GOVERNMENTS AND CULTURE
Clive Gray,
University of Warwick,
United Kingdom
C.J.Gray@Warwick.ac.uk
Motivations for Government Action: I
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
National Glory
Inducement and Reward
Placebo
Education
Welfare Service
Compensation
Commercial
Order and Control
Motivations for Government Action: II
9. Ideological
10. Moral
11. Social
12. Political
13. Common Sense
14. Faith
15. ‘Cultural’
Functions of Policy
1. Intrinsic – ‘art’ based reasons
2. Instrumental – using culture for non-cultural
ends
3. Attachment – linking culture to sources of
support
4. Explicit – directly affecting cultural
production/distribution/consumption
5. Implicit – cultural consequences of other
policy aims
Multi-functional Policy
• ‘Architecture had a variety of purposes – selfgratification, self-glorification, social
indoctrination and nationalistic self-assertion’
(F. Spotts, Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics
(London, Hutchison, 2002), 311)
The Role of Government: a
•
•
•
•
•
Providing mechanisms for cultural choice?
Directly providing culture?
Supporting cultural production?
Supporting cultural distribution?
Supporting cultural consumption?
How Can Governments Do These?: I
• Democratic means:
1. Plebiscitary democracy – referenda
2. Representative democracy – governments
and parliaments
3. Democratic elitism – arm’s-length
organisations
4. Deliberative democracy – value clarification
How Can Governments Do These?: II
• All depend upon:
1. Active participation
2. Effective and independent civil society
3. Political literacy
4. Education
5. Legitimacy
6. Trust
The Role of Government: b
1. Support all of the above
Active or Passive Government?
• Representative democracy expects
governments to have their own objectives
• And that these should be openly pursued
• But they should also be subject to open
criticism
• Passive government is seen as stagnant
government
Explicitly Active Governments: I
1. Problematic cases:
• Nazi Germany/Stalinist Soviet Union
• Did they have lasting effects?
• Not really
2. Acceptable cases:
• France/United Kingdom/Australia/Canada
• Did they have lasting effects?
• Some – but limited by political acceptability
Explicitly Active Governments: II
• Cultural imposition does not work
• Top-down policies require bottom-up support
• Bottom-up policies require top-down support
• What role should governments pursue:
1. Top-down?
2. Bottom-up?
3. Both?