2012 BARER FELLOWS
Reflections on Innovation,
Entrepreneurship and Culture from the MOHAI
On the first Thursday of last month, the Director of the
Barer Institute for Law and Global Human Services treated us to a visit to the
new Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) and what an engagement that turned
out to be! From poignant pictorial exhibitions of U.S. War History to hilarious
“shifting queues” at the observatory, the MOHAI made for a remarkable evening. And
so I want to share with you my enriched impression of the great City of Seattle
based on some of the MOHAI exhibits.
However, I must warn you that these are the musings of a
recent visitor to Seattle; some impressions may be totally off the mark or exaggerated.
To start with, from the short “edumentary” about the changing
lives and times of this city in the past and present century, I was most
intrigued by the assertion that in Seattle it is not enough to innovate; “it has to work”. The phrase ran
like a river through the history of Seattle at the MOHAI; from the
reconstruction of the city after the Great Seattle fire of 1889, to the
Commissioning of the Seattle parks design, and the evolution of King County
Metro. While this phrase explains the myriad world-renown technological
inventions associated with Seattle, it does not fully explain why the Emerald City
is counted among the most sustainable cities in the USA (See http://grist.org/article/2009-07-16-sustainable-green-us-cities/full/). This city is sustainable because its people care for
efficiency in holistic development.
I noted, however, from all the historical exhibitions at the
MOHAI, that Seattle hasn’t always had the healthy balance of economic growth,
social change and environmental conservation; rather, by consistent
interrogation of the “utility” of all forms of innovation, the city has managed
the hard feat of ensuring that its technological advancements co-exist with
fragile nature. One of the exhibits that shed more light on how this
interrogation became institutionalized in my view is the 1962 “Century 21” Seattle
World Fair. Today we enjoy the influence of “Century 21” on innovation and
entrepreneurship, government, the social, arts and cultural scenes and just
about every aspect of life in Seattle.
Popular accounts of this famous fair often focus on the
interesting exhibits thereby glossing over its other more momentous and
continuing legacies. In this regard, the
famous fair is perhaps the most unsung in terms of almost accidentally
introducing entrepreneurship to the public development efforts. Coined by
motley “dreamers”, “salesmen”, “scientists” and “reluctant investors”, the
organisers successfully lobbied support from both the state and Federal
Governments. Considering that the huge, expensive and palpably risky plan was
hatched in during a financial depression, the subsequent financial allocations
from both was a demonstration of unprecedented entrepreneurial spirit in
democratic governance.
This confidence warranted that this ingenious event “ worked
“ for Seattle; it dared to put a price
on large scale event tourism, thereby rebooting and upgrading economic opportunities
and hardening the phrase “it has to work” so much so that today, even though
the phrase is not widely used, Seattleites subconsciously exhibit a certain
authentic American aptitude utility. It is the Seattleite standard approach
both to learning and solving problems; they examine whether “it works” by reference
to sense, efficiency or adaptability. In the process they have been formed into
a heritage of tolerance. Subsequently, they invest their time, ideas, finances,
joys, environment, education, support and other resources in “others” and the
others like yours truly learn (sometimes painfully J !) and thrive. Seattleites not only go to the unheard of, small
budget movies, musicals and other theatrical productions, they also make
unpopular ones, mostly in “real time”. They have spared nothing - not even
their laws – from the “does this work?” standard. They are just not averse to
risk or controversy and if it doesn’t “work” they will change it.
There were many other exhibits at the MOHAI that impressed me
and I cannot possibly share them all in a novice blog. For now, suffice to mention that I was
enlightened by the Cold War era exhibits, intrigued by the “moonshine farmers”
who flourished during the “dry“ 1920-1933 spell of a national liquor ban, awed
by free verse poetry in the temporary exhibits section and totally amused by
innovative hobo code language especially the “cat” for “kind lady lives here”. I
was impressed by the farsighted leadership of Chief Seattle and the
environmental stewardship of the native peoples that the UW is continuing
today. I am more proudly associated with humble the beginnings of UW by the
unorthodox Asa Shinn Mercer and I admire Mary Elizabeth (Lizzie) Ordway for
adapting to change without conforming.
Indeed I have drawn many lessons on government planning for
market responses in a developing society just by reference to Seattle’s
illustration that asking “does this work?”, “can it work better?” and “how can
we make it work better?” WORKS! I fly on Boeing aircraft, shop on Amazon and
receive packages by UPS; you bet I am doing this in Microsoft Office while enjoying
a Starbucks hazelnut vanilla latte ;-) … all iconic parts of world commerce and
history “made in Seattle” that I am humbled to enjoy as a Barer Fellow. It’s
priceless. Thank you.