Entrepreneurial solutionism, characteristic cultural industries and the Chinese dream

In this paper, we chart the development of creative cities from urban clusters through to ‘characteristic towns’, the latter typology reflecting a government desire to build distinctive cultural brands. We illustrate how this recent development iteration has played out in Hangzhou and its relationsh...

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Main Authors: Keane, Michael, Chen, Y.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Routledge 2017
Online Access:http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP170102176
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/56587
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author Keane, Michael
Chen, Y.
author_facet Keane, Michael
Chen, Y.
author_sort Keane, Michael
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description In this paper, we chart the development of creative cities from urban clusters through to ‘characteristic towns’, the latter typology reflecting a government desire to build distinctive cultural brands. We illustrate how this recent development iteration has played out in Hangzhou and its relationship to Internet+, a policy blueprint introduced by the Chinese government in March 2015 which underpins ambitions to make China an innovative nation. The term ‘entrepreneurial solutionism’ describes a proclivity to see digital technology as a solution to China’s social and economic problems, and a way to enhance the realisation of the ‘Chinese Dream’ of national rejuvenation. Central to the Internet + blueprint is the slogan ‘mass entrepreneurship, mass innovation’, suggesting elements of the kind of Silicon Valley style neoliberalism, often celebrated in start-up cultures. While it has become fashionable to append the term neoliberalism to China’s developments, we argue that China’s reversion to hard authoritarianism under Xi Jinping renders this description problematic.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-565872022-10-27T06:53:54Z Entrepreneurial solutionism, characteristic cultural industries and the Chinese dream Keane, Michael Chen, Y. In this paper, we chart the development of creative cities from urban clusters through to ‘characteristic towns’, the latter typology reflecting a government desire to build distinctive cultural brands. We illustrate how this recent development iteration has played out in Hangzhou and its relationship to Internet+, a policy blueprint introduced by the Chinese government in March 2015 which underpins ambitions to make China an innovative nation. The term ‘entrepreneurial solutionism’ describes a proclivity to see digital technology as a solution to China’s social and economic problems, and a way to enhance the realisation of the ‘Chinese Dream’ of national rejuvenation. Central to the Internet + blueprint is the slogan ‘mass entrepreneurship, mass innovation’, suggesting elements of the kind of Silicon Valley style neoliberalism, often celebrated in start-up cultures. While it has become fashionable to append the term neoliberalism to China’s developments, we argue that China’s reversion to hard authoritarianism under Xi Jinping renders this description problematic. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/56587 10.1080/10286632.2017.1374382 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP170102176 Routledge restricted
spellingShingle Keane, Michael
Chen, Y.
Entrepreneurial solutionism, characteristic cultural industries and the Chinese dream
title Entrepreneurial solutionism, characteristic cultural industries and the Chinese dream
title_full Entrepreneurial solutionism, characteristic cultural industries and the Chinese dream
title_fullStr Entrepreneurial solutionism, characteristic cultural industries and the Chinese dream
title_full_unstemmed Entrepreneurial solutionism, characteristic cultural industries and the Chinese dream
title_short Entrepreneurial solutionism, characteristic cultural industries and the Chinese dream
title_sort entrepreneurial solutionism, characteristic cultural industries and the chinese dream
url http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP170102176
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/56587