Arguing Art: Evaluation of the Viability Argument in the Political Debate on Cutting the Subsidies for the Production of Art in Dutch Society
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26481/marble.2013.v5.176Abstract
One of the arguments used by the Dutch government to support the cuts in the subsidies for the production of art is that of economic viability. In the political discourse faulty arguments are masked by the use of arbitrary language and incomplete statements, but through the restructuring of the Viability Argument with the method of Political Discourse Evaluation, several flaws have become apparent, of which the most severe one is that the value of art is equated with its economic viability. Art has many external, immaterial benefits that help shape the social and political aspects of a society; economic viability, on the other hand, only measures the intrinsic costs and benefits of art. The real value of art, which goes far beyond an economic cost-benefit analysis, is neglected by the Dutch government in its decision to cut the subsidies.
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