Americans agree about government arts funding in the way the
women in the old joke agree about the food at the wedding: it's
terrible--and such small portions Americans typically either want
to abolish the National Endowment for the Arts, or they believe
that public arts funding should be dramatically increased because
the arts cannot survive in the free market. It would take a lover
of the arts who is also a libertarian economist to bridge such a
gap. Enter Tyler Cowen. In this book he argues why the U.S. way of
funding the arts, while largely indirect, results not in the
terrible and the small but in "Good and Plenty"--and how it could
result in even more and better.
Few would deny that America produces and consumes art of a
quantity and quality comparable to that of any country. But is this
despite or because of America's meager direct funding of the arts
relative to European countries? Overturning the conventional wisdom
of this question, Cowen argues that American art thrives through an
ingenious combination of small direct subsidies and immense
indirect subsidies such as copyright law and tax policies that
encourage nonprofits and charitable giving. This decentralized and
even somewhat accidental--but decidedly not laissez-faire--system
results in arts that are arguably more creative, diverse, abundant,
and politically unencumbered than that of Europe.
Bringing serious attention to the neglected issue of the
American way of funding the arts, "Good and Plenty" is essential
reading for anyone concerned about the arts or their funding.
General
Imprint: |
Princeton University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
July 2010 |
First published: |
2010 |
Authors: |
Tyler Cowen
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 15mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
216 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-691-14626-3 |
Categories: |
Books >
Arts & Architecture >
The arts: general issues >
General
|
LSN: |
0-691-14626-8 |
Barcode: |
9780691146263 |
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