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Uncultured Austerity

Oct 4, 2012 Michael Marder

Throughout Europe, cultural institutions have faced savage cuts as governments impose ever-harsher austerity on their people. Such strategies for overcoming the euro crisis have been rooted in the same narrow-minded economic thinking that led to it in the first place.

VITORIA-GASTEIZ – Culture is the silent victim of the euro crisis. Last month, the Portuguese government announced the definitive closure of 38 cultural and social foundations and 100% cuts in the funding of 14 more.

Likewise, the Spanish government has reduced public funds allocated to cultural organizations by 70% in the last three years. Despite State Secretary of Culture José María Lassalle’s previous affirmation that culture is “neither a luxury nor a caprice,” the new budget of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s government did not spare the hallmark Prado Museum, the Institute of Cinematography, or even the Network of Public Libraries, which will receive no money for new books next year.

Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, arts funding has been slashed by 25%. And Italy’s La Scala opera house faces a $9 million shortfall, owing to reductions in subsidies.

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Dan Adams May 26, 2013

and yet art has nothing to say about it. Its been too busy making money from grants and buying into the political and economic agenda of the last 10 years.
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Elizabeth Pula Nov 1, 2012

My comment refers to the last paragraph in this article by Michael Marder. "Austerity" measures seem to be the new international "political policy focus". I think that this "focus" is due to the fact that political leadership really is not using "critical thinking" at all. It seems to me that many leaders have jumped onto a band-wagon/ boat that is very rocky and definitely not trust worthy on any level of understanding. There was an article/interview with an American economist, recently:http://harryshearer.com/transcript-stephanie-kelton-interview/.

She may be a member of a group of economists that are attempting to clarify issues about national/international budgets and money policies. Hopefully, academic leaders such as Stephanie Kelton, and probably many others can get the international focus back to reality so a majority of people can understand better that "austerity measures" are not positive measures for nations and public societies. Hopefully, there will be a trend to more realistic presentation and discussion of just how critical public fundings actually sustain the structure of nations social groups.

I think this little article by Micahel Marder subtly reveals that "austerity" measures as public spending strategies can actually destroy the precarious and often ignored positive networks that enable cultures, nations and societies to survive peacefully and with ethics and integrity for individual members. Our focus cannot just be on money policies that sustain networks and strategies for only certain investing groups and strategic interests. If public funding becomes nonexistent, then nations will only become war-zones for everyone. That reality is a no-win situation, again, for everyone.

I hate to mention the example of US involvement in the middle-east, but unfortunately US maneuvering into these societies are really negative for everyone in the long term. Certain profiteering occurs during the war activity, at extreme costs for many innocents, and future generations. These "extreme costs" are not considered by the short term profiteers, for many differing reasons, often out of necessity for individual-survival within that type of systemic survival system.

What do human beings really want? What is ethical and humanly decent survival strategies for individual nations? How do individual national strategies balance with other nations' strategies? Internationally, there is a level of a norm of peace.
"Austerity" seems to be just a substituted label for what? We all need to use "critical thinking" to establish models for reasonable group behavior. Denying funding for peaceful self-expression internationally for the masses will only make the means for survival for the masses to become more violent in one form or another. There are monetary strategies for group survival that do not rely on war and violence. Portugal and other nations have used these strategies, the "public good" and "wellbeing" cannot be ignored, otherwise the "greater good" becomes non-existent.
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André Rebentisch Oct 6, 2012

Real art is never sustained by government funding. Art museums are mostly dead cultural capital. Fiscal discipline, what its oppponents mistake for the "austerity" policy option, is the way to achieve a soft landing, the cold turkey of fiscal trouble. Everything else means handing out drugs to the addicts and worsening and prolonging the situation. The current crisis is an opportunity to move and shake the Portuguese cultural scene. I am sure we will see a lot of inspiring developments from the nation despite the hardship society is about to face, and the cultural sector in particular.
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