Creativity and Status

I am sitting at the front of a lecture theatre at HK Polytechnic University watching over 36 students taking the final exam for the Travel Product Development & Distribution class (a ridiculously pretentious sounding name for a very common sense-driven subject). So I've been catching up on Jonah Lehrer's blog and which led me to this interesting article in Scientific American by Adam Waytz: The Psychology of Social Status. Waytz opens:

Nobel Laureate economist, John Harsanyi, said that “apart from economic payoffs, social status seems to be the most important incentive and motivating force of social behavior.” The more noticeable status disparities are, the more concerned with status people become...

His point seems so relevant as I reflect on the students' attitude towards learning. I had allocated the final, 3-hour session as a review session. I had asked the students to prepare their questions on anything they did not understand or needed elaboration. They came prepared only with one question: "What questions are on the final exam?" It was a total waste of a session and they knew it because half the class left after the break. It's all about the grade, getting the degree, how future employers perceive their worth etc. The students recognize and appreciate passion and creativity (they were all inspired by the four guest speakers who were doing new and creative things in the travel business). Yet, many do not feel empowered to be more than what is expected of them.

Waytz goes on to explain in his article that low status individuals can attain high status within a group by demonstrating worth ("competence and selflessness") among his/her social connections within the group. Note that the word is "demonstrate" (perception is key). Even if an individual is connected and competent, but does not demonstrate it, that individual will not move up the status ladder.

Both economic payoffs and social status in Hong Kong has been tied to maintaining stability/protecting the status quo. But if Hong Kong is really serious about tackling our problems (pollution, growing income gap, unmotivated and uninspired youth), we will need to nurture and accommodate a more creative, status quo-challenging culture. How can we confer creative people more status? It means giving them a voice and a hand in influencing and shaping policies both economic and political. There's a simple word for this, isn't there? Democracy.

This question is: are enough people willing to take on the added responsibility required for a real democracy?