativity in the fields of psychology and sociology. Drawing on these discussions, the paper suggests that there are five distinctive characteristics of the English model of creativity and offer a critical analysis about some underlying assumptions embedded in these rhetorical positions.