Kultur in Gefahr - ITI
Kultur in Gefahr - ITI
Kultur in Gefahr - ITI
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Pierre Bourdieu<br />
<strong>Kultur</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Gefahr</strong><br />
Lange Zeit habe ich davor gewarnt, dass sich Sozialwissenschaftler zu Zukunftsprognosen h<strong>in</strong>reißen<br />
lassen und den Anspruch hegen, auf gegenwärtige und zukünftige Missstände h<strong>in</strong>zuweisen, um sie<br />
anzuprangern. Doch durch die Logik me<strong>in</strong>er Arbeit sah ich mich mit der Zeit doch dazu veranlasst,<br />
die Grenzen zu überschreiten, die ich mir im Namen e<strong>in</strong>es bestimmten Berufsethos auferlegt hatte<br />
und die mir zunehmend wie e<strong>in</strong>e Form von Zensur erschienen, so dass ich es heute – angesichts der<br />
Bedrohungen, die auf der <strong>Kultur</strong> lasten und derer sich die meisten nicht bewusst s<strong>in</strong>d, nicht e<strong>in</strong>mal<br />
die Schriftsteller, Künstler und Gelehrten, die doch eigentlich am meisten davon betroffen s<strong>in</strong>d – für<br />
notwendig halte, das, was e<strong>in</strong>e besonders avancierte Forschungsperspektive über die Effekte des<br />
sogenannten Globalisierungsprozesses im Bereich der <strong>Kultur</strong> zu sagen hat, so bekannt wie möglich<br />
zu machen.<br />
Die bedrohte Autonomie<br />
Den langen Autonomisierungsprozess, im Zuge dessen sich <strong>in</strong> vielen abendländischen<br />
Gesellschaften soziale Mikrokosmen herausgebildet haben, die ich Felder nenne (wie zum Beispiel<br />
das literarische Feld, das wissenschaftliche oder das künstlerische Feld), habe ich mehrfach<br />
beschrieben und analysiert (besonders <strong>in</strong> me<strong>in</strong>em Buch Die Regeln der Kunst). Ich habe versucht zu<br />
zeigen, dass diese Sphären ihren je eigenen Gesetzen gehorchen (das ist die etymologische<br />
Bedeutung des Wortes Autonomie), und dass diese sich von den Gesetzen der sie umgebenden<br />
sozialen Welt unterscheiden (besonders von denen der Ökonomie; so war zum Beispiel die<br />
literarisch-künstlerische Welt, zum<strong>in</strong>dest <strong>in</strong> ihrem autonomsten Teilbereich, weitestgehend<br />
unabhängig von den Gesetzen des Geldes und des Eigen<strong>in</strong>teresses). Auch habe ich immer auf die<br />
Tatsache <strong>in</strong>sistiert, dass dieser Vorgang <strong>in</strong> ke<strong>in</strong>ster Weise e<strong>in</strong>er gradl<strong>in</strong>igen und zielgerichteten<br />
Entwicklung hegelianischen Typs gleicht und dass die Fortschritte <strong>in</strong> Richtung zunehmender<br />
Autonomie jederzeit ganz plötzlich unterbrochen werden konnten, wie man angesichts der<br />
Errichtung diktatorischer Regime <strong>in</strong> Deutschland, Spanien und Russland sehen konnte, welche im<br />
Stande waren, die ehemaligen Errungenschaften der künstlerischen Welten schlagartig zu enteignen.<br />
Doch das, was den künstlerischen Produktionssphären heute <strong>in</strong> allen modernen<br />
Industriegesellschaften widerfährt, ist etwas völlig Neues, etwas so nie Dagewesenes: dass nämlich<br />
die gegenüber den ökonomischen Zwängen hart erkämpfte Unabhängigkeit der Produktion und<br />
Verbreitung von <strong>Kultur</strong> <strong>in</strong> ihren Grundlagen bedroht ist, und zwar durch das E<strong>in</strong>dr<strong>in</strong>gen der<br />
kommerziellen Logik <strong>in</strong> alle Ebenen der Herstellung und Zirkulation kultureller Güter.<br />
Die Propheten des neuen neoliberalen Evangeliums verkünden nun, <strong>in</strong> der <strong>Kultur</strong> wie auch<br />
anderswo könne die Logik des Marktes nur Gutes br<strong>in</strong>gen. Dabei verleugnen sie – wie etwa im Fall<br />
des Buches, dem sie jeglichen Schutz versagen – stillschweigend oder explizit jede Eigenart<br />
kultureller Güter und behaupten, die neuen Technologien und ökonomischen Innovationen zur<br />
Verwertung von <strong>Kultur</strong>gütern könnten deren Quantität und Qualität und damit die Zufriedenheit<br />
der Konsumenten nur steigern. Das setzt selbstverständlich voraus, dass all das, was die neuen<br />
Unternehmensgruppen der Kommunikations<strong>in</strong>dustrie an Büchern, Filmen oder Videospielen<br />
verbreiten und was global und unterschiedslos als Information bezeichnet wird, als Ware gilt, somit
also wie jedes andere Produkt behandelt und dem Gesetz des Profits unterworfen wird. Das riesige<br />
Angebot an themenbezogenen Fernsehkanälen, das durch das Digitalfernsehen möglich wird, ziehe,<br />
ich zitiere, e<strong>in</strong>e «explosion of media choices» (explosionsartige Zunahme von medialen<br />
Wahlmöglichkeiten) nach sich, so dass jede Art von Nachfrage und alle Geschmäcker zufrieden<br />
gestellt werden könnten; alle<strong>in</strong> die Logik des Wettbewerbs begünstige <strong>in</strong> dieser wie <strong>in</strong> allen anderen<br />
Sparten kreatives Schaffen. Gleichzeitig sei das Gesetz des Profits <strong>in</strong> diesen Bereichen auch<br />
demokratisch, <strong>in</strong>sofern es mehrheitlich für gut befundene Produkte positiv sanktioniere.<br />
Nur, was s<strong>in</strong>d diese Argumente wert?<br />
Dem Mythos der Wahlmöglichkeiten kann man die Vere<strong>in</strong>heitlichung des Angebots sowohl auf<br />
nationaler als auch auf <strong>in</strong>ternationaler Ebene entgegenhalten: Weit davon entfernt, Vielfalt zu<br />
schaffen, hat die Konkurrenz e<strong>in</strong>e gleichmacherische Wirkung. Die Jagd nach dem größtmöglichen<br />
Publikum br<strong>in</strong>gt die Produzenten nämlich dazu, nach E<strong>in</strong>heitsprodukten Ausschau zu halten, die auf<br />
e<strong>in</strong> Publikum quer durch alle Milieus und Ländern zugeschnitten s<strong>in</strong>d, weil sie sich kaum<br />
vone<strong>in</strong>ander unterschieden und kaum Unterschiede hervorbr<strong>in</strong>gen, wie zum Beispiel Telenovelas,<br />
Soap Operas, Krimiserien, kommerzielle Musik, Boulevard- oder Broadway-Theater und Allerwelts-<br />
Wochenzeitschriften – also all das, was <strong>in</strong>sgesamt als «Mac-Donalds-<strong>Kultur</strong>» bezeichnet werden<br />
könnte. Zudem geht die Konkurrenz, die ja e<strong>in</strong> M<strong>in</strong>imum an Vielfalt voraussetzt, im selben Maße<br />
zurück, wie der Produktions- und vor allem der Verbreitungsapparat e<strong>in</strong>em Konzentrationsprozess<br />
unterliegt. Die Tatsache, dass durch die Herausbildung großer Medienunternehmen die<br />
verschiedenen Etappen der <strong>Kultur</strong>produktion und -verbreitung zunehmend unter e<strong>in</strong>em Firmendach<br />
zusammengefasst s<strong>in</strong>d, begünstigt e<strong>in</strong>en Prozess, im Zuge dessen die Produktion kultureller<br />
Güter immer mehr den Erfordernissen ihrer Verbreitung untergeordnet (e<strong>in</strong> Beispiel s<strong>in</strong>d die<br />
Multiplex-K<strong>in</strong>os, die sich völlig dem Imperativ der Verleihfirmen unterordnen) und damit e<strong>in</strong>er<br />
regelrechten Zensur des Geldes ausgesetzt ist (man weiß um die paradoxe Situation <strong>in</strong> den e<strong>in</strong>st<br />
«kommunistischen» Ländern, <strong>in</strong> denen an die Stelle der Zensur e<strong>in</strong>er autokratischen Macht die fast<br />
ebenso schreckliche Zensur des Geldes trat). Vor allen D<strong>in</strong>gen jedoch neigt die ungeteilte Herrschaft<br />
der ökonomischen Logik dazu, dem ganzen System die Imperative des kurzfristigen Profits und die<br />
damit e<strong>in</strong>hergehenden ästhetische Entscheidungen aufzuzw<strong>in</strong>gen. Die Konsequenzen e<strong>in</strong>er solchen<br />
Politik s<strong>in</strong>d im Verlagswesen genau dieselben. Auch dort kann man e<strong>in</strong>en ausgeprägten<br />
Konzentrationsprozess beobachten (zum<strong>in</strong>dest <strong>in</strong> den Vere<strong>in</strong>igten Staaten, wo der Buchhandel –<br />
abgesehen von den beiden unabhängigen Verlegern W.W. Norton und Houghton Miffl<strong>in</strong>, e<strong>in</strong> paar<br />
Universitätsverlagen und e<strong>in</strong>igen kle<strong>in</strong>en, kämpferischen Verlagen – <strong>in</strong> den Händen von acht großen<br />
Mediengiganten liegt) sowie denselben E<strong>in</strong>fluss der <strong>Kultur</strong>vermittlung und -verbreitung auf die<br />
<strong>Kultur</strong>produktion und dasselbe Streben nach kurzfristigem Profit (was unter anderem dazu führt,<br />
dass es immer häufiger Medienstars unter den Autoren gibt und dass das Geld se<strong>in</strong>e Zensur ausübt).<br />
Hier wird offensichtlich, dass die vor allem auf Kurzfristigkeit angelegte Logik des Profits die strikte<br />
Negation von <strong>Kultur</strong> ist, denn letztere setzt Investitionen mit mehr als unsicheren Gew<strong>in</strong>nchancen<br />
und e<strong>in</strong>em ungewissen, häufig sogar erst posthumen Rücklauf voraus.<br />
Ähnlich wie manche Tierarten <strong>in</strong> <strong>Gefahr</strong> s<strong>in</strong>d, weil die für ihr Überleben notwendigen ökologischen<br />
Bed<strong>in</strong>gungen verändert oder zerstört wurden, sieht sich die <strong>Kultur</strong> heute dadurch bedroht, dass die<br />
ökonomischen und sozialen Bed<strong>in</strong>gungen, <strong>in</strong> welchen sie sich zu entwickeln vermag, zutiefst von der<br />
Logik des Profits durchdrungen werden. Dies gilt für die fortgeschrittenen Industrienationen, <strong>in</strong>
denen bereits e<strong>in</strong>e beträchtliche Kapitalakkumulation stattgefunden hat, die die Voraussetzung für<br />
Autonomie ist, aber ganz besonders auch für die anderen Ländern. Die relativ autonomen<br />
Mikrokosmen, <strong>in</strong>nerhalb derer <strong>Kultur</strong> erzeugt wird, müssen geme<strong>in</strong>sam mit dem Schulsystem die<br />
Produktion von <strong>Kultur</strong>produzenten und -konsumenten sicherstellen. Die bildenden Künstler haben<br />
fast fünfhundert Jahre benötigt, um die sozialen Bed<strong>in</strong>gungen zu erkämpfen, die e<strong>in</strong>en Picasso<br />
möglich gemacht haben. Sie mussten um das Recht kämpfen, die Farben selbst auszuwählen, die sie<br />
verwenden wollten, und darum, wie sie sie verwenden wollten, sowie schließlich sogar, vor allem mit<br />
dem Aufkommen der abstrakten Kunst, um das Recht auf die freie Wahl ihres Gegenstands, auf dem<br />
ganz besonders die Macht des Auftraggebers lastete. Ebenso könnte man endlos die Bed<strong>in</strong>gungen<br />
aufzählen, die nötig s<strong>in</strong>d, damit Experimentalfilme und e<strong>in</strong> sie würdigendes Publikum entstehen<br />
können, also, um nur e<strong>in</strong>ige davon zu nennen: Fachzeitschriften und sie am Leben erhaltende<br />
Kritiken; kle<strong>in</strong>e, auch Kunstfilme zeigende K<strong>in</strong>os; von ehrenamtlichen Mitarbeitern betriebene<br />
Filmklubs; Filmemacher, die bereit s<strong>in</strong>d, alles zu opfern, um Filme zu machen, auch wenn sie ke<strong>in</strong>en<br />
unmittelbaren Erfolg versprechen; Produzenten, die <strong>in</strong>formiert und gebildet genug s<strong>in</strong>d, um diese zu<br />
f<strong>in</strong>anzieren – kurz: es bedarf dieses ganzen sozialen Mikrokosmos, <strong>in</strong>nerhalb dessen das Avantgarde-<br />
K<strong>in</strong>o anerkannt und wertgeschätzt wird und der heute bedroht ist durch das gewaltsame Vordr<strong>in</strong>gen<br />
des kommerziellen K<strong>in</strong>os und vor allem durch die Herrschaft der großen Verleihfirmen, mit welchen<br />
die Produzenten, falls sie nicht selbst zu den Verleihern gehören, zu rechnen haben.<br />
Am Ende e<strong>in</strong>es langen Emergenz- oder Evolutionsprozesses treten diese autonomen Sphären heute<br />
<strong>in</strong> e<strong>in</strong>en Prozess der Involution e<strong>in</strong>: In ihnen spielt sich e<strong>in</strong>e Kehrtwende ab, e<strong>in</strong>e Regression des<br />
Werkes h<strong>in</strong> zum Produkt, des Autors h<strong>in</strong> zum Ingenieur oder Techniker, der auf technische Mittel<br />
setzt, die er nicht selbst erfunden hat, wie beispielsweise jene berühmten Spezialeffekte, oder auf<br />
bekannte Stars, die von auflagenstarken Hochglanzmagaz<strong>in</strong>en gefeiert werden. Dies alles zielt auf e<strong>in</strong><br />
Massenpublikum ab, das kaum darauf vorbereitet ist, bestimmte – vor allem formale – Experimente<br />
adäquat zu würdigen. Vor allem aber müssen die neuen Techniker diese extrem teuren Methoden <strong>in</strong><br />
den Dienst re<strong>in</strong> kommerzieller Ziele stellen, das heißt, sie auf be<strong>in</strong>ahe zynische Weise so e<strong>in</strong>setzen,<br />
dass sie e<strong>in</strong> größtmögliches Publikum <strong>in</strong> ihren Bann ziehen, <strong>in</strong>dem sie dessen primäre Bedürfnisse<br />
befriedigen – Bedürfnisse, die wiederum von anderen Technikern, den Spezialisten <strong>in</strong> Sachen<br />
Market<strong>in</strong>g, vorhersehbar gemacht werden. Man kann beobachten, wie auf diese Weise <strong>in</strong> allen<br />
Sphären kulturelle Produktionen entstehen (man könnte Beispiele aus den Bereichen des Romans,<br />
des K<strong>in</strong>os und selbst der Poesie f<strong>in</strong>den, wo Jacques Roubaud entsprechende Produkte mittlerweile<br />
als «Müsli-Poesie» bezeichnet), die nichts als Nachahmungen s<strong>in</strong>d, was sogar so weit gehen kann,<br />
dass die Experimente der Avantgarde imitiert werden, während zugleich mit den traditionellsten<br />
Reizschemata kommerzieller Produktionen – wie Sex und Gewalt – gespielt wird. Aufgrund ihrer<br />
Ambiguität können solche kulturellen Produktionen selbst <strong>Kultur</strong>kritiker und -konsumenten mit<br />
modernistischen Ansprüchen mittels des Allodoxia-Effekts täuschen.<br />
Es kann nicht darum gehen, zu wählen zwischen e<strong>in</strong>erseits der «Globalisierung», verstanden als die<br />
Unterwerfung unter die Marktgesetze, also die Herrschaft des «Kommerziellen», was immer und<br />
allerorts das Gegenteil dessen wäre, was unter <strong>Kultur</strong> zu verstehen ist, und andererseits der<br />
Verteidigung nationaler <strong>Kultur</strong>en oder dieser besonderen Form von Nationalismus, dem kulturellen<br />
Nationalismus. Die Kitschprodukte der kommerziellen «Globalisierung», wie etwa die Filme e<strong>in</strong>es<br />
am Massenpublikum orientierten Spezialeffekte-K<strong>in</strong>os oder die Produkte der «world fiction», deren
Autoren unterschiedslos Italiener, Inder, Engländer oder Amerikaner se<strong>in</strong> können, haben nichts<br />
geme<strong>in</strong> mit den Produkten der literarischen, künstlerischen und filmischen Internationalen, dieses<br />
erlesenen Kreises, dessen Zentrum überall und nirgends ist, auch wenn es lange Zeit <strong>in</strong> Paris zu<br />
f<strong>in</strong>den war. Wie Pascale Casanova <strong>in</strong> La République des lettres gezeigt hat, hätte die<br />
«entnationalisierte Internationale der <strong>Kultur</strong>schaffenden» – die Joyces, Faulkners, Kafkas, Becketts<br />
oder Gombrowiczs, diese (obwohl <strong>in</strong> Paris entstandenen) typischen Produkte Irlands, der<br />
Vere<strong>in</strong>igten Staaten, der Tschecheslovakei oder Polens, oder die ganzen zeitgenössischen<br />
Filmemacher aller Länder, die Kaurismäkis, Manoel de Oliveiras, Satyajit-Rays, Kieslowskis und<br />
Kiarostamis, die sich so herrlich der Ästhetik Hollywoods entziehen – niemals existieren und<br />
fortbestehen können ohne e<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong>ternationale Tradition e<strong>in</strong>es künstlerischen Internationalismus und<br />
ohne, um es präziser zu sagen, den schon vor langer Zeit entstandenen Mikrokosmos aus<br />
<strong>Kultur</strong>schaffenden, Kritikern und aufgeklärten Rezipienten, dem es gelungen ist, an manchen Orten<br />
zu überleben, die von der Invasion des Kommerziellen verschont geblieben s<strong>in</strong>d.<br />
Für e<strong>in</strong>en neuen Internationalismus<br />
Diese Tradition e<strong>in</strong>es speziellen kulturellen Internationalismus ist, auch wenn es auf den ersten Blick<br />
anders sche<strong>in</strong>en mag, etwas radikal anderes als das, was geme<strong>in</strong>h<strong>in</strong> «globalization» genannt wird.<br />
Denn dieses Wort, das wie e<strong>in</strong> Art Losungswort oder Parole e<strong>in</strong>gesetzt wird, dient als Maske und<br />
Legitimation e<strong>in</strong>er Politik, die auf die Universalisierung partikularer Interessen und e<strong>in</strong>er spezifischen<br />
Tradition der ökonomisch und politisch herrschenden Mächte – <strong>in</strong>sbesondere der USA – abzielt und<br />
versucht, das ökonomische und kulturelle Modell, das diesen Mächten am meisten entgegen kommt,<br />
auf die ganze Welt zu übertragen, <strong>in</strong>dem es als e<strong>in</strong>e Art Norm, e<strong>in</strong> Muss, und zugleich als<br />
Unausweichlichkeit, als universelles Schicksal dargestellt wird, um dadurch weltweite Zustimmung<br />
oder zum<strong>in</strong>dest Resignation hervorzurufen. Es geht also darum, im Bereich der <strong>Kultur</strong> die<br />
Besonderheiten e<strong>in</strong>er speziellen kulturellen Tradition, <strong>in</strong>nerhalb derer die kommerzielle Logik zu<br />
ihrer vollen Entfaltung gefunden hat, zu universalisieren, <strong>in</strong>dem man sie dem gesamten Erdball<br />
überstülpt. (Im Grunde ist es so – aber die Beweisführung würde hier e<strong>in</strong>ige Zeit <strong>in</strong> Anspruch<br />
nehmen –, dass die kommerzielle Logik ihre Macht aus der Tatsache bezieht, dass sie sich e<strong>in</strong>en<br />
progressiv-modernen Anstrich gibt, <strong>in</strong> Wahrheit aber nur der Effekt e<strong>in</strong>er radikalen Form von<br />
Laissez-Faire ist, welches für e<strong>in</strong>e Gesellschaftsordnung charakteristisch ist, die sich e<strong>in</strong>fach ihrer<br />
momentanen Neigung und dem Gesetz des ger<strong>in</strong>gsten Aufwands beugt, also e<strong>in</strong>er quasi natürlichen<br />
Logik des egoistischen Interesses und des unmittelbaren Begehrens, welche <strong>in</strong> Profitquellen<br />
umgewandelt werden. Dies widerspricht der Vorstellung, dass, wie Durkheim bemerkt hat, die<br />
Vorstellung von <strong>Kultur</strong> an sich ihre Wurzeln <strong>in</strong> e<strong>in</strong>er Art Askese hat, also der Weigerung, sich se<strong>in</strong>en<br />
unmittelbaren Primärbedürfnissen zu beugen. Deshalb s<strong>in</strong>d die verschiedenen Felder kultureller<br />
Produktion, die sich nur sehr langsam und unter enormen Opfern herausgebildet haben, gegenüber<br />
technologischen Kräften, die sich mit ökonomischen verbünden, besonders angreifbar. Diejenigen,<br />
die sich – wie heute etwa die Medien-Intellektuellen und andere Best-Seller-Produzenten – <strong>in</strong>nerhalb<br />
der verschiedenen Felder damit zufrieden geben, sich den Anforderungen der Nachfrage zu beugen<br />
und daraus ökonomischen und symbolischen Profit ziehen, s<strong>in</strong>d – quasi per Def<strong>in</strong>ition – immer<br />
zahlreicher und zum<strong>in</strong>dest für e<strong>in</strong>e gewisse Zeit e<strong>in</strong>flussreicher als jene, die <strong>in</strong> ihrer Arbeit ke<strong>in</strong>erlei<br />
Konzessionen an irgende<strong>in</strong>e Nachfrage machen, also für e<strong>in</strong>en nicht vorhandenen Markt<br />
produzieren).
Diejenigen, denen diese Tradition e<strong>in</strong>es kulturellen Internationalismus noch etwas bedeutet,<br />
Künstler, Schriftsteller, Forscher, aber auch Verleger, Galeristen und Kritiker aller Länder, müssen<br />
aktiv werden, denn wir haben es heute mit e<strong>in</strong>er Situation zu tun, <strong>in</strong> der die Wirtschaftsmächte, die,<br />
entsprechend ihrer eigenen Logik, die Produktion und Verbreitung von <strong>Kultur</strong> dem Gesetz des<br />
Marktes zu unterwerfen versuchen, sich durch die sogenannte Liberalisierungspolitik beträchtlich<br />
gestärkt sehen, e<strong>in</strong>e Liberalisierungspolitik, die die ökonomisch und politisch herrschenden Kräfte<br />
unter dem Deckmantel der «globalization» universell durchzusetzen versuchen. Ich denke da<br />
besonders an das Allgeme<strong>in</strong>e Abkommen über den Handel mit Dienstleistungen (DATS), dem sich<br />
die verschiedenen Staaten durch ihre Mitgliedschaft <strong>in</strong> der Welthandelsorganisation (WHO)<br />
unterworfen haben und dessen Umsetzung derzeit verhandelt wird. Dabei geht es, wie viele<br />
Beobachter analysiert haben – <strong>in</strong>sbesondere Lory Wallach, Agnès Bertrand und Raoul Jennar –,<br />
darum, die 136 Mitgliedsstaaten dazu zu zw<strong>in</strong>gen, den Dienstleistungsbereich vollständig den<br />
Gesetzen des Freihandels zu öffnen und damit die Transformation sämtlicher Dienstleistungen <strong>in</strong><br />
Waren und <strong>in</strong> Profitquellen zu ermöglichen – e<strong>in</strong>schließlich derer, die für die Erfüllung von<br />
Grundrechten wie <strong>Kultur</strong> und Bildung bestimmt s<strong>in</strong>d. Man sieht, dass dies das Ende des Begriffs<br />
«öffentlicher Dienst» und das Ende so entscheidender sozialer Errungenschaften wie des freien<br />
Zugangs aller zu kostenloser Bildung und zu <strong>Kultur</strong> im weitesten S<strong>in</strong>ne wäre (denn die Maßnahme<br />
soll – entgegen den derzeit noch gültigen Klassifikationen – auch auf Dienstleistungen wie die<br />
gesamten audiovisuellen Medien, Bibliotheken, Archive und Museen, botanische und zoologische<br />
Gärten und alle Dienstleistungen im Bereich Unterhaltung, Kunst, Theater, Radio und Fernsehen,<br />
Sport usw. angewandt werden). E<strong>in</strong> solches Programm, das nationale Politiken wie<br />
«Handelshemmnisse» behandelt, wenn sie die kulturellen Besonderheiten ihrer Länder bewahren<br />
wollen und deshalb der transnationalen <strong>Kultur</strong><strong>in</strong>dustrie e<strong>in</strong>en Riegel vorschieben, kann natürlich nur<br />
e<strong>in</strong>en Effekt haben: nämlich den meisten Ländern, besonders denen mit den ger<strong>in</strong>gsten<br />
ökonomischen und kulturellen Ressourcen, jede Hoffnung auf e<strong>in</strong>e Form von Entwicklung zu<br />
nehmen, die an ihre nationalen und lokalen Besonderheiten angepasst ist und Vielfalt respektiert –<br />
im kulturellen wie <strong>in</strong> allen anderen Bereichen. Dies geschieht <strong>in</strong>sbesondere, <strong>in</strong>dem man ihnen<br />
vorschreibt, all ihre nationalen Maßnahmen – seien es <strong>in</strong>terne Regelungen, die Subventionierung<br />
von E<strong>in</strong>richtungen und Institutionen oder die Vergabe von Bewilligungen etc. – dem Verdikt e<strong>in</strong>er<br />
Organisation zu unterwerfen, die versucht, die Forderungen transnationaler Wirtschaftsmächte als<br />
universelle Norm zu verkaufen.<br />
E<strong>in</strong>e solche Politik, die es versteht, die <strong>in</strong>tellektuellen Ressourcen, die das Geld zu mobilisieren<br />
vermag, <strong>in</strong> den Dienst ökonomischer Interessen zu stellen, wie im Fall dieser th<strong>in</strong>k tanks, die sich aus<br />
diensteifrigen Denkern und Forschern, Journalisten und Public-Relations-Spezialisten<br />
zusammensetzen, müsste eigentlich bewirken, dass sämtliche Künstler, Schriftsteller und<br />
Wissenschaftler, denen die autonome Forschung noch etwas wert ist, mit vere<strong>in</strong>ten Kräften aktiv<br />
werden, denn sie s<strong>in</strong>d, auch wenn sie sich nicht immer vollständig darüber im Klaren s<strong>in</strong>d, die<br />
ausgemachten Opfer dieser Entwicklungen. Doch abgesehen davon, dass sie nicht immer über die<br />
Mittel verfügen, um von diesen Mechanismen und Handlungsweisen Kenntnis und Bewusstse<strong>in</strong> zu<br />
erlangen – Handlungsweisen, die sich nur gegenseitig dar<strong>in</strong> zu übertreffen versuchen, die Welt zu<br />
zerstören, an die das Überleben dieser Künstler, Schriftsteller und Wissenschaftler direkt geknüpft ist<br />
–, s<strong>in</strong>d sie auch schlecht auf e<strong>in</strong>e solche Mobilisierung vorbereitet, was an ihrem geradezu dumpfen<br />
und von höherer Stelle legitimierten Festhalten an ihrer Autonomie, <strong>in</strong>sbesondere gegenüber der
Politik, liegt, denn das h<strong>in</strong>dert sie daran, sich politisch zu engagieren, und sei es nur, um ihre<br />
Autonomie zu verteidigen. Zwar s<strong>in</strong>d sie bereit, für universelle Anliegen aktiv zu werden, für die<br />
Zolas Verhalten zugunsten von Dreyfus wohl für alle Zeiten paradigmatisch se<strong>in</strong> wird, sich aber für<br />
Aktionen zu engagieren, bei denen es vor allem um die Verteidigung ihrer ureigensten Interessen<br />
geht, dazu s<strong>in</strong>d sie weniger gewillt, weil ihnen solche Aktionen zu sehr von e<strong>in</strong>er Art egoistischem<br />
Korporatismus geprägt zu se<strong>in</strong> sche<strong>in</strong>en. Dabei vergessen sie jedoch, dass sie durch die Verteidigung<br />
ihrer überlebensnotwendigen Interessen (zum Beispiel durch Aktionen wie jene der französischen<br />
Filmemacher gegen das MIR, das Multilaterale Investitionsabkommen) zugleich zur Verteidigung<br />
universeller Werte beitragen, die man bedroht, <strong>in</strong>dem man sie bedroht.<br />
Solche Aktionen s<strong>in</strong>d selten und schwierig: Um für Anliegen politisch zu mobilisieren, die über die<br />
korporativen Interessen e<strong>in</strong>er sozialen Kategorie, z.B. der Lastwagen- und Fernfahrer, h<strong>in</strong>ausgehen,<br />
war schon immer sehr viel Zeit und Mühe, manchmal auch Heldentum nötig (um sich davon zu<br />
überzeugen, braucht man nur The Mak<strong>in</strong>g of English Work<strong>in</strong>g Class von E.P. Thompson zu lesen).<br />
Die «Zielscheiben» e<strong>in</strong>er politischen Mobilisierung s<strong>in</strong>d heute extrem abstrakt und weit von den<br />
Alltagserfahrungen der Bürger<strong>in</strong>nen und Bürger – selbst der gebildeten – entfernt: große<br />
mult<strong>in</strong>ationale Unternehmen und ihr <strong>in</strong>ternationales Management, große <strong>in</strong>ternationale<br />
Organisationen wie die WHO, der IWF oder die Weltbank mit ihren verschiedenen<br />
Unterabteilungen, die mit komplizierten und oft unaussprechlichen Abkürzungen und Akronymen<br />
bezeichnet werden, und dann all die dazugehörigen Realitäten, die Kommissionen und nichtgewählten<br />
Technokraten-Komités, die <strong>in</strong> der breiten Öffentlichkeit kaum bekannt s<strong>in</strong>d, kurz: diese<br />
ganze Weltregierung, die <strong>in</strong>nerhalb weniger Jahre aufgebaut wurde und ihre Macht auch auf die<br />
nationalen Regierungen selbst ausübt, ist e<strong>in</strong>e Instanz, die nur die wenigsten wahrnehmen und<br />
kennen. Sozusagen e<strong>in</strong> unsichtbarer Big Brother, der bereits da ist und sich mit untere<strong>in</strong>ander<br />
vernetzten Dateien über alle ökonomischen und kulturellen E<strong>in</strong>richtungen ausgestattet hat, der<br />
handelt, effizient ist und darüber entscheidet, was wir essen und nicht essen, lesen und nicht lesen,<br />
im Fernsehen oder im K<strong>in</strong>o sehen und nicht sehen können, während besonders <strong>in</strong>spirierte Denker<br />
glauben, das, was heute passiert, liege auf derselben L<strong>in</strong>ie wie die unwirklichen Spekulationen über<br />
Pläne zur Errichtung e<strong>in</strong>es universellen Staates, wie wir sie von den Philosophen des 18.<br />
Jahrhunderts kennen.<br />
Indem sie die Kontrolle über die neuen Kommunikations<strong>in</strong>strumente nahezu vollständig <strong>in</strong> ihren<br />
Händen haben, konzentrieren diese neuen Herren der Welt tendenziell alle Macht – die ökonomische<br />
ebenso wie die kulturelle und symbolische – auf sich und s<strong>in</strong>d dadurch <strong>in</strong> der Lage, <strong>in</strong> großem Stil<br />
e<strong>in</strong>e ihren Interessen entsprechende Sicht der Welt durchzusetzen. Auch wenn diese großen<br />
Kommunikationsunternehmen sicherlich nicht die eigentlichen Produzenten der immer mehr<br />
überhand nehmenden und langsam aber sicher <strong>in</strong> alle Bereiche vordr<strong>in</strong>genden Doxa des<br />
Neoliberalismus s<strong>in</strong>d und die Art und Weise, wie ihre Unternehmensführungen <strong>in</strong> öffentlichen<br />
Erklärungen darüber sprechen, nicht gerade zu den orig<strong>in</strong>ellsten oder subtilsten gehört, tragen sie<br />
doch <strong>in</strong> entscheidender Weise zur Verbreitung dieser Doxa bei, deren Rhetorik man e<strong>in</strong>mal im Detail<br />
analysieren sollte: logische Missgeburten wie normative Feststellungen (<strong>in</strong> der Art von «die<br />
Wirtschaft globalisiert sich, wir müssen unsere Wirtschaft globalisieren»; «die D<strong>in</strong>ge ändern sich sehr<br />
schnell, wir müssen etwas verändern»); unzulässige und ebenso energische wie falsche<br />
Schlussfolgerungen («dass sich der Kapitalismus überall durchsetzt, liegt daran, dass er zutiefst <strong>in</strong> der
Natur des Menschen liegt»); unwiderlegbare Thesen («Indem wir Reichtum schaffen, schaffen wir<br />
auch Arbeit»; «Zu hohe Steuern töten die Steuern», e<strong>in</strong>e Formel, die man aus der berühmtberüchtigten<br />
Laffer-Kurve ableiten könnte, für die aber e<strong>in</strong> anderer Ökonom, Roger Guesnerie, den<br />
Beweis ihrer Unbeweisbarkeit erbracht hat – was soll man da noch glauben?);<br />
Selbstverständlichkeiten, die so <strong>in</strong>diskutabel s<strong>in</strong>d, dass alle<strong>in</strong> schon die Tatsache, sie zu diskutieren,<br />
e<strong>in</strong>e Diskussion wert wäre («Der Wohlfahrtsstaat und die Arbeitsplatzsicherheit gehören der<br />
Vergangenheit an» und «Wie kann man heute noch das Pr<strong>in</strong>zip des öffentlichen Dienstes<br />
verteidigen?»); teratologische Paralogismen (<strong>in</strong> der Art «mehr Markt bedeutet mehr Gleichheit» oder<br />
«Egalitarismus verurteilt Tausende von Menschen zum Elend»); technokratische Euphemismen<br />
(«Unternehmensumstrukturierungen» statt Entlassungen) und viele semantisch weitgehend im<br />
Unklaren bleibende Instant-Begriffe und -Redewendungen, die, durch e<strong>in</strong>en langen automatischen<br />
Gebrauch banalisiert und blank poliert, wie Zauberformeln funktionieren und, um ihrer<br />
Beschwörungskraft willen, unermüdlich wiederholt werden («Deregulierung», «freiwillige<br />
Arbeitslosigkeit», «Freihandel», «freie Kapitalzirkulation», «Wettbewerbsfähigkeit», «Kreativität»,<br />
«technokratische Revolution», «Wirtschaftswachstum», «Kampf gegen die Inflation», «die<br />
Staatsverschuldung senken», «die Arbeitskosten reduzieren», «die Sozialausgaben senken»). So setzt<br />
sich diese Doxa durch e<strong>in</strong>en ständigen Verhüllungseffekt durch und präsentiert sich schließlich mit<br />
der ruhigen Kraft des Selbstverständlichen. Diejenigen, die versuchen, dagegen Widerstand zu<br />
leisten, können nicht e<strong>in</strong>mal im Feld der kulturellen Produktion selbst auf die strukturelle Solidarität<br />
etwa der Berichterstattung <strong>in</strong> den Medien zählen, denn sie haben es dort mit Produktionen und<br />
Produzenten zu tun, denen es e<strong>in</strong>zig und alle<strong>in</strong> um die umwegslose Zufriedenstellung e<strong>in</strong>es<br />
möglichst großen Publikums geht. Genauso wenig können sie mit der Solidarität der «Medien-<br />
Intellektuellen» rechnen, denen es vor allem um e<strong>in</strong>e Form von Erfolg geht, die der Vergänglichkeit<br />
geweiht ist, und die ihre Existenz ihrer Unterwerfung unter die Erwartungen des Marktes verdanken.<br />
In e<strong>in</strong>igen Extremfällen, die aber ganz besonders vielsagend s<strong>in</strong>d, vermarkten sie sogar die Idee der<br />
Avant-Garde, welche ihre Wurzeln doch gerade im Widerstand gegen die Vermarktung hat. Das<br />
heißt, selbst die autonomsten Produzenten werden Schritt für Schritt ihrer Produktions- und vor<br />
allem auch Diffusionsmittel enteignet und ihre Position war zweifellos noch nie so bedroht und so<br />
schwach, zugleich aber auch noch nie so selten, so nützlich und so wertvoll.<br />
Merkwürdigerweise bilden heute jene Produzenten die Avantgarde im Kampf um die Verteidigung<br />
der höchsten Werte der Menschheit, deren Produkte eigentlich zu den «abstraktesten» und «re<strong>in</strong>sten»<br />
zählen und die der Logik des «L’art pour l’art» gehorchen. Indem sie ihre eigene E<strong>in</strong>zigartigkeit verfechten,<br />
verfechten sie die universellsten aller Werte.<br />
Pierre Bourdieu<br />
Collège de France, Chaire de sociologie<br />
Paris, September 2000<br />
Übersetzung: Daniela Böhmler und<br />
Peter Scheiffele
Die Sonderdrucke der<br />
SociétéSuissedesAuteurs<br />
Schweizerische Autorengesellschaft<br />
Società Svizzera degli Autori<br />
Nr. 3 Sommer 2004<br />
Die Schlacht<br />
um die kulturelle Vielfalt<br />
Von Ivan Bernier – Übersetzung Robert Schnieper<br />
Im Oktober 2003 stimmte die 32.<br />
UNESCO-Generalkonferenze<strong>in</strong>emAntrag<br />
zu,gemässdemdieFragederkulturellen<br />
Vielfalt–bezüglichdesSchutzesderkulturellen<br />
InhalteundkünstlerischenAusdrucksformen–<br />
Gegenstande<strong>in</strong>es<strong>in</strong>ternationalenAbkommens<br />
se<strong>in</strong>müsse.DieKonferenzbeauftragtedaraufh<strong>in</strong><br />
den Generaldirektor der Organisation, auf<br />
Ende 2005 e<strong>in</strong> Vorprojekt vorzulegen. Der<br />
Beg<strong>in</strong>n der Verhandlungen ist die jüngste<br />
Entwicklung<strong>in</strong>e<strong>in</strong>emKonflikt,dendiedamalige<br />
französische <strong>Kultur</strong>m<strong>in</strong>ister<strong>in</strong> Cather<strong>in</strong>e<br />
Trautmann im Jahr 2000 als «bataille de la<br />
diversité culturelle» bezeichnet hatte. Aber<br />
<strong>in</strong>wiefern betrifft diese Schlacht die Kreativen<br />
sämtlicher Länder und <strong>in</strong>sbesondere die<br />
UrhebervonaudiovisuellenWerken.S<strong>in</strong>dihre<br />
Herausforderungennurvirtuellodertatsächlich<br />
konkret?<br />
Ursprung und Wesen<br />
des Konflikts<br />
Bereits ab der Mitte der 1920er Jahre<br />
erliessen verschiedene europäische<br />
Länder angesichts der Überflutung ihrer<br />
Märkte durch amerikanische Filme<br />
Le<strong>in</strong>wandquoten, um e<strong>in</strong>en für die<br />
Erhaltung ihrer kulturellen Identität<br />
als grundlegend beurteilten Raum zu<br />
gewährleisten. Die grossen amerikanischen<br />
Filmproduktionsgesellschaften<br />
reagierten unverzüglich und forderten von<br />
den amerikanischen Behörden, Druck<br />
auszuüben, damit diese Quoten wieder<br />
aufgehobenwürden.Daswarder<br />
Anfang e<strong>in</strong>er Konfrontation über<br />
die Behandlung von kulturellen<br />
Waren und Dienstleistungen<br />
im <strong>in</strong>ternationalen Handel,<br />
der bis heute andauern sollte.<br />
Zwei radikal verschiedene<br />
Sichtweisen prägen diesen<br />
Konflikt:<br />
• Die erste betrachtet<br />
kulturelle Produkte<br />
ausschliesslich<br />
alsUnterhaltungsprodukte,<br />
völlig<br />
vergleichbarjedemanderenErzeugnisund<br />
deshalb auch denselben Handelsregeln<br />
unterworfen.<br />
Mitte der 1990er Jahre begann sich die<br />
Wahrnehmung dieser beiden gegensätzlichen<br />
Sichtweisen und der Umgang mit ihnen zu<br />
ändern. Dieser Wechsel fiel zeitlich mit zwei<br />
Ereignissen zusammen, welche die weitere<br />
Debatteentscheidendbee<strong>in</strong>flussensollten.<br />
•DiezweiteverstehtkulturelleProdukteals<br />
InstrumentedersozialenKommunikation,die<br />
Werte, Ideen und Inhalte transportieren und<br />
deshalb auch dazu beitragen, die kulturelle<br />
Identität e<strong>in</strong>er Geme<strong>in</strong>schaft zu formen.<br />
Aus diesem Grund müssen sie von der<br />
Anwendung der Handelsregeln ausgenommense<strong>in</strong>.<br />
•DaserstewarderAusgangder1996aufgenommenen<br />
OECD-Verhandlungen für e<strong>in</strong><br />
Multilaterales Abkommen über Investitionen<br />
(MAI). Ihr Scheitern, 1998, bestätigte,<br />
dass multilaterale Verhandlungen über<br />
Handelsbeziehungen nicht das geeignete<br />
Forumwaren,umdenAustauschvonGütern<br />
und Dienstleistungen unter Wahrung der<br />
kulturellenVielfaltzufördern.Tatsächlichwar<br />
esFrankreich<strong>in</strong>diesenVerhandlungennicht<br />
gelungen,e<strong>in</strong>eMehrheitderStaatenfüre<strong>in</strong>e<br />
Klausel über die «exception culturelle», die<br />
kulturelleAusnahme,zugew<strong>in</strong>nen.<br />
•DaszweiteEreigniswardasScheiterndes<br />
dritten WTO-M<strong>in</strong>istertreffens <strong>in</strong> Seattle im<br />
Dezember1999.Esware<strong>in</strong>entscheidender<br />
PunktimBewusstwerdungsprozessüberdie<br />
Auswirkungen der Globalisierung und der<br />
LiberalisierungdesHandelsaufdie<strong>Kultur</strong>en<br />
im soziologischen S<strong>in</strong>ne. Man machte geltend,dassdieVorherrschaftwirtschaftlicher<br />
Zwänge auf die sozialen und politischen<br />
Werte, unterstützt durch die atemberaubende<br />
Entwicklung der Informations- und<br />
Kommunikationstechnologien, die nationalen<br />
Identitäten e<strong>in</strong>er Belastungsprobe<br />
1
aussetze und sie manchmal zum Rückzug,<br />
manchmalzuraggressivenStärkunggegensätzlicherModellezwänge.IndiesemUmfeld<br />
wurdedieErhaltungderkulturellenIdentität<br />
nicht mehr ausschliesslich als e<strong>in</strong>e Frage<br />
gesehen,dievonHandelsabkommenausgenommen<br />
werden müsse, sondern wandelte<br />
sichzumSelbstzweck.<br />
VondemmehrereJahrzehntezuvore<strong>in</strong>geleitetenKampffürdie«kulturelleAusnahme»g<strong>in</strong>g<br />
man zum Kampf für die «kulturelle Diversität<br />
oderVielfaltȟber.<br />
<br />
Wieso sollte die<br />
kulturelle Vielfalt<br />
begünstigt werden ?<br />
Jede nationale <strong>Kultur</strong>, die lebendig bleiben<br />
will, ist dazu verurteilt, sich im Lauf<br />
der Zeit vielfältigen <strong>in</strong>ternen und externen<br />
Veränderungen anzupassen. Das wahre<br />
Problem, das durch die Globalisierung und<br />
die Liberalisierung gestellt wird, ist die<br />
Frage, wie die von ihnen herbeigeführten<br />
VeränderungendieMöglichkeitbee<strong>in</strong>flussen,<br />
e<strong>in</strong>en eigenen kulturellen Raum zu fördern<br />
undzuerhalten,durchdendieBürgerZugang<br />
zum kulturellen und politischen Leben ihrer<br />
Geme<strong>in</strong>schaft erhalten und daran teilhaben<br />
können. Leider ist es ke<strong>in</strong>eswegs selbstverständlich,<br />
dass sich die Globalisierung<br />
der Wirtschaft und die Liberalisierung des<br />
Handels<strong>in</strong>dieserH<strong>in</strong>sichtpositivauswirken.<br />
23. September 1998 im Pariser Viertel La Défense: E<strong>in</strong>e Banderole an der Hauptsitz-Fassade von Elf fordert den « Rückzug »<br />
des MAI-Vertrags durch die OECD.<br />
Glossar<br />
WTO<br />
World Trade Organization; Welthandelsorganisation,<br />
gegründet 1995 nach<br />
Abschluss der Uruguay Round; umfasst<br />
gegenwärtig 147 Staaten.<br />
UNESCO<br />
United Nation Educational, Scientific and<br />
Cultural Organization; Organisation der<br />
Vere<strong>in</strong>ten Nationen für Bildung, Wissenschaft<br />
und <strong>Kultur</strong>, gegründet 1945; umfasst gegenwärtig<br />
190 Staaten.<br />
GATT<br />
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade;<br />
Allgeme<strong>in</strong>es Zoll- und Handelsabkommen;<br />
unterzeichnet 1947, gehört heute zu den von<br />
der WTO verwalteten Abkommen.<br />
GATS<br />
General Agreement on Trade <strong>in</strong> Services<br />
( Allgeme<strong>in</strong>es Abkommen über den Handel<br />
im Dienstleistungssektor ), ausgehandelt<br />
und unterzeichnet im Rahmen der Uruguay-<br />
Runde, <strong>in</strong> Kraft getreten 1995.<br />
MAI<br />
Multilateral Agreement on Investitions;<br />
Multilaterales Investitionsabkommen, von 1996<br />
bis 1998 im Rahmen der OECD diskutiert.<br />
OECD<br />
Organization for Economic Co-operation and<br />
Development; Organisation für wirtschaftliche<br />
Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung;<br />
gegründet 1961, umfasst 30 Länder.<br />
UruguayRound<br />
Letzte der vom GATT zwischen 1948 und 1994<br />
durchgeführten multilateralen Verhandlungen<br />
über den Welthandel. Zu den bekanntesten<br />
Ergebnissen dieser Runde gehört die<br />
Schaffung der Welthandelsorganisation WTO,<br />
die das GATT 1995 ablöste.<br />
AFP FOTO / Eric Feferberg<br />
M<strong>in</strong>destens drei gute Gründe für Besorgnis<br />
könnenvorgebrachtwerden:<br />
<br />
•DerersteGrundistdieÜberflutungmitausländischenkulturellenErzeugnissen(Filmund<br />
Fernsehen,Bild-undTonträger,Bücherusw.).<br />
Sie kann so weit gehen, dass die heimische<br />
kulturelle Produktion erstickt wird und der<br />
betroffenen Bevölkerung damit e<strong>in</strong> für ihre<br />
eigene Entwicklung grundlegend wichtiger<br />
symbolischerDiskursvorenthaltenwird.Dies<br />
ist um so alarmierender, als die schöpferischenMenschenunddiekulturellenVermittler<br />
e<strong>in</strong>eentscheidendeRollebeiderAnpassung<br />
der<strong>Kultur</strong>enanVeränderungenspielen.Denn<br />
sie s<strong>in</strong>d es, die e<strong>in</strong>en Raum der kritischen<br />
Ause<strong>in</strong>andersetzungzwischene<strong>in</strong>heimischen<br />
undausländischenWerten,zwischenvergangenheitsorientierten<br />
Verhaltensweisen und<br />
Zukunftsperspektivenschaffen.<br />
• Der zweite Grund betrifft die Konzentration<br />
der Produktionsmittel sowie die Kommerzialisierung<br />
der kulturellen Erzeugnisse durch<br />
Grosskonzerne, die <strong>in</strong> geradezu <strong>in</strong>dustriellem<br />
Rahmen arbeiten, und die daraus folgende<br />
UniformisierungdeskünstlerischenAusdrucks<br />
unterdemE<strong>in</strong>flusshauptsächlichkommerziellerZwänge.<br />
2
Das Beispiel<br />
Neuseelands<br />
1993,nachAbschlussderUruguay-Runde,<br />
hatte sich Neuseeland verpflichtet, im<br />
audiovisuellen Bereich ke<strong>in</strong>erlei Quoten<br />
oder quantitative Beschränkungen<br />
e<strong>in</strong>zuführen. E<strong>in</strong>e 1999 veröffentlichte<br />
Untersuchung ergab jedoch <strong>in</strong> der Folge,<br />
dassderAnteilderlokalenBerichterstattung<br />
imneuseeländischenFernsehenzudiesem<br />
Zeitpunkt nur noch 24% der gesamten<br />
Sendezeit erreichte, was Neuseeland <strong>in</strong><br />
e<strong>in</strong>er vergleichenden Untersuchung mit<br />
zehn anderen Ländern den letzten Platz<br />
e<strong>in</strong>trug.2001kündigtedieneuseeländische<br />
RegierungihreAbsichtan,Quotenfürden<br />
Anteil lokaler Nachrichten und Sendungen<br />
<strong>in</strong>RundfunkundFernsehene<strong>in</strong>zuführen,da<br />
dieSubventionierungsolcherBeträgesich<br />
alsnichtausreichenderwiesenhatte.Doch<br />
der amerikanische Vertreter für den <strong>in</strong>ternationalenHandelliessschonsehrschnell<br />
verlauten,dasse<strong>in</strong>esolcheMassnahmedie<br />
VerpflichtungenNeuseelandsverletze.Das<br />
Vorhaben wurde aufgegeben und durch<br />
e<strong>in</strong>e e<strong>in</strong>fache Vere<strong>in</strong>barung zwischen der<br />
neuseeländischen Regierung und den<br />
Fernsehstationen ersetzt, <strong>in</strong> der sich die<br />
Senderverpflichteten,«ihrBesteszutun»,<br />
umdasNiveauihrerlokalenSendegefässe<br />
zuheben.<br />
• Der dritte, neuere Grund ist die<br />
Marg<strong>in</strong>alisierung e<strong>in</strong>er grossen Zahl von<br />
<strong>Kultur</strong>en im <strong>in</strong>ternationalen Raum, der<br />
mit den neuen Informationstechnologien<br />
entsteht (Internet usw.). Ungeachtet der<br />
Tatsache, dass diese neuen Technologien<br />
beachtliche Möglichkeiten bieten, um die<br />
Vielfalt der <strong>Kultur</strong>en auszudrücken, ist die<br />
<strong>Gefahr</strong>,dasssichderGrabenzwischenden<br />
Ländern mit und ohne echten Zugang zu<br />
diesen Möglichkeiten weiter vertieft, durchausrealundsehrbesorgniserregend.<br />
InallendreiFällenistdasGrundrechtaufkulturellenAusdruck<strong>in</strong>Fragegestelltunddamit<br />
auch das demokratische Leben und der<br />
gesellschaftliche Zusammenhalt der betreffenden<br />
Geme<strong>in</strong>schaft bzw. Bevölkerung.<br />
Unter diesem Gesichtspunkt besteht ke<strong>in</strong><br />
Zweifel, dass es sich bei der Verteidigung<br />
derkulturellenVielfaltume<strong>in</strong>engrundlegendenKampfhandelt.<br />
Die WTO oder die<br />
kulturelle Vielfalt<br />
als Beh<strong>in</strong>derung<br />
des freien Handels<br />
Die WTO als solche <strong>in</strong>teressiert sich<br />
nicht für die <strong>Kultur</strong>, da diese nicht <strong>in</strong> ihren<br />
Zuständigkeitsbereich fällt. Sie <strong>in</strong>teressiert<br />
sich jedoch für die Massnahmen, die von<br />
den Staaten ergriffen werden, um den kulturellen<br />
Ausdruck auf nationaler und die<br />
kulturelle Vielfalt auf <strong>in</strong>ternationaler Ebene zu<br />
fördern. Wenn diese <strong>in</strong> irgende<strong>in</strong>er Weise die<br />
Handelsströme beh<strong>in</strong>dern und e<strong>in</strong>er WTO-<br />
Bestimmungzuwiderlaufen,könnensieAnlass<br />
für e<strong>in</strong>e Klage se<strong>in</strong>. Unter den Massnahmen,<br />
diediesbezüglichamehestenSchwierigkeiten<br />
machenkönnen,gehörenöffentlicheBeihilfen,<br />
Quoten,ForderungennachlokalemInhaltund<br />
MassnahmenzurInvestitionskontrolle.<br />
Sieht man von den Filmquoten ab, die<br />
durch Artikel IV des GATT bewilligt werden<br />
(manweiss<strong>in</strong>diesemZusammenhang,dass<br />
derschweizerischeQuotenanteil1993füre<strong>in</strong><br />
Landerecht der Swissair <strong>in</strong> Atlanta e<strong>in</strong>getauscht<br />
wurde…), sowie von der generellen<br />
Ausnahme<strong>in</strong>ArtikelXXdesGATTbetreffend<br />
den Schutz nationaler Güter mit künstlerischem,<br />
historischem oder archäologischem<br />
Wert, gibt es ke<strong>in</strong>erlei Ausnahmeregelungen<br />
oderSonderbehandlungen,diespezifischauf<br />
kulturelle Güter und Leistungen anwendbar<br />
wären.<br />
In den gegenwärtig laufenden WTO-<br />
Verhandlungen über den <strong>in</strong>ternationalen<br />
Handel haben gewisse Mitglieder bereits<br />
Anträge e<strong>in</strong>gebracht, die das Problem der<br />
Berücksichtigung der Besonderheiten im<br />
audiovisuellen Bereich ausdrücklich ansprechen.Diesist<strong>in</strong>besonderederFallderSchweiz.<br />
Sieschlägte<strong>in</strong>egründlicheUntersuchungvor,<br />
mitderfestgestelltwerdensoll,obdasGeneral<br />
AgreementonTrade<strong>in</strong>Services(GATS)–e<strong>in</strong>es<br />
derzahlreichenAbkommen,dieheutevonder<br />
WTO verwaltet werden – flexibel genug ist,<br />
um den Besonderheiten des audiovisuellen<br />
Sektors angepasste Lösungen vorschlagen<br />
und die kulturellen, sozialen und demokratischen<br />
Ziele der Mitgliedstaaten h<strong>in</strong>reichend<br />
berücksichtigen zu können. Unter den<br />
Fragen, die bei e<strong>in</strong>er solchen Untersuchung<br />
geprüft werden müssten, erwähnt die<br />
Schweiz die Subventionen, die öffentlichen<br />
audiovisuellen Dienstleister, unerlaubte<br />
Inhalte, Fragen bezüglich des Wettbewerbs<br />
und der Reglementierungen sowie schliesslich<br />
die Restriktionen für den Zugang zum<br />
Inlandmarkt und zur Inländerbehandlung. Die<br />
LösungenfürdieseFragenkönntendieForm<br />
e<strong>in</strong>es GATS-Anhangs über die audiovisuellen<br />
Dienstleistungen annehmen. E<strong>in</strong> solches<br />
Vorgehen ist jedoch <strong>in</strong>sofern nicht ungefährlich,<br />
als es e<strong>in</strong>er hauptsächlich kommerziell<br />
orientierten Organisation die Aufgabe überträgt,zubestimmen,wase<strong>in</strong>Land<strong>in</strong>Sachen<br />
kulturellerEntwicklungtundarfundwasnicht.<br />
Die Haltung der USA zu diesem Thema<br />
erlaubt,dieGrenzene<strong>in</strong>essolchenVorgehens<br />
besser zu erfassen. Sie schlagen nämlich<br />
vor, dass die Mitgliedstaaten parallel zur<br />
Aushandlung spezifischer Verpflichtungen<br />
bezüglich der audiovisuellen Dienstleistungen<br />
auchzue<strong>in</strong>erE<strong>in</strong>igungüberdieSubventionen<br />
kommen könnten, die das Bedürfnis jedes<br />
Landesrespektiert,se<strong>in</strong>ekulturelleIdentitätzu<br />
fördern,<strong>in</strong>demese<strong>in</strong>Umfeldschafft,dassich<br />
bereicherndaufdienationale<strong>Kultur</strong>auswirkt.<br />
AufdenerstenBlickersche<strong>in</strong>tdieserVorschlag<br />
als Zeichen guten Willens. Tatsächlich ist die<br />
StrategiederVere<strong>in</strong>igtenStaatenaufdreiZiele<br />
ausgerichtet:<br />
• Als erstes sollen diejenigen WTO-Mitgliedstaaten,<br />
die bisher ke<strong>in</strong>e Liberalisierungsverpflichtungen<br />
für den audiovisuellen Bereich<br />
e<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>gen (die weit überwiegende Mehrheit),<br />
3
AFP FOTO / John G. Mabanglo<br />
Die Demonstrationen gegen die Globalisierung und<br />
die Liberalisierung sämtlicher Handelsströme – hier <strong>in</strong><br />
Seattle im Dezember 1999 – werden immer heftiger.<br />
dazu gebracht werden, diesen Sektor <strong>in</strong> die<br />
ListeihrerVerpflichtungenimRahmenderlaufendenVerhandlungenaufzunehmen.<br />
•AlszweitesZielsolldurchgesetztwerden,<br />
dass die aktuellen Marktzugangsebenen<br />
garantiertwerden.FürMitglieder,diebereits<br />
Beschränkungen<strong>in</strong>diesemBereichkennen,<br />
kann dieses Begehren überaus vernünftig<br />
ersche<strong>in</strong>en, da es ja <strong>in</strong> gewisser Weise nur<br />
die bestehenden Praktiken legitimiert. Für<br />
Staaten h<strong>in</strong>gegen, die bisher ke<strong>in</strong>erlei derartige<br />
Restriktionen kennen (das trifft auf<br />
die Mehrheit der Entwicklungsländer zu),<br />
hätte dies zur Folge, dass sie künftig ke<strong>in</strong>e<br />
fürihrekulturelleEntwicklungerforderlichen<br />
Massnahmen mehr treffen könnten, die <strong>in</strong><br />
irgende<strong>in</strong>er Weise den Zugang zu ihrem<br />
Marktbeschränkten.<br />
•DrittesZielistschliesslich,alsGegenleistung<br />
für«Konzessionen»bezüglichderBeibehaltung<br />
bestehender Schutzmassnahmen im audiovisuellenBereichsowiebestehenderoderkommender<br />
Subventionsprogramme Regelungen<br />
durchzusetzen, die den praktisch unbeschränkten<br />
Zugang für elektronisch übermittelte<br />
audiovisuelle Produkte garantieren, das<br />
heisstfürdenVertriebs-undZirkulationskanal<br />
derWerkevonmorgen.<br />
ImWartenaufdieWiederaufnahmeder(temporär<br />
ausgesetzten) WTO-Verhandlungen<br />
haben die USA bereits fünf bilaterale<br />
Freihandelsabkommen (mit Chile, S<strong>in</strong>gapur,<br />
denStaatenZentralamerikas,Australienund<br />
Marokko) geschlossen, die Massnahmen<br />
enthalten, welche die vorgenannten Ziele<br />
widerspiegeln. Verschiedene weitere bilateraleAbkommenstehenvordemAbschluss.<br />
Ganz anders ist die Strategie der<br />
Europäischen Union <strong>in</strong> diesen Verhandlungen.<br />
IhrStandpunktistes,imaudiovisuellenSektor<br />
ke<strong>in</strong>erlei Liberalisierungsverpflichtung e<strong>in</strong>zugehen.<br />
Dies erklärte EU-Kommissar<strong>in</strong> Viviane<br />
Red<strong>in</strong>g2001:«Wirs<strong>in</strong>doffenfürdenAustausch<br />
unddieZusammenarbeit,diefürdieFörderung<br />
derkulturellenVielfalt<strong>in</strong>Europaund<strong>in</strong>derWelt<br />
notwendigs<strong>in</strong>d,dochdieInstrumentedes<strong>in</strong>ternationalenHandelssche<strong>in</strong>enunsnichtgeeignet,<br />
umdieseZielezuerreichen.H<strong>in</strong>gegenanerkennenwir,dasseswertsteigerndse<strong>in</strong>könnte,mit<br />
möglichstvielenPartnernausserhalbdesWTO-<br />
Rahmens über die allgeme<strong>in</strong>e Problematik<br />
der kulturellen Vielfalt im Zusammenhang mit<br />
der Globalisierung und den verschiedenen<br />
öffentlichen Strategien für ihre Erhaltung und<br />
Förderungzudiskutieren.»<br />
Diese Position deckt sich mit derjenigen<br />
Kanadas, das ke<strong>in</strong>erlei Verpflichtung<br />
e<strong>in</strong>gehenwill,dasse<strong>in</strong>eFähigkeitbegrenzt,<br />
dieeigenenZielebezüglichder<strong>Kultur</strong>politik<br />
zuverwirklichen,undzwarsolange,bise<strong>in</strong><br />
neues <strong>in</strong>ternationales Instrument geschaffen<br />
werden kann, das ausdrücklich dafür<br />
bestimmt ist, das Recht der Länder zu<br />
schützen, ihre kulturelle Vielfalt zu erhalten<br />
und zu fördern. In beiden Fällen ist das<br />
Ziel, sicherzustellen, dass die Doppelnatur<br />
der kulturellen Erzeugnisse als kommerzielle<br />
Produkte und Instrumente der sozialen<br />
Kommunikationkonkretberücksichtigtwird.<br />
Die UNESCO oder die<br />
kulturelle Vielfalt als<br />
Selbstzweck gesehen<br />
Die kulturelle Vielfalt – im umfassenden<br />
S<strong>in</strong>nvonVielfaltundUnterschiedlichkeitder<br />
Identitäten verstanden – stand im Zentrum<br />
der Tätigkeit der UNESCO im kulturellen<br />
Bereich, und zwar praktisch seit Gründung<br />
dieser UNO-Sonderorganisation im Jahre<br />
1945. Dennoch begann sich die UNESCO<br />
erst1999konkretmitderFragedesSchutzes<br />
der kulturellen Vielfalt vor dem Druck der<br />
wirtschaftlichenGlobalisierungunddesfreien<br />
Handels zu befassen. Mit e<strong>in</strong>er Debatte<br />
konfrontiert, die eigentlich an vorderster<br />
Frontsieselbstbetraf,diejedochbisdah<strong>in</strong><br />
ohneirgende<strong>in</strong>eInterventionihrerseitsstattgefundenhatte,schaltetesichdieUNESCO<br />
schliesslich1999<strong>in</strong>dieAuse<strong>in</strong>andersetzung<br />
e<strong>in</strong>, <strong>in</strong>dem sie e<strong>in</strong> Dokument mit dem Titel<br />
<strong>Kultur</strong>, Handel und Globalisierung, Fragen<br />
und Antworten veröffentlichte. In der Folge<br />
fanden mehrere Treffen statt, bei denen<br />
verschiedene Aspekte der Frage erörtert<br />
wurden.<br />
Copyright UNESCO/Niamh Burke<br />
« Das Gespräch zwischen den Ländern,<br />
die die kulturellen Güter und<br />
Dienstleistungen verteidigen möchten<br />
( … ) und denjenigen, welche die kulturellen<br />
Rechte zu fördern hofften, wurde<br />
so übertroffen, da diese Ansätze <strong>in</strong> der<br />
Erklärung vere<strong>in</strong>igt s<strong>in</strong>d. »<br />
UNESCO-GeneraldirektorKoïchiroMatsuura<br />
<strong>in</strong>derE<strong>in</strong>führungzuruniversellenErklärung<br />
der UNESCO über die kulturelle Vielfalt,<br />
2001.<br />
« Weil sie vom Menschen geschaffen<br />
s<strong>in</strong>d, entfalten sich kulturelle<br />
Manifestationen <strong>in</strong> e<strong>in</strong>er unaufhörlichen<br />
Abfolge von Geburt und Wiedergeburt<br />
mit gegenseitiger Bereicherung. Den<br />
Fortbestand dieser Bewegung müssen<br />
wir gewährleisten. »<br />
7. April 2004, Informationssitzung über<br />
das Vorgehen bei der Erarbeitung e<strong>in</strong>es<br />
Entwurfs für das Abkommen über den<br />
SchutzderVielfaltkulturellerInhalteund<br />
künstlerischerAusdrucksformen.<br />
Koïchiro<br />
Matsuura<br />
4
Als Antwort auf die Initiative gewisser<br />
Staaten, die Erarbeitung e<strong>in</strong>er <strong>in</strong>ternationalen<br />
Konvention über die kulturelle Vielfalt<br />
auf die Traktandenliste der 166. Sitzung des<br />
Exekutivrats zu setzen, schlug das UNESCO-<br />
Sekretariatam12.März2003vor,derRatsolle<br />
an der 32. Generalkonferenz empfehlen, e<strong>in</strong>e<br />
Entscheidung für die Erarbeitung e<strong>in</strong>es neuen<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternationalennormativenInstrumentszufällen<br />
und die Natur dieses Instruments festzulegen.<br />
Dies tat die Generalkonferenz denn auch im<br />
Oktober 2003, und zwar mit der zusätzlichen<br />
Präzisierung,dasssichdieKonventionaufden<br />
SchutzderkulturellenInhalteundderkünstlerischenAusdrucksformenerstreckensolle.<br />
Der glückliche Ausgang dieser ersten<br />
Etappeh<strong>in</strong>zue<strong>in</strong>er<strong>in</strong>ternationalenKonvention<br />
über dieses Thema vermag nur schlecht zu<br />
verbergen, dass bezüglich der Berechtigung<br />
e<strong>in</strong>er solchen Vere<strong>in</strong>barung unterschiedliche<br />
Ansichtenbestehen.<br />
• Für gewisse Länder (wie die USA,<br />
Grossbritannien und die Niederlande) handelt<br />
es sich um e<strong>in</strong> Abkommen, das unter<br />
dem Deckmantel e<strong>in</strong>er weniger negativen<br />
Sprache den Kampf der «kulturellen<br />
Ausnahme» fortsetzt. Mit anderen Worten<br />
um e<strong>in</strong> Abkommen mit protektionistischer<br />
Ausrichtung,dessenEndzielist,die<strong>Kultur</strong>aus<br />
der WTO ausszuschliessen oder zum<strong>in</strong>dest<br />
e<strong>in</strong>eSonderbehandlungfürden<strong>Kultur</strong>bereich<br />
durchzusetzen.<br />
• Für andere Länder – die weit überwiegende<br />
Mehrheit der Staaten, die sich an der<br />
Generalkonferenz von Oktober 2003 zu Wort<br />
gemeldethatten–gehtesimGegenteilume<strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>in</strong> erster L<strong>in</strong>ie kulturelles Abkommen, dessen<br />
ZwecknichtdieÄnderungdesWTO-Rechtsist,<br />
sonderndasehere<strong>in</strong>enBezugsrahmen,e<strong>in</strong>en<br />
VerhaltenskodexfürdieSignatarstaatenliefern<br />
soll. Für die Entwicklungsländer im besonderen<br />
handelt es sich um e<strong>in</strong> Abkommen, dem<br />
sieumsobereitwilligerbeitretenwerden,weil<br />
esdazubeitragenwird,dasssieihreeigenen<br />
kulturellen Ausdrucksformen fördern können,<br />
die <strong>in</strong> vielen Fällen besonders gefährdet s<strong>in</strong>d<br />
undüberdiesieauchihrewirtschaftlicheund<br />
sozialeEntwicklungvorantreibenkönnen.<br />
E<strong>in</strong>e Schlacht,<br />
ke<strong>in</strong> Krieg<br />
Diese Schlacht um die kulturelle Vielfalt ist<br />
noch lange nicht gewonnen. Abgesehen<br />
vom protektionistischen Charakter des<br />
Konventionsentwurfs, der <strong>in</strong>nerhalb der<br />
UNESCO diskutiert wird, könnten die USA<br />
auch geltend machen, dass das Vorhaben<br />
dem Grundsatz der freien Zirkulation der<br />
Information zuwiderläuft genau so, wie sie<br />
dies<strong>in</strong>denJahrenvon1970bis1980taten,<br />
um das Vorhaben e<strong>in</strong>er neuen Weltordnung<br />
für Information und Kommunikation zu diskreditieren,dasdamalsvonderUNESCO<strong>in</strong>s<br />
Gespräch gebracht worden war. Doch das<br />
ZieldergeplantenKonventionistnicht,den<br />
Informationsfluss zu beh<strong>in</strong>dern, sondern im<br />
Gegenteil jedem E<strong>in</strong>zelnen zu ermöglichen,<br />
am kulturellen Leben se<strong>in</strong>er Geme<strong>in</strong>schaft<br />
teilzunehmen, e<strong>in</strong> Grundrecht, das <strong>in</strong><br />
Artikel 27 der Allgeme<strong>in</strong>en Erklärung der<br />
Menschenrechteanerkanntwird.<br />
SolltedasVorhabene<strong>in</strong>erKonventionüber<br />
die Erhaltung und Förderung der kulturellen<br />
Vielfaltscheitern,müsstedasRechtaufkulturellen<br />
Ausdruck <strong>in</strong> Zukunft alle<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> Instanzen<br />
mit kommerzieller Ausrichtung diskutiert werden.AlserstewärendavondieKreateureund<br />
Autorenselbstbetroffen.Siemüsstenmitansehen,dassdieE<strong>in</strong>griffedesStaateszugunsten<br />
der kulturellen Entwicklung mehr und mehr<br />
durchre<strong>in</strong>kommerzielleÜberlegungene<strong>in</strong>geschränktwürden.<br />
Unter diesen Umständen überrascht es<br />
nicht,dass<strong>in</strong>denletztenJahrenimmermehr<br />
nationaleVere<strong>in</strong>igungenfürkulturelleVielfalt<br />
entstanden, <strong>in</strong> denen <strong>Kultur</strong>schaffende aller<br />
Bereiche tätig s<strong>in</strong>d, um auf nationaler wie<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternationaler Ebene den Platz und die<br />
Aufgabe kultureller Ausdrucksformen als<br />
Sprache der sozialen Kommunikation zu<br />
verteidigen.<br />
Und es ist ja <strong>in</strong> der Tat so, dass die<br />
«Schlacht der kulturellen Vielfalt» nur mit<br />
der entschlossenen Unterstützung der<br />
<strong>Kultur</strong>schaffendengewonnenwerdenkann.<br />
Der Autor<br />
I<br />
van Bernier hatanderLondonSchoolof<br />
Economics<strong>in</strong>Rechtswissenschaftenpromoviert.Eristspezialisiertauf<strong>in</strong>ternationales<br />
Wirtschaftsrecht, emeritierter Professor der<br />
Juristischen Fakultät der Universität Quebec<br />
(Kanada) und Verfasser, Mitverfasser und<br />
Herausgeber zahlreicher Artikel und Werke<br />
über die Beziehungen zwischen Handel und<br />
<strong>Kultur</strong>.InjüngererZeitwareralsBeraterdes<br />
Canadian Heritage (<strong>Kultur</strong>m<strong>in</strong>isterium), des<br />
M<strong>in</strong>isteriums für <strong>Kultur</strong> und Kommunikation<br />
derProv<strong>in</strong>zQuebecsowiedesInternationalen<br />
Netzwerks für <strong>Kultur</strong>politik (INCP) tätig. Im<br />
November2003wurdeervomGeneraldirektor<br />
derUNESCO<strong>in</strong>dieExpertengruppeberufen,<br />
die e<strong>in</strong> Vorprojekt für e<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong>ternationale<br />
Konvention über die kulturelle Vielfalt ausarbeitensoll.<br />
5
In <strong>in</strong>ternationalen Verhandlungen vertritt die<br />
Schweiz im allgeme<strong>in</strong>en handelspolitische<br />
Positionen, die den Vorrang vor ihren kulturellen<br />
Interessen haben, so schädlich deren<br />
langfristigeAuswirkungenauchse<strong>in</strong>mögen.<br />
2001, als sich Europa – noch unter dem<br />
Schock des <strong>in</strong>nerhalb der OECD gescheiterten<br />
MAI stehend – heftig für die «kulturelle<br />
Diversität à la française» e<strong>in</strong>setzte, die sich<br />
gegen die allumfassende wirtschaftliche<br />
LiberalisierungalsSpeerspitzederVere<strong>in</strong>igten<br />
Staatenrichtete,unternahmdieSchweize<strong>in</strong>en<br />
Alle<strong>in</strong>gang, <strong>in</strong>dem sie <strong>in</strong>nerhalb der WTO<br />
die Frage von Schutzklauseln im kulturellen<br />
Bereich <strong>in</strong>s Gespräch brachte. Das trug ihr<br />
se<strong>in</strong>erzeit schwere Vorwürfe von seiten der<br />
EU-Staatene<strong>in</strong>.<br />
Im gegenwärtigen Stadium dieser<br />
Debattefreuenwiruns,Ihnennachstehend<br />
den Standpunkt des Stellvertretenden<br />
DirektorsdesBundesamtsfür<strong>Kultur</strong>,Marc<br />
Wehrl<strong>in</strong>,vorzustellen.<br />
Claude Champion, Präsident der SSA<br />
Die Schweiz <strong>in</strong> der<br />
kulturellen Vielfalt<br />
weit vorne.<br />
An vielem lässt sich ermessen, wie<br />
wichtig der Grundsatz der kulturellen<br />
Vielfalt für die Schweiz ist. Davon zeugt<br />
alle<strong>in</strong> schon der verfassungsmässige<br />
Grundsatz, dass die <strong>Kultur</strong>hoheit weitgehendbeidenKantonenliegtundessomit<br />
viele<strong>Kultur</strong>enund<strong>Kultur</strong>politikengibt.Beim<br />
Film,der<strong>in</strong>derZuständigkeitdesBundes<br />
liegt, ist die Angebotsvielfalt als Ziel ausdrücklich<strong>in</strong>derVerfassungverankert.Wir<br />
s<strong>in</strong>ddase<strong>in</strong>zigeLandEuropas,dasse<strong>in</strong>e<br />
Filmbranche (Verleih und K<strong>in</strong>o) <strong>in</strong> der<br />
Filmgesetzgebung zur kulturellen Vielfalt<br />
verpflichtet und Förderungsmassnahmen<br />
kennt, die auf die Angebotsvielfalt zielen.<br />
So erhalten z.B. Filmverleiher, deren<br />
VerleihprogrammzuwenigstensderHälfte<br />
aus Filmen aus Ländern besteht, die <strong>in</strong><br />
der Schweiz nicht schon e<strong>in</strong>e mächtige<br />
Marktstellung haben, e<strong>in</strong>e Förderung pro<br />
E<strong>in</strong>tritt für ihre Low-budget-Filme. Filme<br />
aus den Ländern des Südens geniessen<br />
e<strong>in</strong>en zusätzlichen Bonus. Mit 27%<br />
Publikumsanteil für nichtnationale europäische<br />
Filme ist die Schweiz <strong>in</strong> Europa<br />
e<strong>in</strong>sameSpitze.<br />
<strong>Kultur</strong>elle Vielfalt bedeutet uns somit<br />
nicht nur den Schutz der eigenen Vielfalt,<br />
sondernAustauschmitanderen<strong>Kultur</strong>en.<br />
Diese Politik verfolgen wir nicht nur<br />
gegen <strong>in</strong>nen, sondern auch gegen aussen<br />
auf dem <strong>in</strong>ternationalen Parkett. Der<br />
DirektordesBundesamtesfür<strong>Kultur</strong>,David<br />
Streiff, gehört zu den Gründermitgliedern<br />
des Réseau <strong>in</strong>ternational des politiques<br />
culturelles (RIPC), das an der Wiege der<br />
UNESCO-Konvention zum Schutz der<br />
kulturellen Vielfalt stand. 2002 war die<br />
Schweiz Gastgeber<strong>in</strong> e<strong>in</strong>er Tagung des<br />
RIPC<strong>in</strong>LuzernzudiesemThema.Anden<br />
Arbeiten der UNESCO-Woche werden wir<br />
aktivpartizipieren,undwirkoord<strong>in</strong>ierendie<br />
Haltung<strong>in</strong>nerhalbderBundesverwaltung.<br />
Ich selbst vertrete die Interessen<br />
der <strong>Kultur</strong> <strong>in</strong> den laufenden WTO-<br />
Verhandlungen.Prof.Bernierirrtsich,wenn<br />
erausführt,dieSchweizhabedasThema<br />
derkulturellenVielfaltderWTOüberlassen<br />
wollen. Unseres Erachtens ist es ke<strong>in</strong>eswegs<br />
an der WTO, <strong>Kultur</strong>politik zu formulieren–aberesgehtumSchnittstellen.<br />
Aber mittelfristig wird es darum gehen,<br />
dass die WTO nicht nur die nationalen<br />
Gesundheits-,Sozial-undUmweltpolitiken<br />
zurespektierenhat,wiedasheutefestgeschrieben<br />
ist, sondern auch die Politiken<br />
zurFörderungderkulturellenVielfalt.E<strong>in</strong>e<br />
zeitlich beschränkte Ausnahmeregelung,<br />
wie das GATS sie heute vorsieht, wird<br />
den Bedürfnissen e<strong>in</strong>er dynamischen<br />
<strong>Kultur</strong>politik nicht gerecht. Die <strong>in</strong>ternationalenGrundsätzederkulturellenVielfalt<br />
sollen <strong>in</strong> der UNESCO-Konvention verankert<br />
werden, und dabei wird auf geeignete<br />
Weise sicherzustellen se<strong>in</strong>, dass die<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternationalenHandelspolitikenandiesen<br />
Grundsätzen Halt machen. <strong>Kultur</strong>elle<br />
Vielfalt ist ke<strong>in</strong> blosses kulturpolitisches<br />
Anliegen,esiste<strong>in</strong>gesellschaftspolitischer<br />
ParameterfürdieZivilisation.<br />
Marc Wehrl<strong>in</strong><br />
Stellvertretender Direktor und Leiter der Sektion<br />
Film im Bundesamt für <strong>Kultur</strong>.<br />
DIZAÏN Jean-Pascal Buri<br />
Die Sonderdrucke der SSA<br />
A<br />
ls Ergänzung zum Bullet<strong>in</strong> A Propos<br />
(das viermal pro Jahr ersche<strong>in</strong>t) und<br />
zu den E-Mail-Nachrichten @-Propos<br />
veröffentlicht die SSA e<strong>in</strong>e Reihe von<br />
H<strong>in</strong>tergrund- bzw. Grundsatzartikeln <strong>in</strong><br />
Form von Sonderdrucken. Sie bietet<br />
damit eigenständige Überlegungen über<br />
spezifische Aspekte der szenischen und<br />
audiovisuellen Produktion <strong>in</strong> der Schweiz<br />
an. Jeder Artikel wird von e<strong>in</strong>em spezialisierten<br />
Autor verfasst, der das Thema<br />
auf ausführliche und persönliche Weise<br />
behandelnkann.<br />
Der Vertrieb der Sonderdrucke, die Teil e<strong>in</strong>er<br />
Aufwertung des Autorenstatus <strong>in</strong> e<strong>in</strong>em<br />
Land s<strong>in</strong>d, <strong>in</strong> dem umfassende, komplexe<br />
Überlegungen nicht zuletzt auch zum<br />
Thema Schweiz spärlich gesät s<strong>in</strong>d, wird je<br />
nach Thema des Artikels angepasst, dies <strong>in</strong><br />
Zusammenarbeit mit <strong>Kultur</strong>zeitschriften und<br />
Berufsverbänden.<br />
Bereits veröffentlicht:<br />
•Nr.1:Le grand écart de l’auteur polymorphe,<br />
vonPierre-LouisChantre(W<strong>in</strong>ter2002).DerAutor<br />
untersucht die schwierigen Beziehungen <strong>in</strong> den<br />
Westschweizer Film- und Theaterkreisen (nur<br />
französischlieferbar).<br />
• Nr. 2: Lachen ist e<strong>in</strong>e ernsthafte Angelegenheit,<br />
von Christ<strong>in</strong>e D’Anna-Huber (Herbst<br />
2003). Die Autor<strong>in</strong> beschäftigt sich mit der<br />
besonderen Stellung der Schweizer Komiker<br />
aufkulturellerundwirtschaftlicherEbene(französischunddeutschlieferbar).<br />
Sie können diese Sonderdrucke auf www.ssa.ch<br />
herunterladen oder kostenlos anfordern bei der<br />
SSA, rue Centrale 12-14, case postale 7463,<br />
1002Lausanne,Tel.:0213134455,<strong>in</strong>fo@ssa.ch.<br />
6
Joost Smiers<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Do we need monopolistic control?<br />
WTO<br />
GATS<br />
TRIPs<br />
free trade<br />
economic globalisation<br />
neoliberal agenda<br />
film, music,<br />
books, theatre,<br />
dance, design,<br />
soap operas, shows,<br />
visual arts,<br />
UNESCO<br />
convention on cultural diversity<br />
regulations <strong>in</strong> favour of cultural<br />
diversity<br />
multimedia<br />
digital doma<strong>in</strong><br />
Utrecht School of the Arts
Joost Smiers<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Do we need monopolistic control?<br />
Joost Smiers is professor of political science of the arts at the Utrecht<br />
School of the Arts, the Netherlands, and formerly visit<strong>in</strong>g professor,<br />
Department of World Arts and Cultures, UCLA, Los Angeles. He has<br />
written, lectured and researched extensively <strong>in</strong> the area of decision-mak<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong> cultural matters worldwide, on new visions of creative and <strong>in</strong>tellectual<br />
property, copyright and the public doma<strong>in</strong>, on freedom of expression<br />
versus responsibility, and on cultural identities. His books <strong>in</strong>clude Arts<br />
Under Pressure. Promot<strong>in</strong>g Cultural Diversity <strong>in</strong> the Age of<br />
Globalization (London 2003, Zed Books)<br />
Permission is freely given to anyone wish<strong>in</strong>g to copy, reproduce,<br />
distribute or translate any part or parts of this booklet but please<br />
acknowledge and then notify the author if so do<strong>in</strong>g:<br />
Joost Smiers<br />
Research Group Arts & Economics<br />
Utrecht School of the Arts<br />
P.O. Box 1520<br />
3500 BM UTRECHT<br />
The Netherlands<br />
Tel.: 0031-30-2332256<br />
joost.smiers@central.hku.nl<br />
See for the digital version of this booklet:<br />
www.hku.nl (! over de hku ! publicaties)<br />
Language editor: Lyn Brown (Dart<strong>in</strong>gton, UK)<br />
Cover and book design: Jaap van den Dries<br />
Utrecht School of the Arts<br />
February 2004
CONTENTS<br />
Introduction 4<br />
chapter 1<br />
1 January 1985: from culture to trade 9<br />
Unesco – WTO 9<br />
Why should we have cultural conglomerates? 13<br />
The human right of access 16<br />
chapter 2<br />
WTO - no safe haven for culture 21<br />
Prelim<strong>in</strong>ary skirmishes 21<br />
WTO: a commercial perspective 23<br />
A new b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>ternational <strong>in</strong>strument on cultural diversity 29<br />
chapter 3<br />
Convention on Cultural Diversity 33<br />
The capacity of all states to preserve and enhance cultural diversity 33<br />
Cultural diversity: signifiers <strong>in</strong> human life 40<br />
Guid<strong>in</strong>g pr<strong>in</strong>ciples 41<br />
chapter 4<br />
Regulations <strong>in</strong> favour of cultural diversity 51<br />
Robust regulatory systems 51<br />
Ownership regulations 53<br />
Content regulations 63<br />
The carrots: subsidies, tax policies and other <strong>in</strong>centives 73<br />
Public accountability 77<br />
Monitor<strong>in</strong>g 81<br />
at the end comes the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Strategic Observation 85<br />
Bibliography 88
4 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 5<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
Most of the rumbl<strong>in</strong>gs around the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have<br />
been l<strong>in</strong>ked to questions on the divide between rich and poor countries,<br />
agriculture, health and the pharmaceutical <strong>in</strong>dustries. In Seattle, Cancún<br />
and all these other cities where the present economic globalisation was<br />
contested, cultural movements were <strong>in</strong> the op<strong>in</strong>ion of the public,<br />
remarkably <strong>in</strong>visible. Therefore, it might be surpris<strong>in</strong>g to know that the<br />
cultural sectors <strong>in</strong> our societies have set a far reach<strong>in</strong>g proposal on the<br />
agenda that could contribute to the weaken<strong>in</strong>g of the WTO system: the<br />
establishment of a Convention on Cultural Diversity. The purpose of such<br />
a Convention is that culture must be freed from the liberalis<strong>in</strong>g grip of the<br />
world trade system. It should strengthen a country’s sovereign right to<br />
ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> and <strong>in</strong>stall all those measures they feel appropriate for the<br />
protection and the promotion of cultural diversity with<strong>in</strong> their society and<br />
<strong>in</strong> their relationships with other countries too. To reach this ideal, serious<br />
juridical pitfalls should be overcome, not to mention fierce political<br />
struggles.<br />
This Convention, once ratified and signed by a substantial number<br />
of countries, must shield them from trade retaliations because of their<br />
cultural policies that may <strong>in</strong>clude subsidy systems, preferential tax<br />
treatments for domestic cultural <strong>in</strong>itiatives, ownership and content<br />
regulations, and regulations that would make cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries publicly<br />
accountable. In the present economically dom<strong>in</strong>ated world order all k<strong>in</strong>ds<br />
of protective measures have been considered as distortions of the<br />
glorified free trade and are therefore meant to be abolished. This is also the<br />
purpose of the new round of trade negotiations with<strong>in</strong> WTO (the so-called<br />
Doha Round) that was started <strong>in</strong> 2001. Cultural conglomerates want<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
atta<strong>in</strong> even more exhibition space and sell<strong>in</strong>g po<strong>in</strong>ts world-wide than they<br />
have already, press hard to make countries open up their cultural markets<br />
completely and remove all protective measures that stand <strong>in</strong> their way.<br />
However, if ownership and decision-mak<strong>in</strong>g concern<strong>in</strong>g cultural life<br />
is be<strong>in</strong>g controlled <strong>in</strong> a substantial manner by just a few cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries<br />
worldwide, then fundamental human rights and democracy are <strong>in</strong> danger.<br />
Human communication, expressed <strong>in</strong> all different forms of the arts, and the<br />
access to its means of production and distribution, should be as free and<br />
diverse as possible and should <strong>in</strong> no way be controlled by a few forces<br />
that dom<strong>in</strong>ate cultural markets <strong>in</strong> all corners of the world. This is about to<br />
happen. This book is about why there is a need for a Convention on<br />
Cultural Diversity (chapter 1); why the WTO is not an appropriate place<br />
for the protection and promotion of cultural diversities (chapter 2); and<br />
what such a Convention should look like (chapter 3).<br />
If its goal is to strengthen countries’ rights to regulate their cultural<br />
doma<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> favour of cultural diversity, then an important topic should be:<br />
what appropriate k<strong>in</strong>ds of regulations are effective, flexible, acceptable,<br />
understandable and conv<strong>in</strong>c<strong>in</strong>g? A substantial part of the book, chapter 4,<br />
discusses this complicated topic and illustrates it with many examples of<br />
ownership and content regulations, from all fields of the arts, and from as<br />
many countries <strong>in</strong> the world as possible. We should get a better grip on<br />
understand<strong>in</strong>g how to comb<strong>in</strong>e the freedom of cultural communication<br />
with implement<strong>in</strong>g regulatory systems <strong>in</strong> favour of cultural diversity, and<br />
not be h<strong>in</strong>dered by any trade retaliations or by cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries that<br />
occupy a too large a share of the cultural market or limit the cultural offer<br />
to stars, bestsellers and blockbusters.<br />
Cultural diversity is the central concept of the proposed Convention, and<br />
a goal for cultural life, wheresoever <strong>in</strong> the world. By promot<strong>in</strong>g this<br />
diversity the focus is on what we commonly call the arts. Of course,<br />
artistic expressions have impact on and reflect the broad way of life (which<br />
would be covered by the broad anthropological concept of culture), and<br />
are crucial <strong>in</strong> how we def<strong>in</strong>e and develop our identities. Moreover, the<br />
world of the arts is a significant and decisive segment of specific human<br />
communication <strong>in</strong> all societies. Here deeply felt feel<strong>in</strong>gs are expressed. It<br />
<strong>in</strong>cludes all forms of communication that have an aesthetic aspect;<br />
expressed <strong>in</strong> film, theatre, music, dance, opera, musicals, soaps, shows,<br />
pornography, design, visual arts, novels, poems and all different derived<br />
forms; exhibited <strong>in</strong> many dist<strong>in</strong>guished genres; mak<strong>in</strong>g noise or <strong>in</strong>vit<strong>in</strong>g<br />
silent reflection; produced and distributed on a small or a large scale;<br />
attract<strong>in</strong>g and enterta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g massive audiences and buyers or only modest<br />
groups of devotees; embodied <strong>in</strong> material, audiovisual or digital<br />
substances; ritualised, secularised, or commercialised.<br />
Thus, speak<strong>in</strong>g about the broad field of the arts as it functions <strong>in</strong><br />
our societies, a dist<strong>in</strong>ction between culture and enterta<strong>in</strong>ment is not<br />
relevant. The scale of the production and distribution of films, books,<br />
music, theatre performances, design and visual arts (whether <strong>in</strong> the<br />
material, audiovisual or digital world) is not relevant as a dist<strong>in</strong>guish<strong>in</strong>g<br />
criterion for <strong>in</strong>clusion or exclusion <strong>in</strong> the concept of cultural life. Indeed,
6 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 7<br />
some forms of artistic expression are more enterta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g, and others <strong>in</strong>vite<br />
calm reflection, or do both. However, such k<strong>in</strong>ds of dist<strong>in</strong>ctions (and there<br />
are many more to make: a work may, for <strong>in</strong>stance, be more traditional or<br />
more experimental) do not relate to the size of production, distribution and<br />
promotion. Artistic expressions created, produced, distributed, promoted<br />
and received on a mass scale belong to the cultural field of a society as<br />
much as the music, films, books, et cetera, that have a smaller scale.<br />
It is important to be aware that artistic expressions <strong>in</strong> different<br />
cultures present themselves <strong>in</strong> diverse ways; they may have dist<strong>in</strong>ct ways<br />
of presentation, entrepreneurial <strong>in</strong>frastructures, mean<strong>in</strong>gs, f<strong>in</strong>ancial<br />
underp<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>gs, artistic professions, attentiveness of audiences, and many<br />
other k<strong>in</strong>ds of struggles and contradictions. We should not forget that<br />
artistic fields are often symbolic battlegrounds about, for <strong>in</strong>stance, what<br />
sounds are important and are organised for maximum attention, what<br />
words are terrible and should be suppressed, and what k<strong>in</strong>ds of images are<br />
absolutely powerful and seduce until the magic has been broken. It is a<br />
cont<strong>in</strong>uous hegemonic struggle. But this struggle concerns all artistic<br />
expressions, whether they have been produced, distributed and promoted<br />
on a huge or a small scale. This fight <strong>in</strong>cludes moral, aesthetic, social, legal<br />
and economic aspects.<br />
Although it may be confus<strong>in</strong>g and conflict<strong>in</strong>g, it is exactly this<br />
multitude of artistic expressions that should have the right to exist, with its<br />
own conditions, and they should certa<strong>in</strong>ly not be organised by just a few<br />
enterprises. This multitude differs <strong>in</strong> any society (whether geographically<br />
dest<strong>in</strong>ed or digitally constituted). Of course, artists and their<br />
<strong>in</strong>termediaries should be able to make a liv<strong>in</strong>g, and that is the<br />
entrepreneurial side of their work. However, the social doma<strong>in</strong> that<br />
concerns the freedom of communication should not be taken over<br />
completely by commercial forces.<br />
The second word <strong>in</strong> the concept “cultural diversity” (from a<br />
democratic perspective) concerns not only the much-desired diversity of<br />
artistic expressions (the content) and occasions for cultural<br />
communication. It is just as important that there are many owners of the<br />
means of production and distribution and many decision-makers<br />
concern<strong>in</strong>g the artistic communication. A Convention on Cultural<br />
Diversity would strengthen, one would hope, the national states’<br />
competence to make sure that this can be realised. It is not about<br />
exclud<strong>in</strong>g works of art and enterta<strong>in</strong>ment from the cultural market; it is<br />
about guarantee<strong>in</strong>g that audiences may be confronted with the broad<br />
range of options that exist and, then, make their choice.<br />
Mid October 2003 the General Conference of Unesco unanimously<br />
adopted a resolution mandat<strong>in</strong>g its director-general to develop, <strong>in</strong> two<br />
years time, a prelim<strong>in</strong>ary draft Convention on protect<strong>in</strong>g cultural content<br />
and artistic expression. In chapter 3 we will see that a couple of drafts for<br />
such a Convention exist already, which may speed up the process with<strong>in</strong><br />
Unesco. Nevertheless with<strong>in</strong> this unanimity, the United States (s<strong>in</strong>ce<br />
recently back <strong>in</strong> Unesco; see chapter 1) made clear that, for them, culture is<br />
a product like any other, and therefore a new <strong>in</strong>ternational legally b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong>strument for culture is superfluous and makes no sense. However,<br />
representatives of most other countries spoke passionately and with great<br />
force <strong>in</strong> favour of such a Convention. This may not be surpris<strong>in</strong>g because<br />
people are fight<strong>in</strong>g for their identities. These contradictory viewpo<strong>in</strong>ts<br />
between the US and nearly all the rest of the world will take Unesco, with<strong>in</strong><br />
the next few years, <strong>in</strong>to a decisive battleground on the fundamental<br />
question of whether artistic expression will be a trade only product, or<br />
whether other values will mitigate the huge commercial <strong>in</strong>terests that<br />
narrow diversity and open access to the tools of cultural communication.<br />
World-wide there are quite a lot of people already <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> push<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
idea of a Convention on Cultural Diversity and mak<strong>in</strong>g the analytical effort<br />
to formulate what it should look like while try<strong>in</strong>g to solve the numerous<br />
contradictions and near impossibilities that belong to such an immense<br />
project. I had the pleasure of <strong>in</strong>terview<strong>in</strong>g Ivan Bernier, Peter Grant, Garry<br />
Neil, and Yvon Thiec for this book. The International Network for Cultural<br />
Diversity (INCD), a cultural NGO, is, and has been for many years, an<br />
excellent breed<strong>in</strong>g ground for the development of my th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about arts<br />
<strong>in</strong> the global context. The Research Group Arts and Economics of the<br />
Utrecht School of the Arts is a more than welcome home from where I visit<br />
the world and its arts, and my colleague Giep Hagoort <strong>in</strong> this Research<br />
Group cont<strong>in</strong>ues to <strong>in</strong>spire. Johanna Damm, Lisa Kölker, and Alies<br />
MacLean gave me very welcome logistical and research support.<br />
On 25, 26 and 27 September 2003 I had the opportunity to <strong>in</strong>vite<br />
more than twenty researchers and cultural activists from all parts of the<br />
world to a work<strong>in</strong>g conference Regulations <strong>in</strong> Favour of Cultural<br />
Diversity (which is the basis for chapter 4) <strong>in</strong> the Cultural Centre De Balie<br />
<strong>in</strong> Amsterdam, organized by Eric Kluitenberg and Liedewij Loorbach. The<br />
conference was supported by the Dutch development organization Hivos.
8 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 9<br />
The participants of the conference were: Jeebesch Bagchi (India),<br />
Leonardo Brant (Brazil), Suzanne Burke (Tr<strong>in</strong>idad and Tobago), Mariétou<br />
Diongue Diop (Senegal), Gillian Doyle (Scotland), Fernando Duran<br />
Ayanegui (Costa Rica), Ben Goldsmith (Australia), Mike van Graan (South<br />
Africa), Nilanjana Gupta (India), Souheil Houissa (Tunisia), Jane Kelsey<br />
(New Zealand), Garry Neil (Canada), N<strong>in</strong>a Obuljen (Croatia), K.S. Park<br />
(Korea), Paul van Paaschen (the Netherlands), Carol<strong>in</strong>e Pauwels (Belgium),<br />
Al<strong>in</strong>ah Segobye (Botswana), Rafael Segovia (Mexico), Josh Silver (United<br />
States), Yvon Thiec (France), Inge van der Vlies (the Netherlands), Roger<br />
Wallis (Sweden), Karel van Wolferen (the Netherlands), and G<strong>in</strong>a Yu<br />
(Korea). The rapporteur of this conference was Barbara Murray; her<br />
observations helped me to formulate certa<strong>in</strong> issues more precisely than<br />
otherwise would have been possible. The draft of this booklet was read<br />
more than carefully by Max Fuchs, Mike van Graan, Christophe Germann,<br />
Lisa Kölker, N<strong>in</strong>a Obuljen, and Verena Wiedemann.<br />
I feel <strong>in</strong>debted by the attention all of them have given to this project<br />
and very honoured by their cont<strong>in</strong>u<strong>in</strong>g warm friendship.<br />
chapter 1<br />
1 JANUARY 1985: FROM CULTURE TO TRADE<br />
Unesco - WTO<br />
The 1st of January 1985 is a remarkable day. It is one of those moments <strong>in</strong><br />
history <strong>in</strong> which the symbolic cl<strong>in</strong>ch<strong>in</strong>g of a specific development can be<br />
observed. What happened on this New Years Day? It was the moment that<br />
the United States of America left Unesco, followed later by the United<br />
K<strong>in</strong>gdom and S<strong>in</strong>gapore. (Preston 1989). It was not just the leav<strong>in</strong>g of an<br />
organisation. It was the symbolic expression of the wish of the US to get<br />
rid of all k<strong>in</strong>ds of measures that were <strong>in</strong>tended to protect and to promote<br />
local cultural life wherever <strong>in</strong> the world, and to consider cultural<br />
expressions as commercial products only, whose trade should take place<br />
without constra<strong>in</strong>ts. (Drahos 2002)<br />
Around 1960 many former colonies became <strong>in</strong>dependent. Soon they<br />
discovered that this <strong>in</strong>dependence was relative, especially concern<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong>formation and culture. The place to discuss this imbalance between the<br />
rich and the poor countries was evidently Unesco, the United Nations’<br />
cultural organisation. Three demands emerged <strong>in</strong> the 1970s: ‘greater<br />
variety <strong>in</strong> sources of <strong>in</strong>formation, less monopolisation of the forms of<br />
cultural expression, and preservation of some national cultural space from<br />
the pervasive commercialisation of Western cultural outpour<strong>in</strong>gs.’<br />
(Schiller 1989: 142). The desire to change the cultural relations and<br />
relations of communication throughout the world became a movement that<br />
was called the New World Information and Communication Order<br />
(NWICO).<br />
After many conferences and declarations on this topic Unesco<br />
asked for a report to <strong>in</strong>vestigate what this new order should look like. The<br />
Commission, presided by the Irish law scholar Sean MacBride came out<br />
with a book, entitled Many Voices, One World. Towards a more just and a<br />
more efficient world <strong>in</strong>formation and communication order. (MacBride<br />
1980). One of the recommendations (number 58) claims that concern<strong>in</strong>g<br />
culture and <strong>in</strong>formation effective legal <strong>in</strong>struments should be designed to:<br />
‘(a) limit the process of concentration and monopolisation; (b)<br />
circumscribe the action of trans-nationals by requir<strong>in</strong>g that they comply<br />
with specific criteria and conditions def<strong>in</strong>ed by national legislation and
10 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 11<br />
development policies; (c) reverse trends to reduce the number of decisionmakers<br />
at a time when the media’s public is grow<strong>in</strong>g larger and the impact<br />
of communication is <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g; (d) reduce the <strong>in</strong>fluence of advertis<strong>in</strong>g<br />
upon editorial policy and broadcast programm<strong>in</strong>g; (e) seek and improve<br />
models which would ensure greater <strong>in</strong>dependence and autonomy of the<br />
media concern<strong>in</strong>g their management and editorial policy, whether these<br />
media are under private, public or government ownership.’ (MacBride<br />
1980: 266).<br />
Unesco was not allowed the time to make more concrete, and<br />
formulate, and possibly encourage the implementation of such legal<br />
<strong>in</strong>struments that would favour what we would nowadays call cultural<br />
diversity. From the end of the 1970s on, the US did two th<strong>in</strong>gs. First, it<br />
fulm<strong>in</strong>ated aga<strong>in</strong>st the idea that <strong>in</strong>formation and cultural policies would be<br />
designed that would h<strong>in</strong>der the so-called “free flow of <strong>in</strong>formation”. Of<br />
course, freedom of expression is an important value, as long as it is a<br />
freedom for everybody to communicate. The “free flow of <strong>in</strong>formation”<br />
pr<strong>in</strong>ciple, however, mixed up economic and cultural freedom. The<br />
economic freedom might result <strong>in</strong> the extremely strong market positions of<br />
just a few cultural conglomerates that push aside the production,<br />
distribution, promotion, and reception opportunities of many other<br />
different cultural <strong>in</strong>itiatives. This is what was happen<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the 1970s and<br />
the newly <strong>in</strong>dependent countries suffered the most from this “free flow of<br />
<strong>in</strong>formation” pr<strong>in</strong>ciple and practice.<br />
The idea of a New World Information and Communication Order<br />
tried to reverse this trend. The demands became clear, and it was time to<br />
take the next step, to formulate concrete policies on a global scale and the<br />
place to do so was with<strong>in</strong> Unesco. The development of alternatives for the<br />
“free flow” pr<strong>in</strong>ciple and practice is exactly what the US strongly opposed,<br />
and <strong>in</strong> the end this cultural superpower left Unesco. We write the 1st<br />
January 1985. This was the deathblow of the New World Information and<br />
Communication Order.<br />
The United States did a second th<strong>in</strong>g at the same time as it was<br />
prepar<strong>in</strong>g its withdrawal from Unesco. It had another new world order <strong>in</strong><br />
m<strong>in</strong>d, a new world order of “free markets” economics. Jerry Mander writes<br />
that this neoliberal agenda would oblige countries, for <strong>in</strong>stance, to open<br />
their markets to foreign trade and <strong>in</strong>vestments without requir<strong>in</strong>g a majority<br />
<strong>in</strong> local ownership; elim<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g all tariff barriers. It would severely reduce<br />
government spend<strong>in</strong>g, especially <strong>in</strong> areas of services to the poor; convert<br />
small-scale-self-sufficient family farm<strong>in</strong>g to high-tech, pesticide-<strong>in</strong>tensive<br />
agribus<strong>in</strong>ess that produces one-crop export commodities such as coffee.<br />
And it would demonstrate an unwaver<strong>in</strong>g dedication to clear<strong>in</strong>g the last<br />
forests, m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the last m<strong>in</strong>erals, divert<strong>in</strong>g and damm<strong>in</strong>g the last rivers, and<br />
gett<strong>in</strong>g native peoples off their lands and resources by any means<br />
necessary. (Mander 1993: 19).<br />
The moment that Unesco became toothless, a new round of<br />
negotiations <strong>in</strong>side GATT, the Uruguay Round, started. It had trade<br />
liberalisation as its ma<strong>in</strong> aim more than ever before, result<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the<br />
establishment of the WTO <strong>in</strong> 1995, with some new treaties, like GATS (the<br />
General Agreement on Trade and Services) and TRIPs (the agreement on<br />
Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights). In 1993 Mart<strong>in</strong><br />
Khor foresaw that this liberalisation would accelerate the evolution of<br />
monocultures. Governments would f<strong>in</strong>d it <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly difficult to regulate<br />
or prevent cultural and service imports. ‘S<strong>in</strong>ce the largest and most<br />
powerful enterprises belong to the North, the already rapid spread of<br />
modern Western-orig<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g culture will be accelerated even more. Cultural<br />
diversity would thus be rapidly eroded.’ (1993: 104). A decade later we<br />
may conclude that this is true and not true. The cultural conglomerization<br />
is progress<strong>in</strong>g, month after month. At the same time multitudes of cultural<br />
<strong>in</strong>itiatives of artists, associations and small enterprises take place,<br />
everywhere <strong>in</strong> the world, day after day. (Smiers 2003: 88-102).<br />
Thus the challenge is to give those <strong>in</strong>itiatives ample space and<br />
opportunity, because this diversity is what we need from a democratic<br />
perspective. Second, the presence and power of cultural conglomerates<br />
should be reduced substantially. Otherwise, it becomes nearly impossible<br />
to get access to the ma<strong>in</strong> channels of cultural communication - which is a<br />
basic human right. (See later <strong>in</strong> this chapter).<br />
The issue of how to deal with the free trade negotiations that would<br />
affect cultural diversity came up <strong>in</strong> Canada first. Around 1986 this country<br />
became <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> preparatory discussions with the US about liberalis<strong>in</strong>g<br />
their markets for each other. It quickly became clear at the political level <strong>in</strong><br />
Canada that there was to be an impact on the cultural sovereignty of the<br />
country. This became a serious political issue, perhaps strangely enough<br />
more <strong>in</strong> Ontario than <strong>in</strong> Québec. In Ontario many people were concerned<br />
about the cultural aspect because they are Anglophone and were much<br />
more <strong>in</strong>vaded by American programmes than was the case <strong>in</strong> Francophone<br />
Québec. There, for <strong>in</strong>stance, the most popular television programmes were<br />
made <strong>in</strong> Québec, while <strong>in</strong> the rest of Canada n<strong>in</strong>e out of ten programmes<br />
came from the United States. Nevertheless, the free trade agreement
12 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 13<br />
between Canada and the US was sealed. However, the awareness that<br />
trade liberalisation might be a danger for the development of cultural<br />
diversity was implanted <strong>in</strong> the consciousness of many people <strong>in</strong> Canada.<br />
Meanwhile, the discussions on further<strong>in</strong>g trade liberalisation also<br />
concern<strong>in</strong>g culture with<strong>in</strong> the Uruguay Round went on. This was scarcely<br />
noticed <strong>in</strong> Europe, and most Third World countries had to cope with their<br />
defeat <strong>in</strong> Unesco and with the debt burdens that kept them busy and made<br />
them politically <strong>in</strong>effective on a global scale. Around 1989 Canada started<br />
to demand that culture should be excluded from the discussions with<strong>in</strong> the<br />
Uruguay Round, without gett<strong>in</strong>g much support from other countries.<br />
Hardly anybody, for <strong>in</strong>stance <strong>in</strong> Europe, could imag<strong>in</strong>e that culture would<br />
be embedded <strong>in</strong> a free trade agreement, and thus nobody cared. This<br />
changed at the end of 1992. Ma<strong>in</strong>ly <strong>in</strong> France the awareness grew that<br />
liberalis<strong>in</strong>g culture with<strong>in</strong> the newly established services agreement<br />
(GATS) would have serious consequences for French culture, and<br />
specifically for French film mak<strong>in</strong>g. This mobilised many artists and others<br />
who were concerned about the survival of French cultural life. From then<br />
on the process swiftly progressed. Action groups published a two page<br />
advertisement aga<strong>in</strong>st harbour<strong>in</strong>g culture <strong>in</strong> GATS on 29 September 1993<br />
<strong>in</strong> five major European newspapers: le Monde <strong>in</strong> France, the Independent<br />
<strong>in</strong> the UK, Le Soir <strong>in</strong> Belgium, the Frankfurter Allgeme<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> Germany and<br />
El Pais <strong>in</strong> Spa<strong>in</strong>. There was also a big manifestation <strong>in</strong> the Odeon theatre <strong>in</strong><br />
Paris.<br />
All of a sudden Europe entered <strong>in</strong>to a huge cultural conflict with the<br />
US. Jack Valenti, the president of the Movie Picture Association of<br />
America claimed that under the pretext of culture Europe wished to protect<br />
its economic <strong>in</strong>terests concern<strong>in</strong>g film. This complete lack of<br />
understand<strong>in</strong>g of the cultural values many people <strong>in</strong> Europe like to defend<br />
added fuel to the fire. Artists demanded that the European Commission<br />
propose a cultural specificity clause that would, amongst others, permit<br />
the cont<strong>in</strong>uation and extension of public aid and operational subsidies,<br />
allow screen time to be reserved for <strong>in</strong>digenous production of films and TV<br />
programmes, and permit the regulation of exist<strong>in</strong>g and future broadcast<strong>in</strong>g<br />
technologies and transmission technologies. However, the Commission<br />
did not wish to push it that far, <strong>in</strong> order to avoid the failure of the whole<br />
negotiation process of the Uruguay Round (which had to be f<strong>in</strong>ished on<br />
15 December 1993).<br />
In the last days and nights before 15 December 1993 the US and the<br />
European Union reached an agreement that culture would be regarded as<br />
one of the services under the new GATS agreement with<strong>in</strong> WTO.<br />
However, the European Union did not make commitments concern<strong>in</strong>g<br />
culture, along with most other nations, with the notable exception of New<br />
Zealand. This meant that culture stayed a blank page with<strong>in</strong> GATS for<br />
most countries. In France, and some other countries, this blank page was<br />
called the cultural exemption. Blank page means, however, no more than: a<br />
country (or, <strong>in</strong> the case of Europe, for <strong>in</strong>stance, the whole European<br />
Union) may cont<strong>in</strong>ue to make its regulations <strong>in</strong> favour of cultural diversity,<br />
as it considers appropriate.<br />
We must note that the use of the concept of “cultural exemption” is<br />
a misunderstand<strong>in</strong>g. It must be said, as a market<strong>in</strong>g term it functioned very<br />
well for a while, express<strong>in</strong>g the wish that culture should not belong to the<br />
field of trade and should be exempted from the liberalisation <strong>in</strong> this field.<br />
But the reality is different. Culture is not exempted from the free trade<br />
agreement. In 1993 the European Union and most other countries agreed<br />
with the US that culture is an <strong>in</strong>tegral part of GATS which means that it is<br />
also subject to the drive of the WTO to liberalise markets cont<strong>in</strong>uously.<br />
Except that Europe <strong>in</strong> 1993, like many other countries, would not make<br />
commitments to liberalise its cultural markets more than was already the<br />
case.<br />
The idea that a cultural exemption exists is thus a dream and does<br />
not cover reality. In the GATS context culture is less protected aga<strong>in</strong>st the<br />
free trade w<strong>in</strong>d than many people would like to th<strong>in</strong>k. And now, it is<br />
extremely complicated to get culture out of the free trade only context of<br />
WTO and its services agreement, GATS. This is the challenge to be<br />
discussed <strong>in</strong> chapter 3.<br />
Why should we have cultural conglomerates?<br />
Meanwhile, <strong>in</strong> the decade follow<strong>in</strong>g 1993 multiple mergers of cultural<br />
conglomerates have taken place that has brought several cultural<br />
enterprises <strong>in</strong>to the hands of companies that have never been active <strong>in</strong> the<br />
cultural sectors before. These companies are horizontally and vertically<br />
<strong>in</strong>tegrated and l<strong>in</strong>ked by cross-ownerships. Robert McChesney notes that<br />
two dozen or so firms control the overwhelm<strong>in</strong>g percentage of movies, TV<br />
shows, cable systems, books, magaz<strong>in</strong>es, newspapers, billboards, music<br />
and TV networks ‘that constitute the media culture that occupies one-half<br />
of the average American’s life. It is an extraord<strong>in</strong>ary degree of economic
14 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 15<br />
and social power <strong>in</strong> very few hands.’ (2002: 49). A film, for <strong>in</strong>stance, is not<br />
merely a film anymore. ‘The great profit <strong>in</strong> the media today comes from<br />
tak<strong>in</strong>g a movie or TV show and milk<strong>in</strong>g it for maximum return through sp<strong>in</strong>off<br />
books, CDs, video games, and merchandise. Hence it is virtually<br />
impossible to compete as a “stand-alone” movie studio, TV network, or<br />
music company, when one’s competitors are part of vast empires. This has<br />
fuelled the massive conglomeration rush of the past fifteen years.’ (Ibid.).<br />
Therefore Benjam<strong>in</strong> Barber claims that with ‘a few conglomerates<br />
controll<strong>in</strong>g what is created, who distributes it, where it is shown, and how<br />
it is subsequently licensed for further use, the very idea of a genu<strong>in</strong>ely<br />
competitive market place <strong>in</strong> ideas or images disappears . . .’ (1996: 89).<br />
Besides these super-conglomerates, there are fifty or so second tier<br />
giants that are national or regional powerhouses, like Mexico’s Televisa,<br />
Brazil’s Globo, Argent<strong>in</strong>a’s Clara, Venezuela’s Cisneros Group, and<br />
Berlusconi’s Mediaset <strong>in</strong> Italy. ‘These firms tend to dom<strong>in</strong>ate their own<br />
national markets and media markets, which have been experienc<strong>in</strong>g rapid<br />
consolidation as well. They have extensive ties and jo<strong>in</strong>t-ventures with the<br />
largest media Transnational Corporations, as well as with Wall Street<br />
<strong>in</strong>vestment banks.’ 1 Their political <strong>in</strong>fluence is abundant. Gillian Doyle<br />
remarks that ‘the Berlusconi case provides compell<strong>in</strong>g evidence of a<br />
causal connection between concentrated media ownership and<br />
undesirable narrow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the diversity of political op<strong>in</strong>ions available to the<br />
public via the media.’ (2002: 20).<br />
An <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g question is ‘what ga<strong>in</strong>s arise when media firms<br />
embark on strategies of enlargement and cross-sectoral expansion?’<br />
(Doyle 2002: 45). This is a serious issue, because ‘arguments based<br />
around “economic” concerns have ga<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong>creased status <strong>in</strong> debates<br />
about media ownership policy <strong>in</strong> recent years. Gillian Doyle judges it<br />
‘important to <strong>in</strong>vestigate what, if any, economic benefits or costs may be<br />
associated with enlarged and diversified firms. One of the worry<strong>in</strong>g<br />
conclusions that emerges from study<strong>in</strong>g recent changes <strong>in</strong> media<br />
ownership policy <strong>in</strong> the UK and across Europe is that relatively little<br />
<strong>in</strong>dependent <strong>in</strong>vestigation or systematic analysis of the consequences of<br />
these changes has been carried out by policy-makers.’ (2002: 172). She<br />
claims, that ‘the general absence of any robust body of <strong>in</strong>dependent<br />
research <strong>in</strong>to the economic implications of deregulat<strong>in</strong>g media ownership<br />
has greatly favoured corporate <strong>in</strong>terests. It has meant that, <strong>in</strong> general,<br />
large media firms’ own <strong>in</strong>terpretations of technological and market<br />
developments, and of the economic implications of these developments,<br />
have been allowed to dom<strong>in</strong>ate the policy agenda <strong>in</strong> the UK and elsewhere<br />
<strong>in</strong> Europe without any attempt at systematic empirical corroboration.’<br />
(2002: 173).<br />
Without any doubt such research would show that cultural<br />
conglomerates are rather <strong>in</strong>efficiently operat<strong>in</strong>g enterprises. Their f<strong>in</strong>ancial<br />
ga<strong>in</strong>s depend upon an extremely limited number of big successes, while<br />
most of what they produce and distribute is loos<strong>in</strong>g even its <strong>in</strong>itial<br />
<strong>in</strong>vestments. They are not merg<strong>in</strong>g endlessly because of their strength,<br />
but it is their f<strong>in</strong>ancial and organisational catastrophic position that drives<br />
them to eat<strong>in</strong>g up even bigger slices of the cultural market. This is a<br />
synergy that has been born out of need, while many banks do hope to see<br />
a return on the <strong>in</strong>vested money.<br />
Will Hutton makes Gillian Doyle’s amazement concrete with an<br />
example. ‘The telecom companies wanted less regulation, they wanted the<br />
right to build their own self-stand<strong>in</strong>g networks and they wanted their<br />
allocations on the terrestrial spectrum to be as free as possible from public<br />
service obligations; long-distance carriers wanted to enter local markets;<br />
all wanted cross-ownership rules relaxed. All that they wanted, they got.’<br />
(2002: 204). And then the dot-com bubble burst, ‘followed <strong>in</strong>evitably by<br />
the end of the telecoms boom – <strong>in</strong> which trillions of dollars were at stake.<br />
We are left with vast overcapacity, threatened bankruptcies and a massive<br />
debt overhang <strong>in</strong> which only a fraction of the capital <strong>in</strong>vested is remotely<br />
recoverable.’ The conclusion of these failed success stories? Will Hutton:<br />
‘And despite it all, no country can boast a complete broadband cable<br />
network. If the public sector <strong>in</strong> the lead<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>dustrial countries had spent a<br />
fraction of the lost cash <strong>in</strong> each build<strong>in</strong>g one public network, the spread of<br />
the <strong>in</strong>formation economy would have been faster by years. That was<br />
forbidden by the conservative orthodoxy.’ (2002: 206,7).<br />
His observation may help us to be less reserved when <strong>in</strong> chapter 4<br />
we propose regulations <strong>in</strong> favour of the protection and promotion of<br />
cultural diversity. We should take <strong>in</strong>to account that there is no objective<br />
requirement as to why we should have such huge cultural conglomerates<br />
that dom<strong>in</strong>ate nearly all the cultural fields <strong>in</strong> our societies.<br />
1 Robert McChesney, The New Global Media. It’s a Small World of Big<br />
Conglomerates, The Nation, November 1999.
16 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 17<br />
The human right of access<br />
Besides this economic waste, the question of media ownership has a<br />
decisive human rights aspect, because it concerns the right of access to<br />
the means of communication which is important as this allows <strong>in</strong>dividual<br />
people and communities to develop their own identity. Hav<strong>in</strong>g a large<br />
number of owners of cultural enterprises is important for the democratic<br />
substance of any society.<br />
There are two articles <strong>in</strong> the Universal Declaration of Human Rights<br />
concern<strong>in</strong>g every person’s rights of access to the means of<br />
communication, and the fields of the arts. Article 19 says: ‘Everyone has<br />
the right to freedom of op<strong>in</strong>ion and expression; this right <strong>in</strong>cludes freedom<br />
to hold op<strong>in</strong>ions without <strong>in</strong>terference and to seek, receive and impart<br />
<strong>in</strong>formation and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.’ If<br />
everyone has this right, it should not be h<strong>in</strong>dered by dom<strong>in</strong>ant forces that<br />
substantially control the means of cultural communication. Op<strong>in</strong>ions and<br />
ideas, as mentioned <strong>in</strong> the article, are plural and should have plural<br />
sources of orig<strong>in</strong>. There should be “any media” <strong>in</strong>deed where people can<br />
seek, receive and impart <strong>in</strong>formation, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g artistic expressions, and<br />
not some media controlled by a few owners. This article speaks about,<br />
what we call nowadays, the right of access to the channels of<br />
communication for as many people as possible, and not just for a handful<br />
of cultural conglomerates.<br />
The first clause of article 27 focuses on the cultural circumstances<br />
of the people’s lives. ‘Everyone has the right to participate <strong>in</strong> the cultural<br />
life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share <strong>in</strong> scientific<br />
advancements and its benefits.’ The central concept <strong>in</strong> this phrase is the<br />
word “community”. Thanks to the weird coalition of Thatcher and<br />
postmodernists the concept of “community” has become threatened over<br />
the last few decades and has been replaced by the ideology that we are<br />
isolated <strong>in</strong>dividuals who strive only for our own <strong>in</strong>terests. But what about<br />
refugees for <strong>in</strong>stance? For them, a safe haven is a community somewhere<br />
<strong>in</strong> the world that gives them the security that their own society does not<br />
provide. (Smiers 2003: 82). Of course, there are many def<strong>in</strong>itions and<br />
practices of communities, but it always concerns the exchange of op<strong>in</strong>ions<br />
and feel<strong>in</strong>gs, expressed <strong>in</strong> artistic forms as well. The artistic enjoyment<br />
tells people who they are, what is their common pleasure, what are<br />
contradictory feel<strong>in</strong>gs and what they are dream<strong>in</strong>g of; it gives them their<br />
identity. The cultural life of a community should not be taken over by<br />
ma<strong>in</strong>ly entrepreneurs who dom<strong>in</strong>ate culture worldwide, and who do not<br />
participate <strong>in</strong> the common daily life of a society. For the present, it is<br />
justified to compare cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries with absent landlords. We should<br />
re-<strong>in</strong>vent the value and the practice of communities, and give people back<br />
the active right to participate <strong>in</strong> the cultural life of their communities.<br />
Referr<strong>in</strong>g to article 19, <strong>in</strong>deed, this should be regardless of frontiers.<br />
The question of ownership concerns democracy as well. If the<br />
essence of democracy is that many voices can express themselves and can<br />
be heard, then this plurality should also be the characteristic of the<br />
ownership of the means of cultural communication. Nobody and no<br />
corporation should be entitled to be the ma<strong>in</strong> or the only organiser of the<br />
cultural life <strong>in</strong> any society. This is the basic pr<strong>in</strong>ciple. In chapter 4 the<br />
discussion will be about how to regulate the cultural market <strong>in</strong> order to<br />
reach this plurality and to avoid oligopolistic ownership relations.<br />
Because of the human rights aspect of cultural communication, care<br />
and attention are needed so that diversity can flourish. The character of<br />
the production, distribution and promotion of cultural creations means<br />
that works of art should be treated <strong>in</strong> ways other than just ord<strong>in</strong>ary<br />
commodities. 2 Cultural goods and services communicate ideas, and are<br />
less utilitarian than most commodities. Mostly there is no assembly l<strong>in</strong>e.<br />
Cultural creations are expensive one-time processes that then can be<br />
stored cheaply, duplicated and delivered. The marg<strong>in</strong>al cost of unit of<br />
product is <strong>in</strong>significant. The demand for cultural works is difficult to<br />
estimate <strong>in</strong> advance. The substitutability with other products is limited;<br />
cultural creations are more or less unique. Most products have a time l<strong>in</strong>e<br />
of demand that cont<strong>in</strong>ues <strong>in</strong>def<strong>in</strong>itely until the next product cycle. In<br />
cultural matters the demand may fall off sharply after the <strong>in</strong>troduction of<br />
the artistic work and the next product replaces it, and this may be<br />
measured <strong>in</strong> weeks or months. The pric<strong>in</strong>g of cultural creations is highly<br />
discrim<strong>in</strong>atory, dependent upon fame, nature of use, or character of the<br />
market. The cultural product can be priced as low as required or as high as<br />
the market can bear. Most works of art do not end by its consumption,<br />
they are endlessly available; that gives them the status of be<strong>in</strong>g public<br />
goods too. The promotion of a work of art must be <strong>in</strong>tense at the time of<br />
the <strong>in</strong>troduction while other commodities demand advertis<strong>in</strong>g over many<br />
years.<br />
2 The follow<strong>in</strong>g enumeration is based on the paper by Peter S. Grant at the Deuxième<br />
Rencontres Internationales des organisations professionnelles de la culture; une<br />
manifestation organisée par le Comité de Vigilance pour la diversité culturelle, Paris,<br />
2,3,4 February 2003.
18 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 19<br />
In any society the field of all different artistic creations is a specific<br />
sector. Someth<strong>in</strong>g must be done to ensure the flourish<strong>in</strong>g of diversity <strong>in</strong><br />
this doma<strong>in</strong> of cultural communication. Cultural diversity deserves some<br />
forms of regulation. In the context of globalisation and trade liberalisation,<br />
there is a need to recognise the particular character of cultural goods and<br />
services and to what extent they contribute to the development of social<br />
life <strong>in</strong> any given society. This br<strong>in</strong>gs us unavoidably to the national<br />
states, because they are the only entities <strong>in</strong> the world that (should) have<br />
the competence and power to structure markets and economic practices.<br />
National states should be allowed to take the measures they feel are<br />
necessary to protect and to promote cultural diversity, <strong>in</strong> view of their own<br />
circumstances and conditions.<br />
It should be recognised, however, that several national states are<br />
not the benign <strong>in</strong>stitutes that one hopes for. The suppress<strong>in</strong>g practices of<br />
such states are completely aga<strong>in</strong>st the idea of cultural diversity and what it<br />
stands for. As we might see <strong>in</strong> chapter 3, a highly charged debate is<br />
whether national states, sign<strong>in</strong>g a Convention on Cultural Diversity,<br />
should be obliged to <strong>in</strong>stall cultural policies that protect and promote the<br />
development of cultural diversity, and refra<strong>in</strong> from censorship and other<br />
forms of suppression of artistic expression.<br />
A second observation concern<strong>in</strong>g national states must be made as<br />
well. Only a few of them possess the capacity to develop on their own the<br />
k<strong>in</strong>ds of artistic expressions that demand the <strong>in</strong>vestment of substantial<br />
amounts of money and technological and organizational <strong>in</strong>frastructures to<br />
produce and distribute them. This makes these countries an open goal for<br />
the products of cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries from abroad. Of course, they have an<br />
abundance of creative artists. When the equipment they need is very<br />
cheap, diversity can flourish <strong>in</strong> the appropriate outlets. But, when the need<br />
for technical and <strong>in</strong>frastructural resources is greater – as is the case, for<br />
<strong>in</strong>stance for audiovisual products – then these countries face<br />
<strong>in</strong>surmountable problems, f<strong>in</strong>ancially and <strong>in</strong> the field of build<strong>in</strong>g cultural<br />
<strong>in</strong>frastructures.<br />
What should be done? In order to make them <strong>in</strong>dependent from the<br />
Western cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries a Cultural Development Fund should be<br />
established. Western countries should feel obliged to contribute<br />
considerably to such a Fund that should be adm<strong>in</strong>istered <strong>in</strong> the framework<br />
of Unesco, together with the supervision of the Convention on Cultural<br />
Diversity. Artists <strong>in</strong> the poorer parts of the world should have the chance<br />
to produce works of art and enterta<strong>in</strong>ment that can compete <strong>in</strong> audience<br />
attention with the products of the cultural giants, without imitat<strong>in</strong>g them.<br />
Obviously, those countries should not forget to make their own efforts, as<br />
well.<br />
The wish for modest and efficient forms of regulations must be seen <strong>in</strong> the<br />
context of a greater movement to make systems of checks and balances<br />
more respected aga<strong>in</strong>. The Human Development Report 1999 speaks about<br />
governance. ‘Governance does not mean more government. It means the<br />
framework of rules, <strong>in</strong>stitutions and established practices that set limits<br />
and give <strong>in</strong>centives for the behaviour of <strong>in</strong>dividuals, organizations and<br />
firms. Without strong governance, the dangers of global conflicts could<br />
be a reality of the 21 st century – trade wars promot<strong>in</strong>g national and<br />
corporate <strong>in</strong>terests, uncontrolled volatility sett<strong>in</strong>g off civil conflicts,<br />
untamed global crime <strong>in</strong>fect<strong>in</strong>g safe neighbourhoods and crim<strong>in</strong>aliz<strong>in</strong>g<br />
politics, bus<strong>in</strong>ess and the police.’ (Human Development Report 1999: 8).<br />
In this context Gillian Doyle hopes that at some stage <strong>in</strong> the future<br />
‘regulation of media ownership will become unnecessary. As barriers for<br />
market entry dim<strong>in</strong>ish and as more and more new avenues for distribution<br />
of media become available, it is suggested that a diversity of political and<br />
cultural representations will flourish without any need for special<br />
ownership restrictions.’ (2002: 178). She is aware, however, that at the<br />
present moment safeguard<strong>in</strong>g pluralism implies a need for restrictions<br />
‘which would elim<strong>in</strong>ate undesirable concentrations of media power . . .’<br />
(2002: 157).<br />
The challeng<strong>in</strong>g question (which is to be discussed <strong>in</strong> the next<br />
chapter) is whether WTO rul<strong>in</strong>gs outlaw the possibility of <strong>in</strong>stall<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
necessary regulations for the susta<strong>in</strong>ment of the development of cultural<br />
diversity, concern<strong>in</strong>g all the diversified fields of the arts.
20 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 21<br />
chapter 2<br />
WTO - NO SAFE HAVEN FOR CULTURE<br />
Prelim<strong>in</strong>ary skirmishes<br />
At first glance the impression may be that there should not be too many<br />
worries about the possible negative implications of GATS for cultural<br />
diversity. Most countries <strong>in</strong> the world did not make any commitments <strong>in</strong><br />
1993 regard<strong>in</strong>g culture and specifically not for the audiovisual field. This<br />
means that their hands are not tied and they can make as many regulations<br />
for cultural diversity as they may wish to do so, accord<strong>in</strong>g to the basic<br />
pr<strong>in</strong>ciples of GATS. The only real demand is to be completely transparent<br />
about exist<strong>in</strong>g regulations like: subsidy systems, content and ownership<br />
rules, and other facilities <strong>in</strong> favour of the production, distribution and<br />
promotion of the arts <strong>in</strong> all its categories.<br />
Nevertheless, there is reason not to be complacent consider<strong>in</strong>g<br />
what is at stake at the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of the twenty first century with<strong>in</strong> WTO.<br />
This is the topic of this chapter. Dur<strong>in</strong>g the last months of negotiations on<br />
trade liberalization, <strong>in</strong> 1993 dur<strong>in</strong>g the Uruguay Round, the United States<br />
attacked Europe furiously on cultural matters. Specifically the president of<br />
the Movie Picture Association of America, Jack Valenti, pretended, as<br />
mentioned before, that the European desire to keep culture out of the free<br />
trade realm was noth<strong>in</strong>g less than a cover up for protect<strong>in</strong>g the economic<br />
<strong>in</strong>terests of European cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries. His blunt remarks worked<br />
counterproductively for the Americans because it mobilized artists all over<br />
Europe <strong>in</strong> the defence of the right to protect cultural values. As we have<br />
seen <strong>in</strong> chapter 1, the European Union and most other states, did not make<br />
commitments concern<strong>in</strong>g culture, but the American ga<strong>in</strong> was that culture<br />
became <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> the framework of the trade regime. That is a huge ga<strong>in</strong>,<br />
as we will see <strong>in</strong> chapter 3. Several years after 1993 we may wonder<br />
whether the apparently over-simplified statements by Jack Valenti and by<br />
other American officials were so counterproductive after all. Pilot<strong>in</strong>g<br />
culture <strong>in</strong>to the port of the WTO was a real victory for the US cultural<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustries and, it must be said, for their European and Japanese<br />
counterparts as well.<br />
In November 2001 a new round of negotiations with the purpose of<br />
further<strong>in</strong>g trade liberalization started <strong>in</strong> Doha, and is due to end <strong>in</strong> 2005.
22 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 23<br />
After the failure – or success? – of Cancún this date is no longer a<br />
certa<strong>in</strong>ty. It may not be surpris<strong>in</strong>g that the issue of culture and trade is on<br />
the agenda aga<strong>in</strong>. Some countries have tabled so called communications<br />
on this issue at WTO, with Canada and the US at both ends of the scale.<br />
The Canadian communication stipulates, that ‘GATS cannot be <strong>in</strong>terpreted<br />
as requir<strong>in</strong>g governments to privatise or to deregulate any services. We<br />
recognize the right of <strong>in</strong>dividual countries to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> public services <strong>in</strong><br />
sectors of their choice. This is not a matter for the GATS negotiations.’ It<br />
is clear that Canada will not make any commitments that restrict its ability<br />
to achieve its cultural policy objectives ‘until a new <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />
<strong>in</strong>strument, designed specifically to safeguard the right of countries to<br />
promote and preserve their cultural diversity, can be established.’ 3<br />
The United States leaves beh<strong>in</strong>d what it calls the all-or-noth<strong>in</strong>g<br />
approach from 1993. ‘Some argue as if the only available options were to<br />
exclude culture from the WTO or to liberalize completely all aspects of<br />
audiovisual and related services.’ Such stark options obscure, accord<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to the US, some relevant facts. For <strong>in</strong>stance, it hides the fact that<br />
‘bus<strong>in</strong>ess and regulatory considerations affect the ability to make and<br />
distribute audiovisual products, both to domestic and foreign audiences.<br />
Creat<strong>in</strong>g audiovisual content is costly, and commercial success is<br />
uncerta<strong>in</strong>. Access to the <strong>in</strong>ternational market is necessary to help recoup<br />
costs. Predictable and clearly def<strong>in</strong>ed trade rules will foster <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />
exhibition and distribution opportunities and provide commercial benefits<br />
that audiovisual providers must have to cont<strong>in</strong>ue their artistic<br />
endeavours.’ 4<br />
The conclusion <strong>in</strong> the US communication is that GATS is a very<br />
flexible treaty that is open to mak<strong>in</strong>g full or partial commitments. However,<br />
especially ‘<strong>in</strong> the light of the quantum <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> exhibition possibilities<br />
available <strong>in</strong> today’s digital environment, it is quite possible to enhance<br />
one’s cultural identity and to make trade <strong>in</strong> audiovisual service more<br />
transparent, predictable, and open.’ The conclusion is that the ‘choices<br />
are not, nor have they ever been, a choice between promot<strong>in</strong>g and<br />
preserv<strong>in</strong>g a nation’s cultural identity and liberaliz<strong>in</strong>g trade <strong>in</strong> audiovisual<br />
services.’ 5<br />
3 WTO, Council on Trade <strong>in</strong> Services, Communication from Canada, Initial Canadian<br />
Negotiat<strong>in</strong>g Proposals, 14 March 2001: Doc. S/CSS/W/46.<br />
4 WTO, Council for Trade <strong>in</strong> Services, Communication from the United States,<br />
Audiovisual and Related Services, 18 December 2000: Doc.S/CSS/W/21.<br />
5 Ibid.<br />
Let’s go back a moment to the remark <strong>in</strong> the American<br />
communication that creat<strong>in</strong>g audiovisual content is costly and that access<br />
to the <strong>in</strong>ternational market is necessary to help recoup costs. But, there are<br />
different k<strong>in</strong>ds of “costly”. A film, for <strong>in</strong>stance, can be made for 2 or 200<br />
million dollars or euros. By def<strong>in</strong>ition it is not true that the higher the<br />
amount of money the better the film. A relevant question therefore is why<br />
audiovisual “content” (at present <strong>in</strong> the hands of cultural conglomerates)<br />
should be as costly as it is. If we accept that this high price is not a<br />
“necessity” (and it is not, because, for <strong>in</strong>stance magnificent films can be<br />
made for a t<strong>in</strong>y part of the price of blockbusters), then there would be no<br />
need to have access to <strong>in</strong>ternational markets to help recoup costs, and<br />
certa<strong>in</strong>ly there would be no need to push other creations from the cultural<br />
market. This would fundamentally change the debate on liberaliz<strong>in</strong>g<br />
cultural markets, or not, The exaggerated and unnecessary high<br />
production, distribution and promotion costs for cultural “products” do<br />
not provide any justification for the worldwide dom<strong>in</strong>ation of the cultural<br />
place.<br />
WTO: only commercial perspective<br />
If we follow the United States’ arguments, the service agreement of WTO,<br />
GATS, is a very open treaty. A country can make commitments to liberalize<br />
its trade <strong>in</strong> culture, but is not obliged to do so. GATS <strong>in</strong> itself does not<br />
h<strong>in</strong>der <strong>in</strong>dividual countries from regulat<strong>in</strong>g cultural markets accord<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
their wish.<br />
This is true, and not true. Why this contradiction? Presently, GATS<br />
does not force countries to make liberaliz<strong>in</strong>g commitments concern<strong>in</strong>g<br />
culture. But this open attitude is not the purpose of the whole of the WTO<br />
system. WTO is a commercially driven organisation whose ma<strong>in</strong> goal is to<br />
do away with trade restra<strong>in</strong>ts as quickly as possible. All social sectors<br />
should be liberalised, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g education, water, the environment,<br />
transport, as well as culture. The US and some other countries consider it,<br />
for <strong>in</strong>stance, unacceptable that <strong>in</strong> many parts of the world people like to<br />
keep their borders closed to genetically manipulated food. From a<br />
commercial perspective this distorts trade <strong>in</strong>deed. However, the possibility<br />
that other values may exist are absent <strong>in</strong> a trade only regime.<br />
What are the major consequences of such a purely commercial regime?
24 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 25<br />
* A dist<strong>in</strong>ction of the WTO treaties is that they imply National<br />
Treatment and the pr<strong>in</strong>ciple of the Most Favoured Nation. National<br />
Treatment means that enterprises from all countries have the same rights<br />
as enterprises from the own country. In the cultural field this has the<br />
consequence, for <strong>in</strong>stance, that the national or regional subsidy systems<br />
or other support measures for the arts must be open for everybody from all<br />
over the world. Evidently, this is the end of such k<strong>in</strong>ds of support<br />
measures (that are not meant to be for the whole planet) and they are the<br />
deathblow for many artistic <strong>in</strong>itiatives <strong>in</strong> the country or region where the<br />
support systems for the arts have to be abolished.<br />
The pr<strong>in</strong>ciple of the Most Favoured Nation implies that a<br />
commitment made to a specific country should also apply to all other<br />
countries. For the cultural field this is harmful too, because it makes coproduction<br />
agreements between specific countries no longer possible.<br />
That is a pity. Many artists thrive by work<strong>in</strong>g together with specific artists<br />
<strong>in</strong> other countries, and this may result <strong>in</strong> formal cultural collaboration<br />
agreements between their countries. Such fruitful forms of work<strong>in</strong>g<br />
together <strong>in</strong> the cultural field are not tolerated by WTO, or <strong>in</strong> any case not<br />
the systems that support them. The ideology of WTO turns National<br />
Treatment and the Most Favoured Nation pr<strong>in</strong>ciple <strong>in</strong>to holy cows that do<br />
not reflect the needs of the development of cultural diversity.<br />
* With<strong>in</strong> WTO the risk rema<strong>in</strong>s that cultural considerations will be<br />
addressed from a strictly trade perspective. In Doha an agreement was<br />
reached def<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g that the negotiations will commence with an exam<strong>in</strong>ation<br />
of “trade distort<strong>in</strong>g practices”. The US ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>s for example, as said<br />
before, that cultural subsidies, public service <strong>in</strong>stitutions like public<br />
broadcast<strong>in</strong>g and other measures to regulate the cultural market <strong>in</strong> favour<br />
of cultural diversity are “trade distort<strong>in</strong>g” and this may provide an avenue<br />
for them to claim the abolishment of such measures. This is a serious and<br />
dangerous issue because it may oblige countries to give up all the policy<br />
tools they have developed to protect and to promote the development of<br />
cultural diversity <strong>in</strong> their part of the world. Obviously, the US also puts<br />
pressure on countries, bilaterally and multilaterally, to make commitments<br />
to liberalise their cultural markets even more than is currently the case.<br />
Thus, the number of trade mak<strong>in</strong>g commitments will only <strong>in</strong>crease with<br />
time and the capacity of states to take measures for their own needs and<br />
specific situations will be more and more restra<strong>in</strong>ed.<br />
* The explicit objective of the ongo<strong>in</strong>g GATS negotiations, given the<br />
impetus by the launch of a new comprehensive round of talks at the Doha<br />
M<strong>in</strong>isterial Meet<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> November 2001, is to achieve a progressively<br />
higher level of liberalization <strong>in</strong> services trade. (Neil 2002). The fact that this<br />
is not yet the reality is an <strong>in</strong>convenience that should be cleared away as<br />
soon as possible. Thus, every country must know that what looks like an<br />
open choice is only temporary. The perspective for the time be<strong>in</strong>g is that<br />
there is first and foremost trade, and maybe some protective measures may<br />
be tolerated. By the 1993 decision that culture has become basically a<br />
trade issue, it has become part and parcel of the liberalis<strong>in</strong>g umbrella of<br />
WTO, and the ultimate dest<strong>in</strong>y is that it will be treated exactly like any<br />
other goods and services. The <strong>in</strong>tention of WTO is to have new<br />
negotiation rounds every five years with the idea of liberalis<strong>in</strong>g markets<br />
even more, until the moment that all k<strong>in</strong>ds of restrictions have been<br />
removed.<br />
Speak<strong>in</strong>g about culture, we must recognise the reality that market<br />
forces alone cannot guarantee the ma<strong>in</strong>tenance and promotion of diverse<br />
cultural expressions and of cultural diversity. Public policy, developed <strong>in</strong><br />
partnership with civil society and the private sector, is of vital importance<br />
to ensure, for <strong>in</strong>stance, the democratic access to the means of cultural<br />
communication, and to respect the fundamental human rights, as<br />
discussed <strong>in</strong> the first chapter.<br />
* One of the biggest dangers of culture be<strong>in</strong>g with<strong>in</strong> WTO is that it<br />
has become an <strong>in</strong>tegral part of the negotiat<strong>in</strong>g process. It is not excluded<br />
from the process of giv<strong>in</strong>g and tak<strong>in</strong>g. A country that refuses to make<br />
commitments <strong>in</strong> its cultural fields may face sanctions with a refusal to its<br />
requests for commitments <strong>in</strong> many other cases. If you refuse to negotiate<br />
on culture, the US will say no to any other requests made for other<br />
services. This may tempt a country to give up the right to cont<strong>in</strong>ue to<br />
have its own cultural policies. Such a humiliat<strong>in</strong>g situation should never<br />
happen. If it is important to protect and to promote the flourish<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
cultural diversity, measures regulat<strong>in</strong>g the cultural market are necessary to<br />
make sure that the market is not dom<strong>in</strong>ated by too small a number of large<br />
producers and distributors. The right to apply such measures cannot and<br />
must not be given up <strong>in</strong> trade negotiations.
26 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 27<br />
* In the Doha M<strong>in</strong>isterial Declaration, November 2001, that was the<br />
start of a new round of trade liberalisation and consequently of<br />
abolishment of protective measures, there is a section about Trade and<br />
Investments. Why might this be a threat for cultural diversity? For many<br />
years <strong>in</strong>vest<strong>in</strong>g enterprises have attempted to create free markets<br />
throughout the world without be<strong>in</strong>g restra<strong>in</strong>ed by conditions concern<strong>in</strong>g<br />
their <strong>in</strong>vestments. In the mid-90s the rich countries have tried to reach this<br />
ideal with<strong>in</strong> the context of their association, the OECD, aim<strong>in</strong>g at a<br />
Multilateral Agreement on Investments (MAI). Such an agreement would<br />
have abolished all k<strong>in</strong>ds of obligations that enterprises would have when<br />
they <strong>in</strong>vest <strong>in</strong> other countries, as well as <strong>in</strong> poorer parts of the world.<br />
Enterprises can hit and run as they like without provid<strong>in</strong>g benefits for poor<br />
countries, even though it was proposed that countries had to pay<br />
enterprises for the “losses” they would suffer from government measures<br />
that were considered as detrimental.<br />
Notably <strong>in</strong> Canada and <strong>in</strong> France the arts world protested aga<strong>in</strong>st<br />
such a treaty because it would prevent countries from be<strong>in</strong>g able to<br />
regulate cultural markets <strong>in</strong> favour of cultural diversity. The l<strong>in</strong>k between<br />
culture and <strong>in</strong>vestments is of course that nearly every cultural activity is<br />
related to an <strong>in</strong>vestment. MAI <strong>in</strong>tended mak<strong>in</strong>g countries comply to the<br />
wishes of <strong>in</strong>vest<strong>in</strong>g enterprises. Due to the protests the preparations for<br />
this <strong>in</strong>vestment treaty were cancelled.<br />
But not forever. Investors are try<strong>in</strong>g to get such a treaty, that makes<br />
them more important than national states, with<strong>in</strong> the WTO framework.<br />
Garry Neil sums up what the consequences might be: ‘An <strong>in</strong>vestment<br />
agreement could force a re-evaluation of a significant number of cultural<br />
policies, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g: prohibitions, limits or restrictions on foreign ownership<br />
<strong>in</strong> the cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries; public service broadcasters and other public<br />
<strong>in</strong>stitutions, s<strong>in</strong>ce these might be perceived as unfair competitors for<br />
private foreign <strong>in</strong>vestors; regulations that discrim<strong>in</strong>ate aga<strong>in</strong>st foreign<br />
broadcast<strong>in</strong>g or publish<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>terests; co-production treaties; even<br />
f<strong>in</strong>ancial subsidy programs if these discrim<strong>in</strong>ate aga<strong>in</strong>st foreign firms or<br />
<strong>in</strong>dividuals. Should the agreement <strong>in</strong>clude an <strong>in</strong>vestor-state dispute<br />
settlement system that permits <strong>in</strong>dividual firms to sue foreign<br />
governments, the potential challenges by mult<strong>in</strong>ational firms <strong>in</strong> the<br />
enterta<strong>in</strong>ment bus<strong>in</strong>ess would be great.’ (Neil 2001).<br />
* It might even follow that a country may claim that another country<br />
makes it impossible to harvest copyrights. How could this be the case?<br />
The argument might be that a country that regulates its cultural market (for<br />
<strong>in</strong>stance by ownership regulations and other measures as will be<br />
discussed <strong>in</strong> chapter 4) makes it impossible for an enterprise from another<br />
country to get benefits from exercis<strong>in</strong>g their copyrights. Why? The answer<br />
will be: these regulations provide artificial limits on how many sales (of<br />
music for <strong>in</strong>stance) can be made, and this is a distortion of the market<br />
place. In any case, this could be the argument.<br />
* In WTO a division has been made between the so-called goods and<br />
services, a dist<strong>in</strong>ction that does not fit <strong>in</strong> cultural life as we know it, and<br />
that might be harmful for the arts. First there was only GATT (s<strong>in</strong>ce 1948)<br />
that promoted trade liberalisation of goods between the member states.<br />
Dur<strong>in</strong>g the Uruguay Round the concept of services was also <strong>in</strong>troduced <strong>in</strong><br />
order to stimulate freedom of trade <strong>in</strong> non-tangible products. In the WTO a<br />
new k<strong>in</strong>d of agreement was established, notably on services, called GATS,<br />
the General Agreement on Trade and Services, under whose umbrella<br />
culture was placed as be<strong>in</strong>g services. But are cultural expressions goods<br />
or services? Who knows? In trade terms one might say that the work of<br />
the author, the pa<strong>in</strong>ter, the musician or the film distributor is a “service”.<br />
‘But the physical embodiment of the artistic creation can also be viewed as<br />
a “good”. A magaz<strong>in</strong>e, book, compact disk and pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g are all physical<br />
objects with mass and texture.’ (Neil 2002).<br />
What about the artistic expressions performed or shown <strong>in</strong> the<br />
digital media? Are they “services” or “goods”? Apparently they are nontangible.<br />
The US claims, however, that digital music or software (also with<br />
a cultural content) should be considered as “goods”. One may wonder<br />
why the struggle about those dist<strong>in</strong>ctions is so sharp. The fact is that<br />
under GATT (the “goods” agreement) trade liberalisation has progressed<br />
much more than <strong>in</strong> the sector of the so-called services. Moreover, the way<br />
a country commits itself to a trade liberalisation is different under both<br />
agreements. Under GATS a country itself makes the decision to make a<br />
commitment to a certa<strong>in</strong> open<strong>in</strong>g of its market. Under GATT it is the<br />
contrary. There are general measures about the liberalisation of specific<br />
goods. A country that does not wish to adhere to this general rule must<br />
exempt itself from this rul<strong>in</strong>g, which is much more difficult than <strong>in</strong> the case<br />
of GATS where the commitment is more of a choice.
28 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 29<br />
By push<strong>in</strong>g the whole digital field <strong>in</strong>to the “goods” sector the US<br />
hopes to liberalise this doma<strong>in</strong> completely, prevent<strong>in</strong>g this field from be<strong>in</strong>g<br />
regulated. It looks as though the US will say to Europe and other parts of<br />
the world: you may keep the old media, but you should surrender the<br />
future to us. This extremely important case may make all aware that culture<br />
is not divisible <strong>in</strong> “goods” and “services”. Artists are always work<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
different media, old and new alike, and also the results of their work are of<br />
different shapes and qualities. To disconnect it <strong>in</strong> goods and services is<br />
not helpful, specifically if the purpose is to suppress the possibility that<br />
the digital field may be regulated <strong>in</strong> favour of the protection and promotion<br />
of cultural diversity.<br />
* Ivan Bernier and Hélène Ruiz Fabri conclude that under the<br />
circumstances of economically driven globalisation cultural diversity is<br />
threatened, ‘because the orig<strong>in</strong>al and multiple identities of the groups and<br />
societies that make up mank<strong>in</strong>d are be<strong>in</strong>g underm<strong>in</strong>ed by a trade<br />
liberalization process, whose f<strong>in</strong>al outcome is hard to predict. The process<br />
<strong>in</strong> question, which is based largely on competition, tends to impose a<br />
s<strong>in</strong>gle commercial mould on the many expectations citizens have <strong>in</strong><br />
different realms of human activity and fosters new forms of social<br />
organisation that call <strong>in</strong>to question not only traditional ways of do<strong>in</strong>g<br />
th<strong>in</strong>gs, but shared values as well.’ (Bernier 2002: 23).<br />
The authors recognize that all national cultures have to adapt over<br />
time to a variety of changes, both <strong>in</strong>ternal and external. The real problem<br />
that the present form of economic globalisation poses for the diversity of<br />
cultures ‘is whether the changes it br<strong>in</strong>gs about <strong>in</strong> values, lifestyles and<br />
ways of do<strong>in</strong>g th<strong>in</strong>gs affect our ability to “promote and ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> a<br />
pluralistic public space where citizens have access to and can participate<br />
<strong>in</strong> cultural life, which itself is necessary for public life.” (<strong>in</strong> Raboy 1994: 77).<br />
In other words, do such changes affect our ability to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> dist<strong>in</strong>ct<br />
cultural expressions?’ (Bernier 2002: 23). Cultural diversity is also<br />
threatened, accord<strong>in</strong>g to Ivan Bernier and Hélène Ruiz Fabri ‘by the impact<br />
of trade liberalization on the capacity of states to susta<strong>in</strong> dist<strong>in</strong>ct cultural<br />
expressions, s<strong>in</strong>ce it prevents them from adopt<strong>in</strong>g standards that directly<br />
or <strong>in</strong>directly impede the circulation of cultural goods and services.’ (Ibid.).<br />
They clarify, that these negotiations concern the various types of<br />
government <strong>in</strong>tervention commonly employed <strong>in</strong> the cultural sectors, such<br />
as subsidies, quotas, restrictions on foreign <strong>in</strong>vestment, regulatory<br />
measures, and so forth (see chapter 4). ‘Unfortunately, once a state agrees<br />
to stop us<strong>in</strong>g one or more of these types of <strong>in</strong>tervention, it cannot go back<br />
on its decision. New Zealand found this out recently after mak<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
commitment dur<strong>in</strong>g the Uruguay Round of negotiations to no longer apply<br />
quantitative restrictions <strong>in</strong> the audiovisual services sector, effectively<br />
limit<strong>in</strong>g its leeway solely to subsidies. When it backtracked and<br />
announced <strong>in</strong> its M<strong>in</strong>istry of Culture’s 2001-2002 activity program that it<br />
planned to re-<strong>in</strong>troduce radio and television quotas, the United States<br />
soon made it clear that this was no longer possible.’ (Ibid.).<br />
What is the case? New Zealand deregulated its broadcast<strong>in</strong>g sector<br />
and listed it as a covered service under the GATS. It is thus constra<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
from re<strong>in</strong>troduc<strong>in</strong>g quotas, despite a change <strong>in</strong> government and clear<br />
public will to re-regulate the sector. Nearly all pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g and publish<strong>in</strong>g<br />
companies <strong>in</strong> New Zealand, as well as the majority of book retail outlets,<br />
are owned and controlled by foreign <strong>in</strong>terests. It is now difficult for New<br />
Zealand writers to get works published or distributed locally. One may<br />
conclude, that foreign dom<strong>in</strong>ance threatens local creativity and cultural<br />
spontaneity.<br />
A new b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>ternational <strong>in</strong>strument on cultural diversity<br />
The broader context of the odd relationship between culture and trade is<br />
of course the movement that started <strong>in</strong> Seattle <strong>in</strong> 1999 disput<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
present ruthless economic globalisation. Apparently there are many<br />
movements from different social and economic sectors that claim that trade<br />
should be balanced with protect<strong>in</strong>g measures of different character.<br />
National governments should have the full right to shape the conditions<br />
that a diversity of <strong>in</strong>terests of its own citizens, of the surround<strong>in</strong>g region,<br />
and of the world as a whole can cont<strong>in</strong>ue to exist, and not be controlled by<br />
only a few commercial forces. The world is not for sale, is the adage.<br />
It would be desirable for all these movements to be more unified on<br />
a global level and be able to change WTO completely; a change from<br />
be<strong>in</strong>g the emperor of the world to, for example, the M<strong>in</strong>istry of Economic<br />
Affairs of the United Nations only where trade concerns could be<br />
balanced with, for <strong>in</strong>stance, educational and social questions, with a new<br />
partnership between agriculture and ecology, <strong>in</strong> brief the k<strong>in</strong>d of balanc<strong>in</strong>g<br />
that takes place with<strong>in</strong> every government between the different m<strong>in</strong>istries<br />
and <strong>in</strong>terests. This is not, yet, the case.
30 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 31<br />
Nevertheless, as we have seen before, the cultural doma<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> any<br />
society has been confronted with an extremely urgent challenge. The<br />
fundamental human right that many voices can express themselves, can be<br />
heard, and can be discussed is acutely <strong>in</strong> danger. When cultural<br />
corporations take over cultural life, even more than is now the case, and<br />
when national, regional and local public authorities are no longer allowed<br />
to support the development of cultural diversity with<strong>in</strong> their territories and<br />
<strong>in</strong> relation with other parts of the world, then we will miss someth<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
namely the huge diversity of voices, melodies, texts, films, performances,<br />
books and images, which we need from a democratic perspective.<br />
What to do <strong>in</strong> this press<strong>in</strong>g situation? There is no sign that the<br />
present WTO is the place where basic human rights (such as: cultural<br />
democracy, the flourish<strong>in</strong>g of diverse cultural climates, and the<br />
ma<strong>in</strong>tenance of a broad public doma<strong>in</strong> for cultural developments) would be<br />
respected, promoted and susta<strong>in</strong>ed. This is not the <strong>in</strong>tention of WTO, and<br />
under current conditions never will be. Thus, should we try another<br />
Declaration on Cultural Diversity or another resolution, action plan,<br />
recommendation, or guidel<strong>in</strong>e on the importance of culture for societies, as<br />
several of them exist already? 6<br />
Obviously, these are important documents that raise awareness<br />
about the importance of cultural diversity, but they do not have a b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g<br />
legal force at a global level and have no competence to <strong>in</strong>tervene <strong>in</strong> favour<br />
of cultural diversity or on the rules and regulations concern<strong>in</strong>g global<br />
commerce. In chapter 1 we have seen how and why the US left Unesco <strong>in</strong><br />
1985: for the transplantation of culture to the sector where commercial<br />
<strong>in</strong>terests are the only players <strong>in</strong> the market place.<br />
The only solution to safeguard cultural diversity is to take culture<br />
out of WTO. Then, it will no longer be subject to the permanent pressure<br />
of treat<strong>in</strong>g the arts, <strong>in</strong> all its forms, sizes and genres, as trade products.<br />
Then, the risk that cultural diversity will disappear <strong>in</strong> the offertory-box of<br />
full blown trade liberalisation will be over. Then, public authorities will<br />
aga<strong>in</strong> be able to create the conditions, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the implementation of<br />
regulative measures, so that a great variety of artistic creations and<br />
presentations can flourish.<br />
In order to make a Convention on Cultural Diversity viable, it is<br />
necessary for countries to make no commitments with<strong>in</strong> WTO that may<br />
liberalize their cultural markets, notwithstand<strong>in</strong>g the enormous pressure<br />
they experience dur<strong>in</strong>g the present Doha Round negotiations. For,<br />
however it may be, WTO is a fly-trap. Once a country is <strong>in</strong>, it is nearly<br />
impossible to get out of the commitments that the country has made. The<br />
price is simply too high, as with the example of New Zealand, which, as<br />
already mentioned before, made commitments <strong>in</strong> 1993 to open up their<br />
audiovisual market. Despite the US propaganda that GATS is a very<br />
flexible treaty (you enter, and leave when you may wish to do so), the<br />
reality is different. Countries should refuse to make commitments with<strong>in</strong><br />
the framework of WTO which could compromise their ability to achieve<br />
their cultural policy aims. At the same time they should be careful that the<br />
proposed Convention on Cultural Diversity does not become an empty<br />
box, because governments have already given away their competence to<br />
make those regulations and to susta<strong>in</strong> those support systems as they<br />
judge appropriate for the protection of cultural diversity.<br />
6 See, for <strong>in</strong>stance, Unesco’s Action Plan on Cultural Policies for Development,<br />
adopted <strong>in</strong> the Intergovernmental Conference on Cultural Policies for Development,<br />
Stockholm, Sweden, 2 April 1998; Council of Europe’s Declaration on Cultural<br />
Diversity, Strasbourg, 7 December 2000; Unesco’s Universal Declaration of Cultural<br />
Diversity, and its Action Plan, Paris, 2 November 2001.
32 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 33<br />
chapter 3<br />
CONVENTION ON CULTURAL DIVERSITY<br />
The capacity of all states to preserve and enhance cultural diversity<br />
The WTO is an immense power block of the economically dom<strong>in</strong>ant forces<br />
enabl<strong>in</strong>g them to conquer markets all over the planet at an ever-<strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g<br />
rate unh<strong>in</strong>dered by any regulatory measures. The economic <strong>in</strong>terests of<br />
the few rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g large cultural conglomerates are considerable and their<br />
<strong>in</strong>fluence <strong>in</strong> WTO is significant. They demand the open<strong>in</strong>g up of<br />
worldwide markets for their “products”.<br />
Consider<strong>in</strong>g the power they put beh<strong>in</strong>d this liberaliz<strong>in</strong>g project, it is<br />
nearly impossible to get culture out of the grip of this “trade only” context<br />
of the World Trade Organisation. Nevertheless, several countries and<br />
non-governmental organisations attempt to do so. As said before, <strong>in</strong> mid<br />
October 2003 Unesco agreed to <strong>in</strong>vite its Director-General to develop a<br />
first draft on the protection of the diversity of cultural contents and artistic<br />
expressions. This could be good news. Hopefully this will result <strong>in</strong> a new<br />
legally b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>ternational <strong>in</strong>strument that will give national states, and<br />
consequently local, regional and <strong>in</strong>tergovernmental authorities, the full<br />
right to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> and implement those measures they consider necessary<br />
for the preservation and promotion of cultural diversity.<br />
Canada experienced with Nafta (its free trade agreement with the<br />
US) that someth<strong>in</strong>g that looked like an exception for culture <strong>in</strong> the treaty<br />
did not work. The US managed to use another part of the treaty that made<br />
trade <strong>in</strong>terests more important than the right Canada thought it had for<br />
protect<strong>in</strong>g its own cultural life. In Canada <strong>in</strong> the mid 90s, this hard lesson<br />
brought about the idea that the right of states tak<strong>in</strong>g measures <strong>in</strong> favour of<br />
cultural diversity is not a welcome philosophy <strong>in</strong> free trade agreements,<br />
and <strong>in</strong> practice it is impossible. If <strong>in</strong>stitutions like Nafta and, consequently,<br />
WTO, do not respect the fact that cultural diversity is a value at least as<br />
important as commercial <strong>in</strong>terests, and those free trade treaties cannot and<br />
will not guarantee that there should be an equal balance between the two,<br />
what then? The answer was speedily found. The idea was to take culture<br />
out of the WTO and to make a new legally b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />
<strong>in</strong>strument that would give states adher<strong>in</strong>g to such a treaty the right to<br />
take all the measures they th<strong>in</strong>k appropriate <strong>in</strong> order to protect and
34 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 35<br />
enhance cultural diversity; someth<strong>in</strong>g similar to the Convention on<br />
Biodiversity.<br />
Actually, three drafts are circulat<strong>in</strong>g for such a Convention on<br />
Cultural Diversity. One comes from Sagit, a Canadian association of<br />
cultural enterprises. The second orig<strong>in</strong>ates from a cultural NGO, the<br />
International Network for Cultural Diversity, and the third draft was<br />
composed by the International Network on Cultural Policy (INCP), an<br />
association of more than fifty m<strong>in</strong>isters of culture from all parts of the<br />
world. This last draft will, without doubt, be the ma<strong>in</strong> source for Unesco<br />
when draft<strong>in</strong>g its own text for a Convention on Cultural Diversity. It is not<br />
the purpose of this chapter to discuss and compare these three exist<strong>in</strong>g<br />
drafts separately. It is more the <strong>in</strong>tention to analyse what issues are at<br />
stake <strong>in</strong> conceptualis<strong>in</strong>g such a framework of rules. 7<br />
Before do<strong>in</strong>g this, it is necessary not to raise false hopes and expectations.<br />
Therefore we have to look <strong>in</strong> the direction of the 1969 Vienna Treaty on<br />
the Law of Conventions. This treaty discusses how <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />
conventions that operate <strong>in</strong> (nearly) the same field relate to each other. It<br />
says that the first convention on the same matter has priority. In the case<br />
of culture it means this. As we have seen before, <strong>in</strong> December 1993 culture<br />
has become part of GATS, the WTO treaty on trade and services. A new<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternational treaty, like a Convention on Cultural Diversity may <strong>in</strong>tend to<br />
br<strong>in</strong>g culture out of the dispute settlement procedure of WTO, and may try<br />
to safeguard countries that regulate their cultural market from trade<br />
retaliations. Nevertheless, the US may wish to claim that this is impossible,<br />
because all the obligations of WTO have priority above a new Convention<br />
on Cultural Diversity.<br />
Does this mean that the establishment, and all the preparatory work,<br />
of such a Convention on Cultural Diversity would not make sense? Not at<br />
all. Firstly, one could make the argument that there already is someth<strong>in</strong>g<br />
like an <strong>in</strong>ternational legally b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>strument <strong>in</strong> the same field that dates<br />
from the years prior to culture hav<strong>in</strong>g been sneaked <strong>in</strong>to GATS. This is the<br />
Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 10 December 1948, which is of<br />
course more important than any imag<strong>in</strong>able trade treaty. One may argue<br />
that countries did not have the right to pilot culture <strong>in</strong>to the port of WTO<br />
and its services treaty. Why not? The Universal Declaration of Human<br />
7 This chapter has been based on Bernier 2000; Bernier 2002; Ruiz Fabri 2003;<br />
Wiedemann, 2002; the drafts of the Convention on Cultural Diversity of Sagit,<br />
INCD, and INCP; and papers from and discussions dur<strong>in</strong>g the conference of The<br />
Comité de vigilance sur la diversité culturelle, Paris, 2, 3, 4 février 2003.<br />
Rights guarantees that everybody should have access to the means of<br />
communication. The WTO treaties however, open the possibility for this<br />
right to be denied, and so it happens.<br />
Thus, the claim might be that the Universal Declaration of Human<br />
Rights came first, and so the WTO does not have the right to deal with<br />
culture. A Convention on Cultural Diversity, however, derives its legal<br />
status directly from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It would<br />
give states (<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the regional and local adm<strong>in</strong>istrative levels) the right<br />
to regulate markets <strong>in</strong> such a way that access to the means of cultural<br />
communication is open to as many people as possible. It would also take<br />
care that the cultural life from any community will not be taken over by<br />
absent landlords, as we have def<strong>in</strong>ed cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries. A Convention on<br />
Cultural Diversity would make concrete the aims of the Universal<br />
Declaration of Human Rights. So, there is a direct l<strong>in</strong>k between these two<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternational <strong>in</strong>struments. The WTO, however, is an aberration that does<br />
not fit <strong>in</strong>to this l<strong>in</strong>e.<br />
The second reason why it makes sense to cont<strong>in</strong>ue to work on a<br />
Convention on Cultural Diversity comes from the Doha M<strong>in</strong>isterial<br />
Declaration from 14 November 2001, that started a new Round of trade<br />
liberalisation (<strong>in</strong> disorder however, s<strong>in</strong>ce its mid term September 2003<br />
meet<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Cancún). Its Article 31 demands that the relation between<br />
treaties <strong>in</strong> the fields of trade and environment must be scrut<strong>in</strong>ized,<br />
concretely of course between WTO and the Convention on Biodiversity.<br />
It might be clear that here the same problem exists as between WTO and a<br />
future Convention on Cultural Diversity. What has priority? It seems that<br />
there exists a Work<strong>in</strong>g Group on trade and environment, but there is huge<br />
secrecy on its membership, its agenda and its possible results. This may<br />
not amaze because this undemocratic way of work<strong>in</strong>g is commonplace <strong>in</strong><br />
the WTO, and therefore the organization may be compared with the former<br />
Soviet Union.<br />
The question of cultural diversity is also <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the conflict<br />
that several develop<strong>in</strong>g countries like Brazil and India put on the agenda<br />
on the consequences of the TRIPs agreement (the WTO treaty on so<br />
called Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Properties) for susta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the<br />
Convention on Biodiversity. The purpose of this convention is the<br />
protection of ecological diversity and concern for susta<strong>in</strong>able<br />
development. Therefore, the convention says that states have the<br />
sovereign right to protect their genetic resources, traditional knowledge<br />
and the use of it <strong>in</strong> a susta<strong>in</strong>able manner; tak<strong>in</strong>g any measures they
36 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 37<br />
consider appropriate for this end. However, TRIPs is <strong>in</strong>compatible with<br />
this autonomous competence of states, because TRIPs gives corporations<br />
the right to privatisation, to take <strong>in</strong>tellectual property rights on the<br />
traditional biological heritage of peoples <strong>in</strong> all parts of the world, and to<br />
monopolise this stock of knowledge. Also here the protection of cultural<br />
diversity is at stake. (Wiedemann 2002: 35-7).<br />
The decisive question is thus, should the trade-only-pr<strong>in</strong>ciple rule<br />
the world? Or, should commerce be balanced with many other <strong>in</strong>terests?<br />
WTO is a product of a period when the neoliberal trade agenda was at its<br />
height. Meanwhile, we know the catastrophe it caused. Actually, the Doha<br />
Round is accord<strong>in</strong>g to WTO’s own rul<strong>in</strong>gs an illegal activity. At the end of<br />
the Uruguay Round <strong>in</strong> 1993 there was an agreement that a new round of<br />
trade liberalis<strong>in</strong>g negotiations would not start before an evaluation had<br />
taken place on the consequences of what the results of the Uruguay<br />
Round <strong>in</strong> practice would br<strong>in</strong>g about. This evaluation never took place,<br />
and that is what bureaucrats at the WTO office <strong>in</strong> Geneva prefer to forget.<br />
In the case of an evaluation one th<strong>in</strong>g would have become very clear: a<br />
trade-only treaty, like that of WTO, is not an adequate tool for deal<strong>in</strong>g<br />
with questions of ecological and cultural diversity. A new round could<br />
only have started after the revision of the mistakes that had been made by<br />
th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g that a commercially led system can rule the world without giv<strong>in</strong>g<br />
due attention to the many completely different questions and concerns,<br />
like diversity.<br />
Therefore it was not unexpected that serious contradictions<br />
between different groups of members exploded the WTO M<strong>in</strong>isterial<br />
Meet<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Cancún <strong>in</strong> September 2003 and paralysed the organization, <strong>in</strong><br />
this case on the dump<strong>in</strong>g of agricultural products by American and<br />
European enterprises on the markets of Third World countries. The<br />
general question at stake with<strong>in</strong> WTO is whether other values than trade<br />
concerns from mostly Western corporations may also count. Therefore,<br />
com<strong>in</strong>g back to culture with<strong>in</strong> Unesco, it is of utmost importance to<br />
prepare a strong safeguard for the rich diversity of artistic communication:<br />
a Convention on Cultural Diversity, that respects, protects and promotes<br />
the development of cultural diversity. To make such a new <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />
legally b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>strument is even more than a political statement. It<br />
attacks the basic pr<strong>in</strong>ciples of WTO. This is not by def<strong>in</strong>ition a lost case <strong>in</strong><br />
a period <strong>in</strong> which WTO is los<strong>in</strong>g ground. A broad coalition of cultural<br />
movements with the ecological movements that are <strong>in</strong> a comparable<br />
struggle with WTO is an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g perspective.<br />
The third reason why the Convention on Cultural Diversity must be<br />
pushed forward is so that <strong>in</strong> the case of disputes it works between the<br />
countries that have signed and ratified the Convention. Therefore it<br />
follows that this must be the greatest number possible, hopefully <strong>in</strong> this<br />
way isolat<strong>in</strong>g the US and forc<strong>in</strong>g it to adhere to multilateralism.<br />
A fourth reason is that a strong Convention on Cultural Diversity<br />
would make Unesco the important organization it should be. Previously we<br />
have already concluded that it is a strange world <strong>in</strong> which there is only<br />
one m<strong>in</strong>istry, namely the economic m<strong>in</strong>istry called WTO. Unesco should<br />
be a worldwide m<strong>in</strong>istry of cultural, scientific and educational affairs that<br />
has as much weight as the m<strong>in</strong>istry of economic affairs, thus mak<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
completely reformed WTO.<br />
At last, the fifth reason is that with<strong>in</strong> WTO, law is not to be read <strong>in</strong><br />
isolation from the rest of <strong>in</strong>ternational law. Ivan Bernier and Hélène Ruiz<br />
Fabri rem<strong>in</strong>d that ‘the fact rema<strong>in</strong>s that the bodies <strong>in</strong> charge of settl<strong>in</strong>g<br />
disputes with<strong>in</strong> the WTO do not hesitate to refer to external pr<strong>in</strong>ciples and<br />
rules’. Therefore, they conclude that the situation seems fairly open. ‘A<br />
“cultural” <strong>in</strong>strument that reflects some degree of consensus could be<br />
designed to <strong>in</strong>fluence the <strong>in</strong>terpretive approach of WTO dispute<br />
settlement bodies, especially s<strong>in</strong>ce it would then be possible to show that<br />
the position of the State <strong>in</strong> question is not neccesarily “isolated”.’ (Bernier<br />
2002: 39, 40)<br />
The general feel<strong>in</strong>g is that there is no time to be lost. First, the work with<strong>in</strong><br />
Unesco should be completed <strong>in</strong> two years. Second, WTO has put 2005 –<br />
this will be later - on the calendar as the deadl<strong>in</strong>e for f<strong>in</strong>ish<strong>in</strong>g its present<br />
round of negotiations (the Doha Round), which should result <strong>in</strong> further<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the liberalisation of world markets. Before this crucial moment culture<br />
should have been transferred from WTO to the new Convention on<br />
Cultural Diversity. In any case, there should be the perspective that many<br />
countries may wish to adhere to such a project. Even more important as<br />
said before, is that countries should not make commitments concern<strong>in</strong>g<br />
culture dur<strong>in</strong>g WTO’s Doha Round. The failure of Cancún, or some may<br />
say, its success, may postpone the Doha deadl<strong>in</strong>e. This does not mean<br />
that the process of market liberalisation <strong>in</strong> the cultural field stops<br />
meanwhile. Countries with strong cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries, specifically the US,<br />
will try to make bilateral agreements with separate countries that would
38 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 39<br />
open their cultural markets; the strategy will also be directed on regional<br />
trade agreements.<br />
A work<strong>in</strong>g group of the INCP - consist<strong>in</strong>g of the m<strong>in</strong>isters of culture<br />
- states (September 2002) that the immediate objective of this new legally<br />
b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>ternational <strong>in</strong>strument ‘is to ensure that States have the means<br />
to determ<strong>in</strong>e, from a cultural standpo<strong>in</strong>t, and on the basis of their own<br />
conditions and circumstances, the policies that are needed to ensure the<br />
preservation and promotion of cultural diversity and to provide a set of<br />
pr<strong>in</strong>ciples and rules for the realization of this goal.’ The same ambition, <strong>in</strong><br />
slightly different word<strong>in</strong>g, can be found <strong>in</strong> several texts on the idea of<br />
such a Convention and <strong>in</strong> the other drafts.<br />
The orig<strong>in</strong> of this unanimity is that a balance deficit has been noted<br />
between culture and trade with<strong>in</strong> exist<strong>in</strong>g free trade agreements. A new<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternational <strong>in</strong>strument would acknowledge the legitimate role of<br />
domestic cultural policies <strong>in</strong> ensur<strong>in</strong>g cultural diversity, on the national,<br />
local, regional and <strong>in</strong>tergovernmental level. Crucial <strong>in</strong> this process are the<br />
national states. Are not national states the only entities qualified to adhere<br />
to <strong>in</strong>ternational treaties? They may take actions, or adopt, ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> and<br />
enforce measures to preserve or enhance cultural diversity. These may<br />
<strong>in</strong>clude regulations and support systems most often used by the state to<br />
achieve its cultural aims, while also emphasiz<strong>in</strong>g the right of each state to<br />
choose new k<strong>in</strong>ds of measures which it feels are most appropriate, given<br />
the situations and conditions.<br />
However, we should keep <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d that for many different reasons<br />
many states are not benign and do not desire the development of cultural<br />
diversity. A Convention on Cultural Diversity might help cultural activists<br />
and NGO’s to stimulate the debate about what the role of the state should<br />
and can be concern<strong>in</strong>g the flourish<strong>in</strong>g of diversity. It should be made clear<br />
as well that cultural diversity does not have to lead to the fall<strong>in</strong>g apart of<br />
specific national states where strong m<strong>in</strong>orities claim greater autonomy. A<br />
lesson to be learned is how different cultures can live together<br />
productively while avoid<strong>in</strong>g civil war and at the same time f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g the right<br />
balance between unity and regional or local autonomy <strong>in</strong> certa<strong>in</strong> degrees.<br />
It is <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g to note that <strong>in</strong> all drafts and texts on the idea of a<br />
Convention there are two concepts: the preservation and the promotion<br />
of cultural diversity. A balance is needed between ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g and<br />
enhanc<strong>in</strong>g cultural expression. It is not only conservation of cultural<br />
heritage and exist<strong>in</strong>g cultural practices that should be cherished, but also<br />
new developments should be encouraged.<br />
One of the basic philosophies should be that countries do not<br />
oppose the cultural measures adopted by others. Every country adher<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to the Convention recognises and respects the sovereign right of all other<br />
member states of the Convention to take its own measures. For example<br />
one country may not claim that another country h<strong>in</strong>ders its cultural<br />
commerce. At the same time, the philosophy beh<strong>in</strong>d the proposed<br />
Convention is that a multitude of cultural exchanges between countries<br />
will take place. One of the goals of preserv<strong>in</strong>g cultural diversity is closely<br />
l<strong>in</strong>ked to other social objectives, such as democratic expression, social<br />
cohesion and economic development, without, however, turn<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternational legal <strong>in</strong>strument <strong>in</strong>to a text on democratic governance or<br />
economic development per se.<br />
One of the paradoxes of globalisation is that it promotes cultural<br />
diversity by the <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g exchange and communication possibilities,<br />
while at the same time cultural diversity becomes threatened, if one does<br />
not develop adequate mechanisms for its preservation. One of the<br />
difficulties orig<strong>in</strong>ates from the fact that there is no worldwide shared<br />
vision on how to regulate globalisation, let alone how to prioritise the<br />
protection and promotion of cultural diversity. Hélène Ruiz Fabri (2003)<br />
analyses that a non-b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>strument (like a Declaration) does not have<br />
the “weight” to mitigate, and certa<strong>in</strong>ly not to change WTO’s rules that<br />
presently obliges national states to make high level market open<strong>in</strong>gs.<br />
‘Only such rules can counterbalance WTO that have an equivalent power<br />
<strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>ternational order.’<br />
For the right of states protect<strong>in</strong>g and promot<strong>in</strong>g cultural diversity a<br />
new Convention should guarantee that they, or their local or regional<br />
authorities, will not be sanctioned for their cultural policies. To avoid the<br />
threat of trade retaliations, there is a clearly identified need for an<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternational b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g legal <strong>in</strong>strument that goes beyond a simple<br />
declaration. A Convention on Cultural Diversity will provide the member<br />
states with the necessary powers to def<strong>in</strong>itively exclude culture from<br />
commercial negotiations, whether with<strong>in</strong> the WTO or any other framework.<br />
It is beyond doubt that such a Convention will only be effective if a<br />
sufficient number of states will adhere to it, and amongst them there<br />
should be many countries that have substantial economic power. A power<br />
block is needed, as quickly as possible that will refuse to submit culture<br />
completely to economic regimes. At the same time this group of countries<br />
must be strong enough to withstand possible sanctions from countries<br />
that stay out of the Convention on Cultural Diversity. It is not difficult to
40 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 41<br />
imag<strong>in</strong>e that, for <strong>in</strong>stance, the United States would not be amused by an<br />
effective movement of countries separat<strong>in</strong>g culture from the commercial<br />
dom<strong>in</strong>ation. It is therefore predictable that this superpower will do all it can<br />
to break such a united front and to submit <strong>in</strong>dividual countries to<br />
draconian trade retaliations on all imag<strong>in</strong>able products. This can only be<br />
avoided when the power block of countries represented <strong>in</strong> the Convention<br />
on Cultural Diversity has sufficient economic clout to withstand these<br />
k<strong>in</strong>ds of threats.<br />
Cultural diversity: signifiers <strong>in</strong> human life<br />
It is clear that the concept of cultural diversity, which is the key issue of<br />
solicitude, does not relate here to the anthropological concept of culture<br />
which covers all aspects of social life. The concern is to protect and<br />
promote the varied development of theatre, dance, opera, musicals, soaps,<br />
music, films, visual arts, design, novels, poems, and all other artistic<br />
expressions, <strong>in</strong> all their sobriety or abundance, mixed forms and genres,<br />
whether produced and distributed en masse or on a small scale, whilst<br />
prevent<strong>in</strong>g one form of cultural enterprise from dom<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g the market of<br />
cultural expressions and communication. Of course these signifiers <strong>in</strong><br />
human life contribute to the development of <strong>in</strong>dividual and social<br />
identities, but they also provide, for <strong>in</strong>stance, pleasure or consolation .<br />
But we should be aware that <strong>in</strong> every society this cultural field of<br />
artistic expressions has another texture, has a different structure,<br />
expresses dist<strong>in</strong>guished sentiments, has other connotations, reflects<br />
dissimilar histories, is characterised by dist<strong>in</strong>ct struggles about what could<br />
be imag<strong>in</strong>ed and what not, and <strong>in</strong>cludes different occasions of present<strong>in</strong>g<br />
these works of art. Therefore, the International Network for Cultural<br />
Diversity, a cultural NGO that br<strong>in</strong>gs together scholars and cultural<br />
activists from all over the world, says <strong>in</strong> its draft for a Convention on<br />
Culture: ‘Noth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> this Convention shall be construed to limit the<br />
sovereign authority of a Party to def<strong>in</strong>e such terms as “culture”, “cultural<br />
diversity”, and “<strong>in</strong>digenous or national culture” <strong>in</strong> a manner it considers<br />
appropriate to the characteristics of its particular society.’<br />
This fluid statement may provide lawyers with a feel<strong>in</strong>g of horror.<br />
They may prefer clear def<strong>in</strong>itions, but this is not the way that cultural life<br />
works. It is true that the cultural artistic field between societies may differ<br />
enormously. Therefore, the only th<strong>in</strong>g a Convention on Cultural Diversity<br />
can do is to respect this beautiful reality. This “legal handicap” can be<br />
solved by demand<strong>in</strong>g states be<strong>in</strong>g transparent about what to <strong>in</strong>clude <strong>in</strong><br />
their conceptualisation of the cultural field for which they ask for the<br />
freedom to regulate <strong>in</strong> a way they, and their local and regional authorities,<br />
th<strong>in</strong>k appropriate for the flourish<strong>in</strong>g of cultural diversity. States and<br />
regional organisations should have the freedom to encourage diversity of<br />
cultural undertak<strong>in</strong>gs. The general public and audiences should have a<br />
broad choice of works of art and cultural productions available to them <strong>in</strong><br />
their countries.<br />
In any case, the preservation of cultural diversity implies at the<br />
outset the preservation of all exist<strong>in</strong>g cultures because each culture that<br />
disappears, each language that ceases to be spoken is a loss for cultural<br />
diversity. On the other hand, the Convention on Cultural Diversity should<br />
by no means be a static, protectionist <strong>in</strong>strument. On the contrary, it must<br />
prove to be <strong>in</strong>strumental <strong>in</strong> the development of cultures, cultural exchange<br />
and cultural diversity. It should give breadth to the dynamism and<br />
openness that is a characteristic for many artistic expressions and for the<br />
work of most artists.<br />
However, we must be aware that the concept of cultural diversity is<br />
not undefiled. In South Africa dur<strong>in</strong>g the apartheid regime, for <strong>in</strong>stance,<br />
cultural diversity was a premise for segregation: divide people along tribal,<br />
ethnic and cultural l<strong>in</strong>es <strong>in</strong> order to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> white dom<strong>in</strong>ation. For many<br />
people it might mean a major shift <strong>in</strong> their th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g to now use the<br />
historically oppressive term “cultural diversity” <strong>in</strong> a positive way.<br />
Guid<strong>in</strong>g pr<strong>in</strong>ciples<br />
The Convention on Cultural Diversity will have some general guid<strong>in</strong>g<br />
pr<strong>in</strong>ciples.<br />
* We have already seen that there should be transparency about<br />
what, accord<strong>in</strong>g to a specific country, belongs to its cultural field for<br />
which it likes to regulate the market relations.<br />
* Its regulatory measures should not be out of proportion. For<br />
<strong>in</strong>stance, it should never be the <strong>in</strong>tention for cultural creations com<strong>in</strong>g<br />
from other countries to have no chance of be<strong>in</strong>g shown or sold <strong>in</strong> a<br />
specific country because it has regulated its cultural market with an<br />
endless list of restrictions. Measures should also be flexible and
42 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 43<br />
appropriate for new developments <strong>in</strong> the cultural fields. At the same time,<br />
cultural enterprises should have the right of not be<strong>in</strong>g confronted with<br />
completely new or reverse regulations, from one day to the next. It will be a<br />
challenge to comb<strong>in</strong>e flexibility and predictability. As already mentioned,<br />
the agreement would be b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> this regard, with each member state<br />
mak<strong>in</strong>g a commitment to recognize the right of the other member states to<br />
determ<strong>in</strong>e, on the basis of their particular situation, what type of measures<br />
they will implement.<br />
* The draft text of a Convention on Cultural Diversity of the INCD<br />
states <strong>in</strong> its article 13 that ‘each Contract<strong>in</strong>g Party shall, <strong>in</strong> accordance<br />
with its particular conditions and capabilities, <strong>in</strong>tegrate as far as possible<br />
and as appropriate, the objectives of the Convention with relevant<br />
<strong>in</strong>vestment, and competition measures, and may for such purposes<br />
prohibit or limit foreign <strong>in</strong>vestment <strong>in</strong> the cultural sector; or where<br />
<strong>in</strong>vestment is made <strong>in</strong> cultural undertak<strong>in</strong>gs, ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> or enforce any of the<br />
follow<strong>in</strong>g requirements: a. to achieve a given level or percentage of<br />
domestic content; b. to purchase, use or accord a preference to goods<br />
produced or services provided <strong>in</strong> its territory, or to purchase goods or<br />
services from persons <strong>in</strong> its territory . . .’ In chapter 4, I will elaborate on<br />
this article and propose <strong>in</strong> more detail what k<strong>in</strong>ds of regulations and<br />
measures might be appropriate. This may differ of course for separate<br />
countries and different parts of the world, accord<strong>in</strong>g to their history,<br />
economic situation, the actual leverage of concrete states to regulate the<br />
(cultural) market, the consciousness that exists about the importance of<br />
hav<strong>in</strong>g a diverse cultural life, and the character of the threats for cultural<br />
diversity by enterprises dom<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g the cultural doma<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> general or<br />
specific forms of the arts <strong>in</strong> particular.<br />
* A discussion exists about the question whether the Convention text<br />
should oblige countries to support the arts or to regulate their cultural<br />
market. On one side, it may function as an encouragement for countries to<br />
be more active <strong>in</strong> this field. On the other side, Peter Grant, a Canadian legal<br />
expert on questions of cultural regulations, may be right when he states,<br />
that most countries would not want to sign a Convention <strong>in</strong> which there is<br />
a section that says: each party shall develop cultural policies, spend<br />
money on the arts, and regulate its cultural market. Most countries will<br />
say: I am not go<strong>in</strong>g to put this <strong>in</strong> a treaty. This is a domestic matter.<br />
In a report of Sagit, the association of Canadian cultural enterprises<br />
(February 1999: 31), it has been stated that ‘a new cultural <strong>in</strong>strument<br />
would seek to develop an <strong>in</strong>ternational consensus on the responsibility to<br />
encourage <strong>in</strong>digenous cultural expressions and on the need for regulatory<br />
and other measures to promote cultural and l<strong>in</strong>guistic diversity.’ However,<br />
‘the <strong>in</strong>strument would not compel any country to take measures to<br />
promote culture, but it would give countries the right to determ<strong>in</strong>e the<br />
measures they will use (with<strong>in</strong> the limits of the agreement) to safeguard<br />
their cultural diversity.’ (<strong>in</strong> Morris 2001: 129).<br />
Maybe, the dispute on whether to comply or not is a fictive debate.<br />
Countries that ratify and sign a Convention on Cultural Diversity<br />
obviously feel <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the challenge that the cultural field <strong>in</strong> their<br />
societies is not dom<strong>in</strong>ated by market forces that push aside a diversity of<br />
cultural expressions. This makes it likely that they will make an effort to<br />
reach this ideal. It is up to them to decide what the effort will be. In that<br />
case, it is less necessary to formulate this as an explicit obligation <strong>in</strong> the<br />
text of the Convention. However, it would be wise to try to make sure that<br />
countries do not give lip service only to cultural diversity. It might help<br />
when they oblige themselves positively <strong>in</strong> a Convention text to take those<br />
measures – for <strong>in</strong>stance subsidies, ownership or content regulations – that<br />
really susta<strong>in</strong> the development of cultural diversity.<br />
* Cultural expressions do not exist without artists and their<br />
<strong>in</strong>termediaries. In most drafts of, and texts on, the proposed Convention<br />
on Cultural Diversity the hypotheses has become accepted, without more<br />
ado, that copyrights will give them the <strong>in</strong>come they deserve. Respect for<br />
<strong>in</strong>tellectual property rights therefore has been formulated as one of the<br />
basic pr<strong>in</strong>ciples of this Convention. Sometimes even the field of cultural<br />
productions becomes equalized with ground that has already been<br />
covered by the present copyright system. One may wonder whether a<br />
more adept analysis isn’t lack<strong>in</strong>g. The production and distribution of the<br />
arts has become more and more controlled by only a few conglomerates<br />
(the reason why a Convention on Cultural Diversity is highly needed), and<br />
this same phenomenon is happen<strong>in</strong>g with copyrights.<br />
The time is not far away when most of the world’s cultural heritage<br />
and most of the contemporary creations and registrations of performances<br />
will be <strong>in</strong> the hands of a regrettably limited number of copyright <strong>in</strong>dustries.<br />
Artists who enjoy a substantial <strong>in</strong>come from copyrights are rare. The<br />
Western copyright system freezes cultures, which is far worse <strong>in</strong> countries
44 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 45<br />
who were not aware until now of the systems that privatise creativity and<br />
knowledge (as is happen<strong>in</strong>g with patents concern<strong>in</strong>g, for <strong>in</strong>stance, seeds<br />
of rice). Intellectual property rights h<strong>in</strong>der the creative adaptation that has<br />
always characterised and guaranteed the cont<strong>in</strong>uation of cultures. In Arts<br />
Under Pressure: Promot<strong>in</strong>g Cultural Diversity <strong>in</strong> the Age of<br />
Globalization I present a more detailed analysis on the problematic and<br />
unsusta<strong>in</strong>able sides of our present Western copyright system and<br />
propose some alternatives that are better for artists, the public doma<strong>in</strong> and<br />
non-Western countries. (Smiers 2003). It is sufficient to note here that<br />
there is a contradiction. How can a Convention on Cultural Diversity, that<br />
is meant to keep down the too dom<strong>in</strong>ant cultural positions, glorify a<br />
copyright system that keeps open the way for the too dom<strong>in</strong>ant<br />
controll<strong>in</strong>g situations on the cultural markets? We will return to this<br />
question <strong>in</strong> chapter 4.<br />
* It would be a misunderstand<strong>in</strong>g to th<strong>in</strong>k that the Convention on<br />
Cultural Diversity is only meant to protect and promote the cultural life<br />
with<strong>in</strong> national states. However, the basic pr<strong>in</strong>ciples <strong>in</strong>clude an urgent<br />
need for a more balanced exchange between cultures. The area of priority<br />
is openness to foreign cultural productions. Allowances should be made<br />
for the products and creations of others to come <strong>in</strong>to their own market<br />
place. This demands care; otherwise this openness is only useful for, for<br />
<strong>in</strong>stance, Hollywood productions, exclud<strong>in</strong>g creators and performers from<br />
their own country and from other parts of the world. The big challenge (to<br />
be discussed <strong>in</strong> chapter 4) is thus, how do we regulate for a realization of a<br />
balanced cultural exchange between a diversity of countries and parts of<br />
the world <strong>in</strong> favour of more reciprocity and more two-way cultural<br />
movements?<br />
* Each state is free to take any measures needed to ensure dynamic,<br />
diversified cultural expression on its own territory and preserve cultural<br />
diversity <strong>in</strong>ternationally. Obviously, exercis<strong>in</strong>g this right must not <strong>in</strong>fr<strong>in</strong>ge<br />
basic human rights. Cultural diversity cannot be expressed without the<br />
conditions for free creative expression, and freedom of <strong>in</strong>formation exist<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong> all forms of cultural exchange. A dispute is whether this basic pr<strong>in</strong>ciple<br />
should be mentioned explicitly <strong>in</strong> the Convention. The advocates of this<br />
idea are afraid that some countries may claim that the Convention may<br />
give them the full right to regulate the fields of cultural production and<br />
distribution accord<strong>in</strong>g to their wish, and accord<strong>in</strong>gly will oppress basic<br />
freedoms and human rights. Includ<strong>in</strong>g such pr<strong>in</strong>ciples <strong>in</strong> the text of the<br />
Convention might oblige countries to respect the freedom of expression<br />
and communication.<br />
There are others who ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> that this cannot be the purpose of<br />
such a Convention. All member states of the United Nations have<br />
accepted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Is it necessary to<br />
repeat the <strong>in</strong>tention of such an important document with this new<br />
convention? When countries do not conform to the Universal Declaration<br />
of Human Rights, what does one th<strong>in</strong>k that they will do when it is also<br />
<strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> a Convention on Cultural Diversity? In any case, such an<br />
aspect of the proposed Convention would not be enforceable. It is not<br />
good overburden<strong>in</strong>g a new convention (that is already an extremely<br />
complicated project <strong>in</strong> itself) with too many topics. It might underm<strong>in</strong>e the<br />
preparedness of countries about to jo<strong>in</strong> the bandwagon and it might<br />
degrade the convention <strong>in</strong> that far too many perspectives will not be<br />
observed. Nevertheless, the core of this Convention is to promote cultural<br />
diversity <strong>in</strong> the fields of artistic expression. Where censorship and lack of<br />
freedom of expression exist, there is no question of diversity of artistic<br />
expression. Therefore, it would be <strong>in</strong>credible to make a Convention on<br />
Cultural Diversity <strong>in</strong> which governments would not commit themselves<br />
positively to the basic human right of the freedom of expression.<br />
On the other hand one must be realistic. A Convention on Cultural<br />
Diversity, if it is to be accepted, will not br<strong>in</strong>g about heaven on earth. It<br />
will not and cannot solve all imag<strong>in</strong>able problems l<strong>in</strong>ked to cultural<br />
diversity. There is noth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> such a treaty that will effectively stop<br />
autonomous governments from bann<strong>in</strong>g television channels; there is<br />
noth<strong>in</strong>g to stop governments from impos<strong>in</strong>g censorship on their own<br />
artists and creators, and limit<strong>in</strong>g freedom of expression; and the<br />
Convention will not automatically lead governments that at the moment<br />
refra<strong>in</strong> from hav<strong>in</strong>g cultural policies, to <strong>in</strong>troduce them. However, the<br />
existence of such a Convention on Cultural Diversity may be a tool that<br />
can help to raise awareness about the importance of cultural diversity for<br />
the development of strong cultural identities.<br />
* It may be difficult to conv<strong>in</strong>ce a substantial number of countries<br />
that from a cultural perspective they are better of with, rather than without,<br />
a Convention on Cultural Diversity. Besides the predictable opposition of<br />
the US and some of its most loyal partners like the Netherlands, it is not<br />
certa<strong>in</strong> that many develop<strong>in</strong>g countries will be <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> participat<strong>in</strong>g
46 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
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immediately. There may be doubts or even dis<strong>in</strong>terest. Understandably,<br />
questions like economic growth, job creation and agriculture, and worries<br />
about provid<strong>in</strong>g basic services such as health, education, hous<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
runn<strong>in</strong>g water and electricity have a higher priority than car<strong>in</strong>g about<br />
culture. Many countries simply do not have the means to establish<br />
cultural policies. Often the state as a law enforc<strong>in</strong>g mechanism is too weak<br />
and does not have the capacity to regulate cultural markets. Some<br />
countries may consider the question of cultural diversity an issue that<br />
concerns the struggle between cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries from different parts of<br />
the Western world. There could also be fear <strong>in</strong> countries with multi-ethnic<br />
structures, that putt<strong>in</strong>g cultural diversity on the agenda could lead to<br />
identity-related demands, possibly pos<strong>in</strong>g a threat to national unity and<br />
the authority of the state.<br />
The problem for poor countries is that they are most susceptible to<br />
the k<strong>in</strong>d of bilateral pressure that comes from the US. How can a poor<br />
country, for <strong>in</strong>stance, withhold its consensus from the WTO, when the<br />
Americans say: do you want this next shipment of food? Participat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
the withdrawal of culture out of WTO is a risky affair <strong>in</strong> such a position.<br />
This can only be done when a strong conviction exists that its cultures<br />
and languages will become threatened <strong>in</strong> the present global economic<br />
order, when the cultural dependency from the West has been felt strongly,<br />
and when it becomes clear that successful cultural enterprises from the<br />
own country are bought time and time aga<strong>in</strong> by Western cultural<br />
conglomerates.<br />
Develop<strong>in</strong>g countries do not start from a zero position. To adhere<br />
to the Convention they should have the feel<strong>in</strong>g that there is someth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
it for them and that they can afford to do this because they are <strong>in</strong> it with a<br />
large enough group of countries. In the <strong>in</strong>troduction I have already<br />
mentioned that rich countries should establish a Cultural Development<br />
Fund. Otherwise, how could the poor countries compete with the one<br />
million dollar an episode television drama? They have to have the chance<br />
of build<strong>in</strong>g the capacity to develop alternatives (hopefully together with<br />
neighbour<strong>in</strong>g countries) which have a reasonable chance to attract<br />
audiences <strong>in</strong> their own part of the world, not forgett<strong>in</strong>g, however, what<br />
they can do themselves as well <strong>in</strong> susta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the development of cultural<br />
diversity.<br />
* The immediate aim of the new agreement is re<strong>in</strong>forc<strong>in</strong>g solidarity<br />
and co-operation at the <strong>in</strong>ternational level <strong>in</strong> order to allow all countries,<br />
and particularly the develop<strong>in</strong>g and least-advanced countries, to create<br />
and ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> cultural enterprises which will project their own vision at<br />
national and <strong>in</strong>ternational levels. Therefore, the m<strong>in</strong>isterial International<br />
Network on Cultural Policy writes <strong>in</strong> its draft text of the Convention:<br />
‘Members shall facilitate the exchange of <strong>in</strong>formation, from all publicly<br />
available sources, relevant to the promotion and presentation of cultural<br />
diversity, tak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to account the special needs of develop<strong>in</strong>g and least<br />
developed countries.’ This last part of the phrase is a precondition for<br />
mak<strong>in</strong>g the Convention on Cultural Diversity a success.<br />
* Mak<strong>in</strong>g a Convention on Cultural Diversity is a unique opportunity<br />
for national states to promote their cultural exchanges and to support each<br />
other <strong>in</strong> their relations with, for <strong>in</strong>stance, WTO and the countries that<br />
consider culture as normal a trade product as any other and that are<br />
opposed to the idea of such a cultural convention and the withdrawal of<br />
culture out of WTO. One of the most difficult issues is how countries like<br />
New Zealand, which have made commitments concern<strong>in</strong>g culture and wish<br />
to be member of the new Convention on Cultural Diversity, can get rid of<br />
those commitments without hav<strong>in</strong>g the expectations of terrible trade<br />
retaliations from countries opposed to such a transfer.<br />
* When a Convention on Cultural Diversity exists, it is quite<br />
reasonable to expect that member states of this <strong>in</strong>ternational <strong>in</strong>strument<br />
may get disputes about ….. , about what? Some examples may help. Garry<br />
Neil mentions, for <strong>in</strong>stance, a dispute that would go along these l<strong>in</strong>es:<br />
When is a domestic quota an encouragement of local production and a<br />
space for local cultural product, and when does it become a prohibition<br />
aga<strong>in</strong>st the importation of foreign works? ‘I could see at some po<strong>in</strong>t a<br />
dispute panel of the Convention hav<strong>in</strong>g to adjudicate this issue. Let’s say,<br />
the treaty is now <strong>in</strong> effect and, for example, the Canadian broadcast<br />
regulatory agency would say: effective 1 January of the new year m<strong>in</strong>imum<br />
Canadian content for radio stations operat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Canada will be 100%. One<br />
can make a strong argument that that’s no longer protect<strong>in</strong>g a shelf space<br />
for domestic cultural product, but that this is a prohibition. On the other<br />
hand, I th<strong>in</strong>k that everybody would accept that a Canadian content<br />
regulation of 35% for radio is perfectly acceptable. So, where is the<br />
watershed between prohibition and a completely reasonable approach?’
48 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 49<br />
Another example of a probable dispute settlement question comes<br />
from Peter Grant. ‘Let’s imag<strong>in</strong>e a country establish<strong>in</strong>g a quota on pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g<br />
plants for CD’s, because it wants to protect its local CD manufactur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry. Does this activity really belong to its cultural doma<strong>in</strong> that<br />
deserves protection, or should this protection be limited to the process of<br />
mak<strong>in</strong>g the master CD, because this is <strong>in</strong> essence its cultural act more so<br />
than pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g? This is a relevant question that an oppos<strong>in</strong>g country may<br />
submit to dispute settlement resolution.’<br />
One of the advantages of hav<strong>in</strong>g a Convention on Cultural<br />
Diversity is that such a dispute resolution panel does not have to have<br />
only trade people as members as is the case with WTO. It goes without<br />
say<strong>in</strong>g that it is necessary that cultural experts belong to the panel. It<br />
should also not be imbued with the secretiveness that characterises<br />
WTO’s dispute panels. Unsurpris<strong>in</strong>gly, the International Network for<br />
Cultural Diversity claimed at its Cape Town meet<strong>in</strong>g, 14 October 2002, that<br />
‘the dispute settlement process must be transparent, it must guarantee<br />
<strong>in</strong>put from third parties and non-governmental organizations, and must<br />
acknowledge that the rights of <strong>in</strong>dividuals are equivalent to corporate<br />
rights.’ All these demands differ from the WTO practice.<br />
* The key question is: what would be the legal authority of the future<br />
Convention on Cultural Diversity, consider<strong>in</strong>g WTO’s present authority <strong>in</strong><br />
commercial disputes? Therefore, as mentioned before, a substantial<br />
number of states, some of them also hav<strong>in</strong>g economic clout, should ratify<br />
and sign the Convention. There are a couple of explicit advocates to name<br />
for this project on the political level: Sheila Copps, until December 2003,<br />
the Canadian m<strong>in</strong>ister of Culture and Heritage, and the French president,<br />
Jacques Chirac with the support of the Francophone countries. It will be<br />
seen as decisive whether the European Union will change its tack. Until<br />
now, it is firm <strong>in</strong> mak<strong>in</strong>g no commitments concern<strong>in</strong>g culture dur<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
Doha Round negotiations, as was decided by the Council of the EU, 25<br />
October 1999: ‘Dur<strong>in</strong>g the forthcom<strong>in</strong>g WTO negotiations the Union will<br />
ensure, as <strong>in</strong> the Uruguay Round, that the Community and its member<br />
states ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> the possibility to reserve and develop their capacity to<br />
def<strong>in</strong>e and implement their cultural and audiovisual policies of preserv<strong>in</strong>g<br />
cultural diversity.’<br />
In the new European Constitution (still wait<strong>in</strong>g for acceptance after<br />
the disagreement between EU member states <strong>in</strong> December 2003), France<br />
and Germany succeeded <strong>in</strong> keep<strong>in</strong>g the unanimity on decision mak<strong>in</strong>g<br />
concern<strong>in</strong>g negotiations and agreements <strong>in</strong> the field of cultural and<br />
audiovisual services, if they harmed the cultural and l<strong>in</strong>guistic diversity of<br />
the Union. This means that, for <strong>in</strong>stance France or Germany may veto the<br />
tendency of some other member states to make commitments concern<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the liberalization of the cultural market. The next step would be full-hearted<br />
support for the development of a Convention on Cultural Diversity with<strong>in</strong><br />
Unesco.<br />
The Council of Europe (the countries of the EU and other European<br />
states, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Russia) adopted, on 7 December 2000, a Declaration on<br />
Cultural Diversity that asks ‘to elaborate a catalogue of measures, which<br />
may be useful to member states <strong>in</strong> their quest to susta<strong>in</strong> and enable<br />
cultural diversity.’ It is a pity that the Council of Europe forgot to produce<br />
this catalogue. Thus, this is the work to be realized <strong>in</strong> the next chapter.<br />
If we overlook this battlefield, the runn<strong>in</strong>g start to a Convention on<br />
Cultural Diversity will seem to be very prosperous but this is not certa<strong>in</strong>.<br />
The draft text for a Convention from the INCP (the network of m<strong>in</strong>isters of<br />
culture) is likely to provide the model for the Unesco’s work on its own<br />
draft. In the INCP draft, Article 4 reads as follows: ‘Noth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> this<br />
Convention shall derogate from exist<strong>in</strong>g rights and obligations that Parties<br />
may have to each other under any other <strong>in</strong>ternational Treaty.’ The cultural<br />
NGO, the International Network for Cultural Diversity comments on this<br />
clause, that essentially, ‘this clause is contrary to one of the pr<strong>in</strong>cipal<br />
objectives of the Convention, which is to ensure that, wherever possible,<br />
disputes about trade <strong>in</strong> cultural goods and services are adjudicated under<br />
its terms rather than the trade agreements.’ 8 The basic idea was to<br />
withdraw culture from the trade only context of the WTO. The struggle will<br />
be to make this come true.<br />
8 INCD conference, Opatija, Croatia, 13, 14, 15 October 2003.
50 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 51<br />
chapter 4<br />
REGULATIONS IN FAVOUR OF ARTISTIC DIVERSITY<br />
Robust regulatory systems<br />
In the fields of film, music, theatre, dance, visual arts, design, and<br />
publish<strong>in</strong>g (whether presented <strong>in</strong> the real world or by audiovisual or digital<br />
means) there are dom<strong>in</strong>ant market positions that harm broad access to<br />
cultural communication. From a human rights perspective this is a loss.<br />
Some of these market-dom<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g cultural conglomerates are foreign to a<br />
country; others are domestic, as <strong>in</strong> the USA or Brazil. Left to the market,<br />
mergers and take-overs will cont<strong>in</strong>ue. However, democracy demands the<br />
reverse. In all fields of the arts and media, there should be producers,<br />
distributors and promoters, who have strong local aff<strong>in</strong>ities, and yet<br />
orig<strong>in</strong>ate from many different parts of the world. National states should<br />
regulate the cultural market <strong>in</strong> favour of diversity <strong>in</strong> order to reach this<br />
ideal. A Convention on Cultural Diversity, that would take culture out of<br />
the neoliberal WTO context, would hopefully give states the full right to<br />
implement the k<strong>in</strong>ds of regulations they judge necessary for the protection<br />
and promotion of cultural diversity.<br />
Already now, even before such a Convention on Cultural Diversity<br />
would exist, systematic th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g should take place about the k<strong>in</strong>ds of<br />
regulations that would be appropriate, for specific categories of the arts, <strong>in</strong><br />
specific parts of the world. There are several categories of regulations to<br />
consider: ownership regulations (<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g competition law), content<br />
regulations, and regulations of the public accountability of cultural<br />
enterprises, subsidy systems, tax policies and different k<strong>in</strong>ds of<br />
preferential treatments.<br />
Gillian Doyle is right when she writes that media ownership is ‘a<br />
difficult political m<strong>in</strong>efield’, and therefore ‘the design of a regulatory<br />
scheme to deal with concentrations ought to be robust, equitable and<br />
squarely aimed at legitimate public policy objectives.’ (2002: 177) Thus our<br />
mission is clear, but also extremely complicated. Regulations should be<br />
flexible enough to respond adequately to the chang<strong>in</strong>g cultural landscape,<br />
<strong>in</strong>telligently composed so that they cannot be bypassed easily or miss the<br />
target, practically allow<strong>in</strong>g monitor<strong>in</strong>g, impossible to skirt around<br />
juridically, and understandable so that they can be accepted easily.
52 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 53<br />
We should be aware that <strong>in</strong> most cases one form of regulations<br />
would not be sufficient <strong>in</strong> order to reach the desired purpose of cultural<br />
diversity. For <strong>in</strong>stance, from diversity of ownership it does not<br />
automatically follow that diversity of content will arise. (Doyle 2002: 13).<br />
This means that regulat<strong>in</strong>g authorities should f<strong>in</strong>d and prescribe the right<br />
mixture of ownership and content regulations. Let’s imag<strong>in</strong>e a town<br />
somewhere <strong>in</strong> the world. In this town there are three c<strong>in</strong>emas. If all c<strong>in</strong>emas<br />
are <strong>in</strong> the hands of one company, then decision mak<strong>in</strong>g about what is on<br />
show tonight and tomorrow night is too centralised. To cont<strong>in</strong>ue the<br />
example, we <strong>in</strong>stall an ownership regulation that says that every c<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
should have a separate owner. However, it may happen that all three new<br />
owners buy their films from one source, for <strong>in</strong>stance from ma<strong>in</strong>stream<br />
Hollywood. Once aga<strong>in</strong> there is a problem for cultural diversity. Thus, the<br />
ownership regulation should be complemented with a content regulation.<br />
Analysis is needed re the k<strong>in</strong>ds of market positions that hamper<br />
broad access to the channels of artistic production and communication.<br />
Regulators should design flexible k<strong>in</strong>ds of regulations that will give<br />
answers to already exist<strong>in</strong>g problems. At the same time, policies must be<br />
predictable for enterprises, as well as for cultural enterprises. However,<br />
this should not give them the right to be able to easily block the changes<br />
of regulations (<strong>in</strong> court) which have been <strong>in</strong>troduced <strong>in</strong> order to promote<br />
broad access <strong>in</strong> the cultural field and to prevent monopolistic situations.<br />
In this chapter I will present and discuss several examples <strong>in</strong> the fields of<br />
audiovisual media, music, the digital world, film, books, visual arts, and<br />
design; however, the summ<strong>in</strong>g up is of course not conclusive. The<br />
categorisation and the examples may help to stimulate the imag<strong>in</strong>ation: <strong>in</strong><br />
which situations what k<strong>in</strong>ds of regulations may work, and where there is<br />
not, or not yet, a cure.<br />
The purpose is that we share for a moment a solid and consistent<br />
catalogue of solutions that responds to the needs of categories of<br />
different countries, and that keeps <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d the dist<strong>in</strong>ct character of the<br />
dist<strong>in</strong>guishable fields of the arts and their transmitt<strong>in</strong>g tools and outlets.<br />
This framework needs to be flexible enough to react to changes <strong>in</strong><br />
technologies, production, distribution, and promotion methods and<br />
ownership relations while at the same time be<strong>in</strong>g fair to enterprises<br />
operat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the cultural fields, yet has the capacity to mobilise many<br />
people and cultural organisations to get such regulat<strong>in</strong>g systems accepted<br />
and <strong>in</strong>troduced.<br />
It is not difficult to understand that this is an enormous task. First<br />
of all, <strong>in</strong>tellectually: How can we imag<strong>in</strong>e that regulations exist at all, when<br />
com<strong>in</strong>g from a couple of decades where measures <strong>in</strong> favour of cultural<br />
diversity seemed to be out of fashion? And then, we have to try to<br />
formulate what the appropriate k<strong>in</strong>ds of regulations are. How to <strong>in</strong>troduce<br />
them? How to make them acceptable? How to implement them? And, how<br />
to enforce them? I come from the Netherlands. So, I know what w<strong>in</strong>dmills<br />
are. I will not fight aga<strong>in</strong>st them. But, maybe the w<strong>in</strong>d of a grow<strong>in</strong>g respect<br />
and a grow<strong>in</strong>g need for cultural diversity may help us to have the courage<br />
to imag<strong>in</strong>e, formulate and enforce what is nearly unimag<strong>in</strong>able. The<br />
purpose of the follow<strong>in</strong>g sections is to br<strong>in</strong>g order to the chaos by<br />
suggest<strong>in</strong>g different categories of regulations and to illustrate them with<br />
several examples <strong>in</strong> order to raise awareness about options, contradictions<br />
and issues that are, for the time be<strong>in</strong>g maybe, not easily solvable. It is all<br />
about strategies.<br />
Ownership regulations<br />
The purpose of ownership regulations is to prevent one owner hav<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
too dom<strong>in</strong>ant control on the production, distribution, promotion and/or<br />
the conditions for reception of the different forms the arts. The ma<strong>in</strong><br />
objectives of regulat<strong>in</strong>g ownership are to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> a balanced diversity of<br />
owners of cultural enterprises; to limit the market-driven paradigm; to<br />
protect communities that would not normally have a voice <strong>in</strong> the market<br />
place; and to ensure there is accountability of the owners to the public<br />
sphere. Ownership matters because it is decisive for who can produce,<br />
what can be produced, and which artistic expressions will be distributed <strong>in</strong><br />
what manner and surrounded by which ambiance. Internationally,<br />
oligopolistic ownership relations cause huge <strong>in</strong>equities between countries.<br />
As said before, <strong>in</strong> a human rights perspective there should be an<br />
enormous variety of enterprises that choose what will be produced,<br />
distributed, promoted and received <strong>in</strong> the different fields of the arts. The<br />
number of decision makers determ<strong>in</strong>es whether broad access exists <strong>in</strong> the<br />
cultural field, or not.<br />
The consequence of ownership regulations is obviously that<br />
companies are obliged to rema<strong>in</strong> relatively small. It is true that this may<br />
make them vulnerable to take-over, and at the same time it may happen<br />
that by limitations on ownership overseas expansion becomes obstructed.
54 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 55<br />
(Doyle 2002: 159). How to approach this issue? In theory, if all companies<br />
are relatively small there is no problem because no one company has a<br />
significantly bigger size or greater power than other companies. This is<br />
exactly the objective we are try<strong>in</strong>g to reach <strong>in</strong> the exercise of this part of<br />
the book: the oversized cultural conglomerates should no longer dom<strong>in</strong>ate<br />
the cultural field.<br />
Let us try to imag<strong>in</strong>e what the next step could or should be.<br />
Shouldn’t cultural companies be made smaller before they are allowed to<br />
operate <strong>in</strong> a specific national market? I agree, that this is a proposal that<br />
we, children of the neoliberal era, cannot fully comprehend. But, isn’t the<br />
logical consequence of this that the cultural play<strong>in</strong>g field must not become<br />
dom<strong>in</strong>ated by any one cultural enterprise <strong>in</strong> any way? The side effect is<br />
that we will no longer have the fierce competition that presently exists<br />
between the few rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g cultural giants. The argument that they should<br />
have the economies of scale, and therefore the ability to merge, goes to<br />
ru<strong>in</strong>. The diversity of artistic expression needs a beneficial <strong>in</strong>efficiency.<br />
Even the very idea of own<strong>in</strong>g cultural expression is a strange<br />
concept <strong>in</strong> most cultures. This concerns the control of the means of<br />
production, distribution, promotion and reception of works of art,<br />
enterta<strong>in</strong>ment and design; this subject will be discussed <strong>in</strong> this part of the<br />
book. But, it also matters <strong>in</strong> the field of <strong>in</strong>tellectual property rights. Sure,<br />
artists must make a liv<strong>in</strong>g from their work. But isn’t it exaggerated to grant<br />
them (and most of their <strong>in</strong>termediaries: the cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries) an exclusive<br />
monopolistic right (for more than a century) on their cultural expressions<br />
which they derive for the most part from many different sources <strong>in</strong> the<br />
public doma<strong>in</strong>?<br />
Ownership regulations concern<strong>in</strong>g the different fields of the arts (<strong>in</strong> the<br />
material, audiovisual or digital worlds) may have several faces, as<br />
discussed below: (a) no private ownership entitlement at all; followed by<br />
regulations concern<strong>in</strong>g (b) horizontal, (c) vertical, (d) cross ownership, and<br />
(e) foreign ownership regulations; (f) regulations concern<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>formal<br />
market dom<strong>in</strong>ations; (g) competition law; (h) taxation as a tool for<br />
dim<strong>in</strong>ish<strong>in</strong>g the control possibilities for cultural conglomerates; and (i) the<br />
reduction of excessive copyright protection.<br />
In every situation the relevant question is on what criteria<br />
ownership restrictions should be imposed. There are several possibilities:<br />
audience time, viewer share; turnover, market share; net advertisement<br />
revenues; production, distribution, and/or performance capacity; access<br />
po<strong>in</strong>ts. Followed immediately by the question, <strong>in</strong> what quantities?<br />
(a) In a world <strong>in</strong> which it has very nearly become self-evident that<br />
everyth<strong>in</strong>g can, and must be owned privately, it may sound strange to<br />
claim that important segments of our communication tools should be not<br />
be owned by anybody and should stay <strong>in</strong> the public doma<strong>in</strong>. Lawrence<br />
Lessig stipulates, however, that the state should regulate that the<br />
spectrum stays embraced <strong>in</strong> the field of the public doma<strong>in</strong>. His argument is<br />
that ‘free resources have been crucial to <strong>in</strong>novation and creativity; that<br />
without them, creativity is crippled. Thus, and especially <strong>in</strong> the digital age,<br />
the central question becomes, not whether government or the market<br />
should control a resource, but whether a resource should be controlled at<br />
all. Just because control is possible, it doesn’t follow that it is justified.’<br />
(2002: 14). There is a need to get a broad public understand<strong>in</strong>g re this<br />
problem and there is not much time to lose. Only then can the privatisation<br />
of the spectrum be prevented.<br />
(b, c and d) It is becom<strong>in</strong>g more and more clear, that nearly all forms of<br />
horizontal and vertical <strong>in</strong>tegration no longer exist. Mostly, what we see,<br />
nowadays, are forms of cross ownership <strong>in</strong> the cultural field: media<br />
conglomerates that are active <strong>in</strong> all the fields of the arts and enterta<strong>in</strong>ment,<br />
<strong>in</strong> all stages from production to distribution, promotion, and reception, and<br />
<strong>in</strong> all different media. In several cases we should realise that the reality is<br />
that cultural production and distribution has become <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong><br />
situations of cross <strong>in</strong>dustry ownership. For <strong>in</strong>stance, General Electrics,<br />
which is a huge military <strong>in</strong>dustry, has extensive <strong>in</strong>terests <strong>in</strong> cultural<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustries and news agencies. Arms producer Lagardère <strong>in</strong> France owns a<br />
substantial part of the publish<strong>in</strong>g houses and distribution channels for<br />
newspapers and books <strong>in</strong> this country after it took over the publish<strong>in</strong>g<br />
division of Vivendi Universal.. Italian Prime M<strong>in</strong>ister Berlusconi owns<br />
many different media; controls public radio and television, is also owner of<br />
the ma<strong>in</strong> publicity agency <strong>in</strong> Italy and one the most important supermarket<br />
cha<strong>in</strong>s. Such forms of cross <strong>in</strong>dustry ownership are a nightmare re<br />
<strong>in</strong>herent conflicts, <strong>in</strong> which cultural freedom becomes extremely<br />
vulnerable.<br />
What to do? In 1996 the European Commission attempted to<br />
propose a draft Directive on media ownership which would have <strong>in</strong>cluded<br />
a 30 per cent upper limit on mono-media ownership for radio and television
56 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 57<br />
broadcasters <strong>in</strong> their own transmission areas. ‘In addition, the draft<br />
Directive suggested an upper limit for total media ownership – ownership<br />
of television, radio and /or newspapers – of 10 per cent of the market <strong>in</strong><br />
which a supplier is operat<strong>in</strong>g.’ (Doyle 2002: 162-4). However, a year later<br />
even this modest attempt at a draft was withdrawn without br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g<br />
masses of people onto the street.<br />
In 2003, the US Federal Communication Commission proposed to<br />
delete the last rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g cross-ownership regulations, which would then<br />
give cultural giants <strong>in</strong> nearly all the fields of culture and communication,<br />
absolute power. This measure caused uproar <strong>in</strong> the US. Temporarily, the<br />
abolishment of this regulation has been abandoned. One wonders for how<br />
long. It is a good sign though that people can be mobilised with regard to<br />
a subject that <strong>in</strong>volves cultural and <strong>in</strong>formational issues. Left unimpeded<br />
this is a defensive action.<br />
What would be more offensive? Given that a handful of cultural<br />
giants control most of the production and distribution <strong>in</strong> nearly all fields of<br />
the arts, <strong>in</strong> almost all corners of the world, is it conceivable that they<br />
would be segmented aga<strong>in</strong>? Segmented and split up <strong>in</strong>to many smaller<br />
enterprises, accord<strong>in</strong>g to the different forms of the arts, <strong>in</strong>to<br />
dist<strong>in</strong>guishable stages from production to reception, and not allowed to<br />
operate <strong>in</strong> all countries at the same time? In any case, for one country<br />
alone it is almost impossible to put strict conditions on the size and reach<br />
of cultural conglomerates that operate globally. All these giants are<br />
heavily <strong>in</strong>debted as well. This is their weakness, but at the same time their<br />
strength. Break<strong>in</strong>g them <strong>in</strong>to pieces – this should be done from a<br />
democratic perspective – would mean that they would loose their “virtual”<br />
value, and their moneylenders, like the major banks <strong>in</strong> the world, would go<br />
bankrupt.<br />
What can be done? First of all, awareness should be raised with<br />
many people and their organizations that the unlimited power of the<br />
cultural conglomerates is an immense problem. In the context of the wider<br />
global movement aga<strong>in</strong>st privatisations and deregulation, such an<br />
immense cultural democracy challenge should be tackled. Second, the<br />
power of cultural conglomerates should be attacked from different and<br />
separate angles. One erodes their dom<strong>in</strong>ance by effectively us<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternet and digital means <strong>in</strong> favour of the creation and spread of artistic<br />
diversity, as said previously.<br />
But, there is also a third possibility. Countries can say: cultural<br />
enterprises that are too conglomerated may not be based here. It would be<br />
more effective if a group of countries were to decree this together. Of<br />
course, it should be def<strong>in</strong>ed what size is still acceptable <strong>in</strong> the perspective<br />
of democracy concern<strong>in</strong>g cultural production, distribution and promotion,<br />
and regard<strong>in</strong>g the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Obviously there<br />
is a huge problem with countries where an oligopolistic cultural enterprise<br />
dom<strong>in</strong>ates the home market, like Berlusconi’s Mediaset does <strong>in</strong> Italy and<br />
Globo <strong>in</strong> Brazil. Let’s be honest, we cannot expect that this limit on size will<br />
be <strong>in</strong>troduced next year. At the same time, we can agree that it should be<br />
done and that it is not acceptable for a few cultural conglomerates to<br />
dom<strong>in</strong>ate cultural markets everywhere <strong>in</strong> the world. The strategy should<br />
thus be to raise the awareness that the oligopolistic ownership of the<br />
media and other outlets cannot be tolerated <strong>in</strong> a democracy. It should also<br />
be clear that break<strong>in</strong>g the power of cultural giants should be done from<br />
different angles, with different k<strong>in</strong>ds of regulations while f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g which<br />
ones are the most appropriate.<br />
Let’s try do<strong>in</strong>g an exercise <strong>in</strong> the field of music distribution.<br />
Important outlets for music are the record shops. The question obviously<br />
is whether the ownership of most of them is <strong>in</strong> the hands of one cha<strong>in</strong>, or a<br />
couple of cha<strong>in</strong>s, so that decision mak<strong>in</strong>g is too concentrated. But maybe<br />
this is a too unspecified approach because there are varied music<br />
segments <strong>in</strong> the market. Can we establish where concentration hampers<br />
market access for other record shops, and where the cultural damage is not<br />
really that big? A complication is, however, that it is becom<strong>in</strong>g less clear<br />
what a record shop is, as most supermarkets carry CD’s and cassettes<br />
nowadays. Specialised shops are becom<strong>in</strong>g rare. Probably one may be<br />
happy, at a given moment, for a cha<strong>in</strong> to keep open a number of<br />
specialised record shops. Or not? Only the examples of many different<br />
countries can help to solve this question. Immediately it becomes clear<br />
that we lack <strong>in</strong> many fields of artistic expression, and for many countries,<br />
precise and up to date <strong>in</strong>formation about the level of concentration, <strong>in</strong> this<br />
case that of record shops.<br />
Consider<strong>in</strong>g the fluidity of the market for music, my guess is that it<br />
is not that easy to regulate the ownership of record shops. Probably the<br />
start<strong>in</strong>g po<strong>in</strong>t for car<strong>in</strong>g for diversity concern<strong>in</strong>g the distribution of music<br />
lies <strong>in</strong> the audiovisual media. My argument is that there will automatically<br />
be a diversity of stock <strong>in</strong> record shops if a broad diversity of music has<br />
been broadcast on radio and television. People buy what they hear. If<br />
there is no dom<strong>in</strong>ant and unavoidable tune or song on the radio or on<br />
television, but a huge diversity of tunes and songs, then the audience will
58 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 59<br />
buy diversely. If this is true, then the question of ownership concentration<br />
of record shops becomes relatively less important.<br />
This would replace the need for regulation to another category of<br />
regulations, namely the field of content regulations (see below). Then,<br />
public and private channels could be obliged to broadcast, for <strong>in</strong>stance,<br />
thousands of different songs a year, even at prime time, that come from<br />
many different and <strong>in</strong>dependent sources, and many different countries.<br />
It is <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g that the distribution of music gets another<br />
perspective partly by the rapid development of the peer-to-peer systems<br />
of music exchange. If the cont<strong>in</strong>u<strong>in</strong>g trend is that the music <strong>in</strong>dustry,<br />
followed by the film <strong>in</strong>dustry, is sell<strong>in</strong>g less, then this might become an<br />
attack on their dom<strong>in</strong>ant positions. But what positions are at stake? In the<br />
field of distribution, certa<strong>in</strong>ly, and also their copyrights loose market<br />
value. But what about the production of music and films? Until now, it<br />
seems that most people exchange music and films that have been<br />
produced by the cultural giants and made popular by their market<strong>in</strong>g<br />
mach<strong>in</strong>es.<br />
A real attack on the dom<strong>in</strong>ant position of the music and film<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry would be for more and more artists to produce and distribute<br />
themselves us<strong>in</strong>g the rapidly develop<strong>in</strong>g tools of digitalisation and the<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternet and not to contract themselves to the cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries.<br />
However, this option is more available for artists <strong>in</strong> the richer countries<br />
and selected groups <strong>in</strong> poorer parts of the world. Besides, audiences could<br />
do two th<strong>in</strong>gs. First, they develop curiosity to this diversity, and change<br />
and adapt the works creatively, no longer be<strong>in</strong>g passive exchangers of<br />
what is on the hit lists. And second, of course they should, and will, pay<br />
the small amount of money directly to the artists for the use of their works.<br />
(e) Is there someth<strong>in</strong>g wrong with foreigners own<strong>in</strong>g important cultural<br />
production and distribution facilities <strong>in</strong> a specific country? Yes, <strong>in</strong>deed. It<br />
<strong>in</strong>creases the chance for artistic expression to no longer be related to the<br />
specific circumstances of people liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> that country. The Universal<br />
Declaration of Human Rights demands that people should have the right<br />
to participate <strong>in</strong> the cultural life of their community. In Canada, for<br />
<strong>in</strong>stance, it is proven that domestic producers offer substantially more<br />
domestic content than foreign producers. In the field of books, perhaps<br />
twenty per cent of sales are generated by Canadian publishers, but they<br />
are responsible for 85 to 90 per cent of the Canadian titles published. It is<br />
the same <strong>in</strong> the music <strong>in</strong>dustry. Canadian producers br<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
overwhelm<strong>in</strong>g bulk of Canadian artists who are recorded onto the market.<br />
This does not mean that it is sufficient to have foreign ownership<br />
limits. This, <strong>in</strong> itself, does not guarantee a rich offer of diverse k<strong>in</strong>ds of<br />
artistic expressions. Foreign ownership restrictions should be comb<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
with other regulatory measures, particularly various content quotas.<br />
Nevertheless, restrictions on foreign ownership give a better chance to<br />
domestic cultural entrepreneurs. They know the cultural field <strong>in</strong> their own<br />
country, which is likely to result <strong>in</strong> more domestic content. The least that<br />
can be said of regulations that restrict foreign ownership is that they forge<br />
conditions so that local artistic life can be developed.<br />
On the other hand, if there are foreign owners they can be required<br />
to present more and more local artists <strong>in</strong> the countries where they trade.<br />
However, this does not mean that they are part and parcel of the cultural<br />
life of such a society, because those foreign cultural conglomerates decide<br />
which local artists will get a chance, and they decide the ambience of<br />
presentation.<br />
Well meant foreign ownership restrictions may become <strong>in</strong>effective<br />
when they have been constructed for a world that no longer exists. For<br />
<strong>in</strong>stance, <strong>in</strong> France the foreign ownership of multimedia companies is<br />
restricted to no more than twenty per cent. (Doyle 2002: 148-150). In the<br />
case of the merger of Vivendi with Universal, however, it became difficult<br />
to make this law effective. Though who knows who the stockholders are,<br />
and tomorrow the stocks may already be <strong>in</strong> completely different - foreign -<br />
hands. The debate about the raison d’être of this law was avoided;<br />
noth<strong>in</strong>g could stop this merger, and later was too late.<br />
(f) It is easy to forget that the economic clout a specific cultural<br />
conglomerate or enterprise has, might seduce them to an actual market<br />
behaviour that is undesirable. An example may illustrate this. In Great<br />
Brita<strong>in</strong> the bookshop cha<strong>in</strong> of Waterstone has an estimated market share<br />
of 20 per cent. But how do they use this apparently modest position on<br />
the market? Recently Waterstone changed its conditions on returns and<br />
payments that had a catastrophic effect on small publishers, effectively<br />
mak<strong>in</strong>g many of them <strong>in</strong>solvent. The way Waterstone behaves is bad for<br />
cultural diversity because it pushes small publishers out of the cultural<br />
market space. It dim<strong>in</strong>ishes their chance of economic survival. A<br />
comparable phenomenon we observe with big publishers who buy<br />
w<strong>in</strong>dow space and favourable displays <strong>in</strong> bookshops for the books they
60 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 61<br />
promote as bestsellers. Smaller publishers cannot compete with such<br />
behaviour of the giants <strong>in</strong> this race for the attention of clients.<br />
First of all, such <strong>in</strong>formal market relations should be unravelled and<br />
made transparent. Apparently, we accept that these k<strong>in</strong>ds of processes<br />
take place, but one may wonder, is it self evident that big companies may<br />
distort the development of diversity <strong>in</strong> the market of artistic expression, by<br />
their actual behaviour? Second, would it not be desirable to regulate the<br />
conduct of dom<strong>in</strong>ant players <strong>in</strong> the cultural field? One may discuss<br />
whether such a regulation should be brought under the category of<br />
ownership regulations. I would say yes, because it restricts the autonomy<br />
of the owner of the cultural production, distribution or promotion capacity.<br />
(g) It is amaz<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>in</strong> many states exist<strong>in</strong>g competition law has<br />
seldom been used <strong>in</strong> the cultural field, <strong>in</strong> any case not effectively. It can be<br />
applied <strong>in</strong> the case of mergers and when there is abuse of a market<br />
dom<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g position. One could claim that a market dom<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g position is<br />
an abuse especially <strong>in</strong> the perspective of uphold<strong>in</strong>g democratic values.<br />
It would be a cultural ga<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> many situations if exist<strong>in</strong>g antimonopoly<br />
laws could be applied <strong>in</strong> the cultural sectors, but this seldom<br />
happens. 9 Benjam<strong>in</strong> Barber is amazed that cultural corporations have the<br />
right ‘to swallow one another up, converg<strong>in</strong>g, merg<strong>in</strong>g, and buy<strong>in</strong>g each<br />
other out as fast as f<strong>in</strong>anc<strong>in</strong>g can be found and stockholders bribed. The<br />
courts step <strong>in</strong> not to preserve a public good nor to impede a develop<strong>in</strong>g<br />
monopoly but only to assure that stockholders’ profitability will be the<br />
only criterion of the deal.’ (1996: 85). In a city like Amsterdam around<br />
eighty per cent of c<strong>in</strong>ema screens are <strong>in</strong> the hands of one company (more<br />
than eighty per cent of the films on offer com<strong>in</strong>g from Hollywood, but this<br />
is a subject for the next section on content regulations). One cannot<br />
understand why the competition authorities do not come together and<br />
forbid such an accumulation of cultural power.<br />
However, as discussed above, the conditions of access concern<strong>in</strong>g<br />
culture must be even more open than would be necessary for other<br />
entrepreneurial activities. Nevertheless, it would be a good start for normal<br />
competition to be strictly applied <strong>in</strong> the cultural sectors. This process<br />
would also stimulate the th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about what k<strong>in</strong>d of diversity of<br />
entrepreneurial activities is necessary <strong>in</strong> a cultural democratic perspective.<br />
9 Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols, Gett<strong>in</strong>g Serious About Media Reform, The<br />
Nation, 7/14 January 2002.<br />
It would be one of the opportunities for stress<strong>in</strong>g the necessity to develop<br />
for <strong>in</strong>stance, a biennial cultural diversity <strong>in</strong>dex.<br />
(h) What to th<strong>in</strong>k about taxation as a tool for dim<strong>in</strong>ish<strong>in</strong>g the control<br />
possibilities of cultural conglomerates? For <strong>in</strong>stance, for the US Robert<br />
McChesney proposes that ‘to the extent that commercial media and<br />
advertis<strong>in</strong>g play a role <strong>in</strong> a democratic media, they should be taxed to<br />
subsidise the non-profit and non-commercial sector. A tax of, say, 1<br />
percent on advertis<strong>in</strong>g would generate over $1.5 billion <strong>in</strong> 1997.’ (1997: 67).<br />
This is a considerable amount of money that could be used for the<br />
promotion of cultural diversity. Our Creative Diversity, Unesco’s and the<br />
United Nations’ Report of the World Commission on Culture and<br />
Development, suggests that at the heart of the debate should be ‘how<br />
best to share the global commons <strong>in</strong> media terms. One simple idea would<br />
be to use <strong>in</strong>ternational taxation to generate new revenue that may be<br />
<strong>in</strong>vested <strong>in</strong> alternative regional and global services and programm<strong>in</strong>g. A<br />
tax may be used on the commercial use of the global commons, much like<br />
taxes which have been suggested elsewhere for cross-border capital flows<br />
and fossil fuel consumption.’ (Pérez de Cuéllar 1996: 121,2).<br />
Lawrence K. Grossman has launched a comparable idea <strong>in</strong> an article<br />
with the headl<strong>in</strong>e: ‘These Airwaves Are Public Property.’ 10 It might be<br />
evident from this that the creative th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g on such k<strong>in</strong>ds of examples is<br />
still at its beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g. But if it is true that private enterprises use the public<br />
doma<strong>in</strong> for commercial <strong>in</strong>terests, why not tax them and thereby support<br />
culture and education?<br />
Why are there blockbusters, bestsellers and stars? The ma<strong>in</strong> reason<br />
is that they have been launched with enormous market budgets of millions<br />
and millions of dollars that actually falsify competition. Why? Without<br />
such fabulous amounts of money other artists and their enterprises are by<br />
def<strong>in</strong>ition loos<strong>in</strong>g the competition with these mega events. Christophe<br />
Germann analyses, <strong>in</strong> the case of film, that ‘the <strong>in</strong>vestments <strong>in</strong> market<strong>in</strong>g<br />
are arguably the most decisive <strong>in</strong>centives for film exhibitors to programme<br />
blockbusters. Consequently, the moviegoers must consume the content<br />
that the majors have imposed up on theatre exhibitors through their<br />
powerful distribution structures and market<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>vestments. This situation<br />
is even worse when distributors use the so-called “block book<strong>in</strong>g”<br />
methods, i.e., they rent blockbusters to exhibitors on the condition that the<br />
10 Lawrence K. Grossman, These Airwaves Are Public Property, International Herald<br />
Tribune, 24 August 1995.
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latter also show other films of lower commercial value from the same<br />
distributor. The blockbuster is <strong>in</strong> this way licensed as part of a package<br />
deal to saturate the screens. In many jurisdictions, this practice violates<br />
competition rules. Arguably, the audience’s demand is therefore largely<br />
irrelevant s<strong>in</strong>ce the market relationship takes place between the majors as<br />
producers and distributors (offer) and film exhibitors (demand). The<br />
dom<strong>in</strong>ant market position of the majors’ oligopoly leaves almost no screen<br />
capacity for content other than for blockbusters from one s<strong>in</strong>gle cultural<br />
orig<strong>in</strong>, unless governments <strong>in</strong>tervene on a national and regional level by<br />
way of cultural laws and policies aimed at promot<strong>in</strong>g diversity <strong>in</strong> the<br />
audiovisual offer.’ (Germann 2003)<br />
It would make sense to tax the excessive market<strong>in</strong>g budgets of<br />
blockbusters, bestsellers and stars and transfer this collected money to<br />
the market<strong>in</strong>g budgets of other cultural productions. This would br<strong>in</strong>g<br />
them to an equal position and would make sure that falsification of the<br />
competition no longer exists. (Ibid.)<br />
(i) Oligopolistic ownership claims may be limited as well by the<br />
reduction of our excessive copyright system. This has an octopus-like<br />
character. It will last almost forever, and everyth<strong>in</strong>g that looks like a<br />
specific content may also be owned. Copyright has become less of an<br />
<strong>in</strong>strument to pay artists but turned more <strong>in</strong>to a control mechanism of the<br />
cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries with as much content as possible. The time is near<br />
when our entire cultural heritage from the past to the present will be <strong>in</strong> the<br />
hands of only a few owners. It goes without say<strong>in</strong>g that this is not<br />
democratic. Such a monopolistic control on artistic expressions has never<br />
existed before <strong>in</strong> history and <strong>in</strong> no other culture other than <strong>in</strong> present<br />
Western societies.<br />
Lower copyright protection standards are likely to reduce excessive<br />
<strong>in</strong>vestments <strong>in</strong> stars, blockbusters and bestsellers. This has a<br />
consequence that cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries will no longer produce “contents”<br />
that are meant for and able to dom<strong>in</strong>ate cultural markets all over the planet.<br />
At the same time, this may result <strong>in</strong> the possibility of many, many more<br />
artists and their creations f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g audiences, not be<strong>in</strong>g h<strong>in</strong>dered by the<br />
dom<strong>in</strong>ant market forces. (Smiers 2003: 207-216).<br />
This is exactly the purpose of all ownership regulations discussed thus<br />
far. A second category of regulations concerns the cultural “content”.<br />
Content regulations<br />
Hav<strong>in</strong>g a great number of decision makers concern<strong>in</strong>g artistic expression<br />
does not automatically guarantee that audiences, buyers, and listeners can<br />
benefit from the rich diversity of artistic creations and performances that<br />
artists produce. The offer might tend towards a limited range of products.<br />
Why? For <strong>in</strong>stance, because they are cheap, or it is sure that they will<br />
attract a mass public, or they are uncontroversial, or they are more <strong>in</strong> l<strong>in</strong>e<br />
with the political or aesthetic convictions of owners and programme<br />
makers.<br />
An even more important reason to have content regulations is the<br />
reality that we might not succeed immediately <strong>in</strong> restra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the size and<br />
power of cultural conglomerates and turn<strong>in</strong>g them <strong>in</strong>to small or medium<br />
sized enterprises, as mentioned above. A third reason to have content<br />
regulations is that nobody <strong>in</strong> any society has an equal voice and the<br />
possibility to be heard <strong>in</strong> public; this also applies to the cultural field. The<br />
consequence of this is that many artistic expressions do not count <strong>in</strong><br />
public debate and experience, for <strong>in</strong>stance about taste, about language,<br />
design, k<strong>in</strong>ds of music, theatrical imag<strong>in</strong>ations, narrative structures <strong>in</strong> film,<br />
or on television. This would be a democratic loss. It will be an<br />
impoverishment if cultural products come from only one foreign country<br />
(with a little from the own country), and not from many other sources,<br />
countries, and cultures.<br />
In general, content regulations are meant to provide access to a<br />
wide range of diverse content via appropriate and relevant distribution<br />
channels. This immediately calls to m<strong>in</strong>d what has already been discussed:<br />
many countries do not have the capacity to let artists create, for example<br />
audiovisual works that are of such quality that they can compete with<br />
foreign products com<strong>in</strong>g from huge cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries. This said, these<br />
countries should get the f<strong>in</strong>ancial means to build production and<br />
distribution <strong>in</strong>frastructures while giv<strong>in</strong>g artists the chance to develop their<br />
craft.<br />
Content regulations can make sure that cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries cannot<br />
go on to dump their wares on markets that do not have the economic and<br />
<strong>in</strong>frastructural clout to resist these cultural <strong>in</strong>vasions, and that would<br />
otherwise never be able to produce artistic expression which is more<br />
costly. Many countries are small. So, it would be wise, for such countries<br />
to cooperate on a regional level with neighbour<strong>in</strong>g countries <strong>in</strong> the
64 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
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development of cultural productions and to assure them that there is a<br />
market that is bigger than the home market.<br />
Content regulations may serve different objectives. The most<br />
typical regulation tries to assure that domestic artistic products can be<br />
shown <strong>in</strong> sufficient quantity. It focuses on the own country, on creative<br />
developments go<strong>in</strong>g around, and hopefully giv<strong>in</strong>g abundant shelf space<br />
to those works of art.<br />
Secondly, content regulations may be aimed at promot<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
existence of a culturally diverse offer from surround<strong>in</strong>g countries and<br />
other parts of the world. In huge countries like India, Ch<strong>in</strong>a and Brazil it<br />
would be worthwhile for regulations to promote the exchange of cultural<br />
creations from all the different corners of these, of course, culturally very<br />
diverse countries. Obviously, this idea of look<strong>in</strong>g further than the own<br />
country or prov<strong>in</strong>ce is more complicated to realise than just regulat<strong>in</strong>g that<br />
only local artistic developments are not to be snowed under the torrents of<br />
the globally operat<strong>in</strong>g cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries. Most exist<strong>in</strong>g content<br />
regulations have an eye on safeguard<strong>in</strong>g domestic artistic life. This is<br />
important. However, it is also important to take care that the diversity of<br />
artistic expression has a place and that the whole world, and all different<br />
artistic varieties, comes <strong>in</strong>to the cultural picture and should be an object of<br />
regulat<strong>in</strong>g policies.<br />
The third purpose of content regulations is to ensure that the broad<br />
diversity of categories of cultural representations is not neglected. It can<br />
promote diversity of genres. This may mean, for <strong>in</strong>stance, the protection<br />
and promotion of cultural, l<strong>in</strong>guistic, political, and demographic diversity,<br />
<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g different m<strong>in</strong>ority <strong>in</strong>terests. The objective of these three<br />
purposes is to prevent cultural creations from hav<strong>in</strong>g a too uniform<br />
source; or to put it another way - they should promote the confrontation<br />
between public and diversified forms of cultural communication.<br />
In general four k<strong>in</strong>ds of content regulations can be conceived. We<br />
may call them: (a) the at least k<strong>in</strong>d of regulation; (b) the must carry<br />
system; (c) the no more than alternative; and (d) the reciprocity policy.<br />
(a) Most forms of content regulations are those that can be <strong>in</strong>dicated<br />
as at least. It speaks about the percentage of domestic product that<br />
should at least be presented. For <strong>in</strong>stance, the European Directive<br />
Television without Frontiers conta<strong>in</strong>s a domestic (i.e. European Union)<br />
quota system. But it is precisely this legislation that shows that different<br />
k<strong>in</strong>ds of regulations should be mixed <strong>in</strong> order to reach the desired purpose.<br />
Ben Goldsmith and research partners comment that there are a number of<br />
problems with the EU systems, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g difficulties <strong>in</strong> adequately polic<strong>in</strong>g<br />
airtime and <strong>in</strong> programm<strong>in</strong>g budget-based quota systems. ‘One<br />
commentator even argues that the Directive actually served to weaken<br />
national controls and enabled the entry of American programm<strong>in</strong>g because<br />
no limits were placed on imported programm<strong>in</strong>g, and because the<br />
def<strong>in</strong>ition of “European works” extended to official co-productions and<br />
programs made <strong>in</strong> Europe by non-European producers (Venturelli 1998:<br />
202-5).’ (<strong>in</strong> Raboy 2002: 99). The statement of “no limits were placed on<br />
imported programm<strong>in</strong>g” br<strong>in</strong>gs us to the no more than alternative that I<br />
will discuss under (c).<br />
In France a music content regulation ensures that at least 40 per<br />
cent of the songs broadcast on radio, with some variations, should be <strong>in</strong><br />
the French language; at least half of them should be from new talent or<br />
newly produced. This is quite a successful system, with only a few<br />
problems. There is no obligation to broadcast music from other European<br />
countries. The consequence? The musical offer is limited to that of French<br />
musicians and Anglo-Saxon material. A second <strong>in</strong>convenience is that a<br />
few major record companies are the prime source for DJ’s and VC’s. An<br />
obligation that over the year the music offer must come from, for <strong>in</strong>stance<br />
fifty record companies, would really help the promotion of diversity. A<br />
third anomaly is that <strong>in</strong> prime time only a t<strong>in</strong>y percentage of the music<br />
produced <strong>in</strong> France can be heard. Diversity exists, but it does not get a<br />
chance to play a significant role <strong>in</strong> public life. Thus, broadcasters (public<br />
as well as private commercial) should be required to make their selection<br />
representative for the broadness of the jealously mak<strong>in</strong>g expansive French<br />
music scene.<br />
For several years <strong>in</strong> South Korea a screen quota system exists. This<br />
makes it mandatory for movie theatres <strong>in</strong> the nation to screen Korean films<br />
<strong>in</strong> the c<strong>in</strong>emas for no less than 146 days out of the 365 of a whole year.<br />
Broadcast<strong>in</strong>g companies must show Korean films around 30 per cent out<br />
of their total airtime for films. This is the result of the concentrated efforts<br />
of the Korean Coalition for Cultural Diversity <strong>in</strong> Mov<strong>in</strong>g Images and its<br />
predecessor the Screen Quota Watchers. Actually it works. US films held a<br />
47% share of the Korean movie market, while Korean films 46%. This has<br />
had a positive effect on the production of films <strong>in</strong> Korea, and several of<br />
them are w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>ternational awards. In any case, it gives directors the<br />
chance to make many films <strong>in</strong> a row and thus to learn the craft, while <strong>in</strong>
66 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 67<br />
most parts of the world a director is happy when he or she can make one<br />
film every three or four years.<br />
The quota system does not prevent some films from still hav<strong>in</strong>g<br />
their orig<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong> Hollywood. It does not exclude, but it enlarges the range of<br />
options. Nevertheless, the US is not happy and threatens not to sign an<br />
<strong>in</strong>vestment agreement with South Korea, because Hollywood studios like<br />
to have a completely open play<strong>in</strong>g field for their products globally, thus<br />
also <strong>in</strong> Korea. The pressure on the Korean government to open its<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ematographic market is huge. Therefore it would be of enormous<br />
support if more Asian countries would adopt a quota system for films.<br />
This would make it easier for the Koreans to withstand the American<br />
pressure.<br />
One problem that I have signalled here already, <strong>in</strong> the Korean film<br />
case, is that the offer of films stays limited to locally made c<strong>in</strong>ematic<br />
products and films from Hollywood. Is there no news on the film front from<br />
other countries? This is unlikely. A system would help that says that no<br />
more than, for <strong>in</strong>stance, twenty per cent of the films may come from one<br />
country (see under (c) below), and that at least another thirty per cent<br />
should come from many other countries <strong>in</strong> and outside their own region.<br />
Is it desirable, and feasible, to regulate the digital doma<strong>in</strong>? This is a huge<br />
question. Philippe Quéau observes that regulations are necessary because<br />
<strong>in</strong> this field global monopolies develop, and the new technical processes<br />
do not offer by def<strong>in</strong>ition access to <strong>in</strong>formation and development for all.<br />
‘Regulat<strong>in</strong>g mechanisms which are specific for the global <strong>in</strong>formation<br />
society should therefore be conceived. The start should be putt<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
place a legal framework with global reach and <strong>in</strong>stitutions that are capable<br />
of defend<strong>in</strong>g the global public <strong>in</strong>terests.’ 11 There is no lack of subjects<br />
that require regulation, accord<strong>in</strong>g to Philippe Quéau.<br />
He sums up: the positions of satellites; fair competition and global<br />
anti-trust laws concern<strong>in</strong>g the fields of telecommunications, software and<br />
electronic commerce; the def<strong>in</strong>ition of the concept of elementary global<br />
services; fair entrance to the global centres of <strong>in</strong>ternet rout<strong>in</strong>g that are<br />
presently dom<strong>in</strong>ated by monopolistic operators; the def<strong>in</strong>ition of tariff<br />
politics for <strong>in</strong>ternational telecommunications; and with regard to the<br />
adm<strong>in</strong>istration of <strong>in</strong>tellectual property rights, a better equilibrium should<br />
be reached between right-holders and users. Also, a system that gives<br />
11 Philip Quéau, Une mythe fondateur pour la mondialisation, Le Monde, 17<br />
February 2001.<br />
develop<strong>in</strong>g countries better access to knowledge and creativity should be<br />
created. 12 Several of these topics would demand a mix of ownership and<br />
content regulations.<br />
In the same ve<strong>in</strong> as Philippe Quéau, Gillian Doyle considers that<br />
‘conventional ownership rules based exclusively on “traditional” media<br />
have, to some extent, been overtaken by developments surround<strong>in</strong>g<br />
digitisation, convergence and the growth of the <strong>in</strong>ternet, and national<br />
policy-makers have to respond accord<strong>in</strong>gly. . . . Regulat<strong>in</strong>g “gateways”<br />
and potential bottlenecks (e.g. monopoly control over conditional access<br />
systems, or user navigation systems or key content) has become pivotal<br />
to the objective of ensur<strong>in</strong>g open and diverse systems of media<br />
provision.’ (2002a: 151).<br />
Two key elements are essential. First, to regulate the technical<br />
<strong>in</strong>frastructure of the digital doma<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> order to avoid hav<strong>in</strong>g just a few<br />
players who control the conditions of us<strong>in</strong>g the digital world. Lawrence<br />
Lessig, as mentioned before, <strong>in</strong>dicates even that nobody should have<br />
ownership of the spectrum. (Lessig 2002). The second element concerns<br />
the distribution of content – I would prefer the term ‘cultural creations’,<br />
but currently ‘content’ is the widely used term<strong>in</strong>ology – <strong>in</strong> the digital<br />
world, accord<strong>in</strong>g to Garry Neil 13 . Care should be taken to make sure that<br />
cultural diversity gets a real chance <strong>in</strong> this rapidly grow<strong>in</strong>g field of digital<br />
communication. Once it is lost, it is lost for a long time to come. In order to<br />
bear out his argument Garry Neil goes back a little <strong>in</strong> Canadian history (his<br />
own country). ‘We have a strong television production <strong>in</strong>dustry which is<br />
very good and effective, but we have nearly no film production <strong>in</strong>dustry.<br />
Why? It is not because we don’t have the creative people. What is the<br />
difference? We control publicly the distribution of television; there we<br />
always have regulated the distributors, the broadcasters, the cable<br />
companies, the satellite companies; we regulate them. We don’t regulate<br />
film distribution. We succeed <strong>in</strong> television, we fail <strong>in</strong> film.’<br />
The lesson Garry Neil draws from this experience is that regulation<br />
of distribution is the key element <strong>in</strong> realis<strong>in</strong>g the desired cultural diversity<br />
and this is also true for the <strong>in</strong>ternet. ‘Who is do<strong>in</strong>g the distribution there?<br />
The Internet Service Provider. Thus, they will get the content obligation.<br />
Some people will argue that if you regulate them, they will go offshore.<br />
This is no answer because they have to collect the money, thus they have<br />
12 Ibid.<br />
13 Interview with Garry Neil, coord<strong>in</strong>ator of the International Network for Cultural<br />
Diversity, Toronto , 22 January 2003.
68 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 69<br />
to have some k<strong>in</strong>d of physical presence <strong>in</strong> the country, and thus you can<br />
regulate them. They need a physical place.’ But what k<strong>in</strong>ds of regulations<br />
would be appropriate? ‘It is not go<strong>in</strong>g to be the traditional model of<br />
regulations. The central focus po<strong>in</strong>t will be the navigation system, while<br />
this is the key <strong>in</strong> distribution. The content regulation will work as follows.<br />
The audience can make a choice out of a list of, for <strong>in</strong>stance, ten movies or<br />
ten comedies. Included <strong>in</strong> the first ten, three or four should be local <strong>in</strong><br />
orig<strong>in</strong>, or should otherwise be diversified. And also <strong>in</strong> the next series of<br />
ten, three or four should be, for <strong>in</strong>stance, local.’ Garry Neil: ‘We cannot<br />
force members of the audience to watch them, of course not. The<br />
regulation, however, has as a purpose mak<strong>in</strong>g them available to you <strong>in</strong><br />
every list of choices, and <strong>in</strong> a substantial quantity.’ It is not about<br />
exclud<strong>in</strong>g anyth<strong>in</strong>g, but it is about offer<strong>in</strong>g the audience the choice from<br />
the full range of options.<br />
Thus, diversity should be the normal share of the offer. Diversity is<br />
not hidden <strong>in</strong> a far away, difficult to f<strong>in</strong>d corner. It is self-evidently<br />
present. This has far reach<strong>in</strong>g consequences for the production of<br />
comedies, films, games, shows, and so on: ‘The distribution obligation is<br />
at the same time a powerful <strong>in</strong>centive for cultural enterprises to produce<br />
the demanded diversity.’ This means that diversity of production follows<br />
automatically from the already exist<strong>in</strong>g diversity on the distribution side. A<br />
huge topic rema<strong>in</strong>s on how to monitor and assess the Internet Service<br />
Providers who are, thus, obliged to put conditions on the companies who<br />
wish to use their distribution facilities.<br />
Another significant issue is whether such digital content regulations<br />
<strong>in</strong>fr<strong>in</strong>ge the freedom many <strong>in</strong>ternet users cherish and whether or not it<br />
streaml<strong>in</strong>es the use that was supposed to be more anarchistic of character.<br />
To start with this last observation. It is doubtful whether so many people<br />
use the <strong>in</strong>ternet creatively. Probably most of them use it like they used<br />
television, and tune <strong>in</strong> on what is with<strong>in</strong> easy reach. A cultural diversity<br />
policy should give them, <strong>in</strong>deed, the choice from a wide variety of options.<br />
Does the <strong>in</strong>troduction of such k<strong>in</strong>ds of regulations change the<br />
character of the <strong>in</strong>ternet? Not really, because it is already <strong>in</strong> a process of<br />
transformation. For several reasons the <strong>in</strong>ternet is becom<strong>in</strong>g more and<br />
more controlled. To name some of them: security concerns, for reasons<br />
that are not difficult to guess; moral issues (like child pornography) urge<br />
public authorities to control what is go<strong>in</strong>g around on the <strong>in</strong>ternet;<br />
commercial <strong>in</strong>terests like to see their trade protected and paid <strong>in</strong> this new<br />
doma<strong>in</strong> where bus<strong>in</strong>esses take off only when the free-beer-pr<strong>in</strong>ciple has<br />
been abolished; and of course national states like to receive the taxes.<br />
If this is the reality, then it must be a high priority for cultural<br />
movements to steer those regulatory processes <strong>in</strong> directions that do not<br />
harm freedom of expression and communication, and the spread of cultural<br />
diversity. On the contrary. First, care should be taken that the cultural field<br />
<strong>in</strong> this newly digitised world does not become a playground for the<br />
cultural conglomerates only. The consequence would be that, <strong>in</strong>stead of<br />
hav<strong>in</strong>g more options, the cultural offer will stay as limited as is presently<br />
the case, <strong>in</strong> the “material” world, where cultural giants bear the sceptre. On<br />
the <strong>in</strong>ternet a huge space should rema<strong>in</strong>, perhaps even the largest space,<br />
where <strong>in</strong>dependent artists, their collectives and their groups and modestly<br />
sized <strong>in</strong>stitutes can present their work and can communicate actively with<br />
each other and with every other <strong>in</strong>terested party.<br />
Second, digitisation and the <strong>in</strong>ternet offer unique opportunities for<br />
creative adaptation as existed <strong>in</strong> all centuries and <strong>in</strong> nearly all countries,<br />
until the Western copyright system started to freeze works of art<br />
forbidd<strong>in</strong>g artists from creatively transform<strong>in</strong>g what their predecessors<br />
have done. Cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries presently try to allow the penetration of this<br />
creatively unproductive copyright system <strong>in</strong>to all the pores of the <strong>in</strong>ternet.<br />
Thirdly, the regulations concern<strong>in</strong>g moral issues - that are partly<br />
understandable and sometimes even desirable - also demand vigilance.<br />
One step too far, too much regulation, then freedom of expression is done<br />
for.<br />
It might seem that productive th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about regulations <strong>in</strong> favour<br />
of cultural diversity on the <strong>in</strong>ternet is still at its beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g. A major task<br />
will be educat<strong>in</strong>g people <strong>in</strong>to becom<strong>in</strong>g competent citizens that know how<br />
to use this medium as creatively as possible.<br />
A question that suddenly becomes relevant is whether the whole new field<br />
of games should be taken <strong>in</strong>to consideration here. Is it <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> the field<br />
of cultural production and communication for which we try to def<strong>in</strong>e<br />
relevant forms of regulation? The answer should be yes. It is theatre, pure<br />
drama; it has narrative structures; and it is full of aesthetics. The ma<strong>in</strong><br />
discussion is not whether it should be regulated because of the violent<br />
content of many of the game genres. Nevertheless, I th<strong>in</strong>k that there is<br />
reason enough to <strong>in</strong>clude this topic <strong>in</strong> our debate because it is l<strong>in</strong>ked to<br />
the question ‘if and how’ to regulate. In the case of games regulatory<br />
frameworks are very much desired for a number of reasons. Morally, there
70 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 71<br />
is no reason to treat the digital world any differently from the world we<br />
know thus far. The fact is that strong violent imag<strong>in</strong>ations construct the<br />
moral make-up of viewers and users, and also that of games, and this<br />
<strong>in</strong>fluences <strong>in</strong>directly their day-to-day behaviour. Not only are regulations<br />
desirable from this perspective, but also because of the immanent threat<br />
for diversity as a consequence of market developments. Actually, the field<br />
of games is very much conglomerated. There are three major <strong>in</strong>dustrial<br />
players who dom<strong>in</strong>ate the market, and it is not <strong>in</strong>conceivable that this<br />
number will be reduced to two <strong>in</strong> the near future. Of course, there are many<br />
others who are try<strong>in</strong>g to f<strong>in</strong>d a place under the digital sun, but they are<br />
pushed away more and more from public attention by the omnipresence of<br />
the big three.<br />
What to do? Where is the access for regulations? There is an<br />
urgent need for public authorities to support, with subsidies and other<br />
facilities, the production of a great diversity of games. Otherwise this<br />
<strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>teractive cultural field will be left to a couple of dom<strong>in</strong>ant<br />
market forces. On the side of outlets the question is less easy to answer.<br />
Actually, there are two equally important <strong>in</strong>stances of distribution.<br />
Potential players buy a game <strong>in</strong> a shop, then adapt it to their requirements<br />
on the <strong>in</strong>ternet and pay there a second time accord<strong>in</strong>gly. To regulate the<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternet <strong>in</strong> this field, as <strong>in</strong> the digital examples given up here by Garry Neil<br />
would not make sense. Players, who have bought a game <strong>in</strong> a shop will<br />
steer their mouse straightforwardly to the site of the company from which<br />
they have bought the game. Would this then mean that the only rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />
start<strong>in</strong>g-po<strong>in</strong>t for regulat<strong>in</strong>g is the shop? Until now we have tried to avoid<br />
tak<strong>in</strong>g shops as the po<strong>in</strong>t of regulation, because <strong>in</strong> the case of publish<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
it would prove difficult to get a grip on the stock <strong>in</strong> shops. In the case of<br />
games, one can buy them <strong>in</strong> a number of different outlets. Gett<strong>in</strong>g a grip on<br />
them is nearly a mission impossible; a limited number of outlets are<br />
relatively easier to regulate, monitor and assess than dispersed ones. So,<br />
the question how to regulate the distribution of games stays, thus far,<br />
unanswered, but is nevertheless relevant.<br />
(b) After this exposé on the at least variable content regulations, the<br />
second option of content regulations is the must carry system, that might<br />
also be called the essential facility doctr<strong>in</strong>e under US law that says that an<br />
enterprise that controls a specific channel of communication must open it<br />
up to more suppliers than just the owner of the essential facility (Germann<br />
2003: 121). This approach requires monopolists or dom<strong>in</strong>ant players on the<br />
cultural market to give third-party access to rivals on terms that are fair<br />
and non-discrim<strong>in</strong>atory. (Doyle 2002: 169). If a cultural enterprise <strong>in</strong> the<br />
field of production, distribution or promotion (or all of them at the same<br />
time) is very strongly present on the cultural market (at the moment this<br />
cannot be avoided) then it should get a public task to fulfil. This will<br />
ensure that cultural diversity cont<strong>in</strong>ues to exist, despite the market<br />
dom<strong>in</strong>ant position of this specific enterprise. The public task is to be the<br />
carrier of diversity without <strong>in</strong>terfer<strong>in</strong>g editorially or otherwise <strong>in</strong> the artistic<br />
choice of what selected <strong>in</strong>dependent producers and distributors wish to<br />
offer to the public.<br />
The must carry system is a crucial one because it regulates that<br />
access to all different k<strong>in</strong>ds of content is available and possible.<br />
Obviously, all the social and cultural objectives of other regulations <strong>in</strong><br />
favour of cultural diversity through such mechanisms as quotas,<br />
subsidies, tax systems and so on could not be met if viewers or listeners<br />
cannot f<strong>in</strong>d access to this content.<br />
(c) Maybe one of the most challeng<strong>in</strong>g forms of content regulations is<br />
the system clearly def<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g that cultural products from one foreign country<br />
may not have a market share larger than, for example, ten, twenty or twenty<br />
five per cent. One may call this the no more than alternative. It limits the<br />
market share. This is an attractive form because it keeps the cultural market<br />
open for cultural creations from everywhere <strong>in</strong> the world. However, there<br />
should not be one foreign source that overwhelms local cultural life<br />
substantially. The basic pr<strong>in</strong>ciple here is that: this regulation is not about<br />
exclusion, but does make sure that there is space for the presentation of a<br />
wide range of diverse cultural options.<br />
For <strong>in</strong>stance, <strong>in</strong> South Korea the Broadcast<strong>in</strong>g Act limits foreign<br />
content to 20 per cent for terrestrial channels, 30 per cent for cable<br />
channels, or up to 50 per cent if the cable programs concern technology<br />
and science, culture, or sports. However, Daeho Kim and Seok-Keyong<br />
Hong remark that the ratio of foreign content does not even reach this<br />
level. ‘Thus, it can be said that the quota is a normative l<strong>in</strong>e rather than a<br />
practical restra<strong>in</strong>t.’ (Kim 2001: 79).<br />
The no more than alternative is not directed aga<strong>in</strong>st one specific<br />
country, or any specific cultural enterprise. It just signals that foreign<br />
content, or productions com<strong>in</strong>g from one other s<strong>in</strong>gle source, have a too<br />
dom<strong>in</strong>ant presence on the local cultural market and push aside the variety
72 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 73<br />
that is necessary <strong>in</strong> a democratic and human rights perspective. The aim is<br />
to correct this market failure.<br />
(d) A fourth k<strong>in</strong>d of content regulation would be the reciprocity policy.<br />
A foreign country that has a strong presence <strong>in</strong> another country may hear<br />
from that country this message: if you wish to operate <strong>in</strong> our country, we<br />
demand that a comparable number of, for <strong>in</strong>stance, films from our country<br />
will be shown <strong>in</strong> your country. The reciprocity policy is the opposite of<br />
the ideology of the comparative advantage, which says that one country<br />
is better, for example, <strong>in</strong> film mak<strong>in</strong>g or <strong>in</strong> produc<strong>in</strong>g shows. So, that<br />
country should do this, with as a benign consequence the product<br />
becomes cheaper for all other countries, and they will get a better quality<br />
product as well. Thus unavoidably, the <strong>in</strong>dustry from one country, or a<br />
couple of countries, delivers cultural products <strong>in</strong>to all corners of the world.<br />
For several reasons this “comparative advantage” argument does<br />
not and must not work <strong>in</strong> the cultural field. Of course, for <strong>in</strong>stance films<br />
made <strong>in</strong> different countries will differ; but hopefully this will also be the<br />
case with<strong>in</strong> countries. “Better” is therefore an irrelevant concept. It might<br />
happen that <strong>in</strong> a certa<strong>in</strong> field of artistic expression, and <strong>in</strong> a certa<strong>in</strong> period<br />
of time and under certa<strong>in</strong> conditions, an enormous outburst of creativity<br />
takes place. But this does not mean that what artists are creat<strong>in</strong>g at that<br />
same time <strong>in</strong> other societies is irrelevant. Also these creations and<br />
performances should have the chance to communicate with the public.<br />
This is a general cultural <strong>in</strong>terest that would be nullified if the<br />
“comparative advantage” philosophy dom<strong>in</strong>ated the world.<br />
Does the dom<strong>in</strong>ant “comparative advantage” policy make cultural<br />
products cheaper and more consumer friendly, as has been stated <strong>in</strong> this<br />
philosophy? Even this may be doubted. The exorbitant price of CD’s<br />
counters this argument. Apparently, the music, and also the film <strong>in</strong>dustry<br />
do not know how to react to the fabulous cultural possibilities the <strong>in</strong>ternet<br />
offers, and tries to tame this medium by scatter<strong>in</strong>g lawsuits. It demands<br />
too much of the imag<strong>in</strong>ation to call this a consumer friendly <strong>in</strong>dustry.<br />
What to th<strong>in</strong>k of the huge <strong>in</strong>vestments cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries make <strong>in</strong> what<br />
they hope will be bestsellers, blockbusters and stars, know<strong>in</strong>g that nearly<br />
all of them will fail on the market? Is it that the cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries waste<br />
cultural energy? What to th<strong>in</strong>k of the publicity sector? This is a sector that<br />
throws away creative ideas, designs and music, all the time.<br />
Why not accept and celebrate that societies are different, countries<br />
are different, and groups with<strong>in</strong> societies differ, and that this results <strong>in</strong> a<br />
varied range of works of artistic expression? Even the idea that the<br />
production and distribution of a huge diversity would be <strong>in</strong>efficient does<br />
not hold when we keep <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d the <strong>in</strong>efficiency and the consumer<br />
unfriendl<strong>in</strong>ess that is the hallmark of the cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries.<br />
Interest<strong>in</strong>g to note is that a reciprocity regulation has been<br />
<strong>in</strong>troduced by Ch<strong>in</strong>a <strong>in</strong> its trade negotiations with the United States. This<br />
approach makes it clear that an unequal balance <strong>in</strong> cultural exchange<br />
should not be self-evident. For the sake of the argument it already works.<br />
Nevertheless, apparently it can be practically applied too. To ga<strong>in</strong> access<br />
to the Ch<strong>in</strong>ese cultural market Rupert Murdoch’s Fox had to consent that<br />
its US networks distribute an equal number of Ch<strong>in</strong>ese cultural products.<br />
Of course, this reciprocity policy would work only between<br />
countries or regions that are of a comparable size (geographically or<br />
concern<strong>in</strong>g production), for <strong>in</strong>stance the West and East African countries<br />
and the US; or between Southeast Asia and Japan or Hong Kong.<br />
The carrots: subsidies, tax policies and other <strong>in</strong>centives<br />
Until now only the sticks – ownership and content regulations - have been<br />
brought <strong>in</strong>to the game; let’s see what carrots are able to do <strong>in</strong> order to<br />
support the development of cultural diversity. The carrots may be<br />
subsidies, <strong>in</strong>frastructural measures, tax advantages and other forms of<br />
preferential treatment. Sticks alone will not always work, partly because<br />
national states do not have endless power to implement or to enforce<br />
them. On the other hand meanwhile some creations, performances and<br />
shows need f<strong>in</strong>ancial or <strong>in</strong>frastructural support. For example, because they<br />
cost more than the market can bear (as is nearly always the case with<br />
opera); or the public does not yet know them, but nevertheless it is, from a<br />
cultural perspective worthwhile that they exist, can communicate with<br />
audiences, enrich the cultural landscape, and build up <strong>in</strong> time enough<br />
followers to make them f<strong>in</strong>ancially more feasible; or the competition from<br />
other more or less comparable artistic products is vehement and pushes<br />
other alternatives to the very fr<strong>in</strong>ge (for these situations we try to<br />
<strong>in</strong>troduce ownership or content regulations, but this does not always<br />
work); or one does not succeed <strong>in</strong> strengthen<strong>in</strong>g adequate <strong>in</strong>frastructures<br />
for production, distribution or promotion of artistic expression.
74 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 75<br />
We should, however, not forget that <strong>in</strong> most societies quite a lot of<br />
works of art could and can be produced and distributed only by the<br />
support of, for <strong>in</strong>stance, a k<strong>in</strong>g, a maecenas, the church, the village, or,<br />
nowadays, the state and its national, regional or local authorities. The<br />
present dom<strong>in</strong>ance of the Hollywood film would be <strong>in</strong>conceivable but for<br />
the huge support it got from the US government at the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of the<br />
twentieth century; also nowadays the American state supports, <strong>in</strong> trade<br />
negotiations and <strong>in</strong> many other platforms, its film and music <strong>in</strong>dustry; and<br />
some may say, quite aggressively. It is important to note, aga<strong>in</strong>, that<br />
several of the support measures that will be discussed below, may be too<br />
expensive for poor countries, and therefore a Cultural Development Fund<br />
is highly necessary, as mentioned before.<br />
Subsidies can be given <strong>in</strong> different forms. It may be given, for<br />
<strong>in</strong>stance, to producers, to artists themselves, broadcasters, <strong>in</strong>termediaries,<br />
or to venues. In The Netherlands, there are two <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g examples <strong>in</strong> the<br />
field of the visual arts, where the public is subsidized <strong>in</strong> one way or<br />
another. In nearly every town or city there are lend<strong>in</strong>g libraries for works<br />
of visual arts, the so-called “artotheek”. The public can borrow these<br />
works for several months at very reasonable prices and hang them on their<br />
walls. Even more <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g is the system where people (who do not earn<br />
above a certa<strong>in</strong> amount of money per year) can buy works of art and pay<br />
for them us<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>terest free terms, which is funded at the expense of the<br />
M<strong>in</strong>istry of Culture.<br />
Important are, of course, subsidies for tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g of artists, and for<br />
arts education <strong>in</strong> schools, clubs and associations. In many countries<br />
subsidies are actually guarantees. For <strong>in</strong>stance, <strong>in</strong> the case of a subsidized<br />
film becom<strong>in</strong>g successful, the money goes back to the m<strong>in</strong>istry or any<br />
other public fund. They may also be soft loans, or they may be guarantees<br />
for bank loans. The state may also be the <strong>in</strong>itiator and the enforcement<br />
authority for different k<strong>in</strong>ds of levies, like the blank tape levy, that may be<br />
used partly for remunerat<strong>in</strong>g artists, but also for contributions to specific<br />
cultural projects. Subsidies may be used for artists exchange projects, or<br />
for cultural representations abroad. The state may also stimulate lotteries<br />
whose purpose is to f<strong>in</strong>ancially support social and cultural projects.<br />
In France, a stimulat<strong>in</strong>g policy exists concern<strong>in</strong>g the production of<br />
films. I do not speak about French films, because there is not one film<br />
genre that characterises the French film landscape; there are many<br />
different k<strong>in</strong>ds, and this is as it should be. What is it that makes France<br />
relatively unique <strong>in</strong> Europe? In no other country <strong>in</strong> this part of the world<br />
are there so many locally made films on show as <strong>in</strong> France. Besides a<br />
generous subsidy system other measures have also been taken to promote<br />
film production on a substantial scale. C<strong>in</strong>emagoers pay a small amount of<br />
money on every ticket that goes to the national fund for film production.<br />
Television channels are obliged to take part <strong>in</strong> the production of certa<strong>in</strong><br />
quantities of films. And, s<strong>in</strong>ce decentralisation brought more money to the<br />
regions and the prov<strong>in</strong>ces (les départements), they contribute<br />
substantially to the production of films and this has the <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g side<br />
effect that many films f<strong>in</strong>d their <strong>in</strong>spiration and location <strong>in</strong> the countryside<br />
and <strong>in</strong> towns far away from Paris.<br />
At present c<strong>in</strong>emas all over the country screen these films and there<br />
is a large <strong>in</strong>terested audience for them. Many towns have communally<br />
f<strong>in</strong>anced c<strong>in</strong>emas, which means that these films have a chance <strong>in</strong> nearly all<br />
corners of the country. A problem arises with the large-scale <strong>in</strong>troduction<br />
of multiplexes with many screens. Most of the time they are vertically<br />
l<strong>in</strong>ked with the Hollywood studios – even by presales and so-called coproduction<br />
agreements. This might become a problem for French film<br />
production. When there is less exhibition space for the locally made film,<br />
then it looses its popularity, its f<strong>in</strong>ancial underp<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g, and its political<br />
support. This br<strong>in</strong>gs the question to the fore of whether the multiplexes<br />
should become regulated with content quotas and ownership regulations.<br />
A problem, not only <strong>in</strong> Europe, is that films and other artistic<br />
creations and performances do not reach neighbour<strong>in</strong>g countries; they do<br />
not cross borders anymore. For <strong>in</strong>stance, <strong>in</strong> Lat<strong>in</strong> America, it used to be<br />
quite normal for books published <strong>in</strong> one country to also be distributed<br />
self-evidently <strong>in</strong> many other countries on the cont<strong>in</strong>ent. This is not the<br />
case anymore. In a cultural perspective this is a loss, but also<br />
economically the lack of exchange is harmful for the development of<br />
cultural diversity. Many countries have small markets, but together <strong>in</strong> a<br />
region there are huge audiences and groups of buyers that may make<br />
many works of art f<strong>in</strong>ancially more easily feasible than when they stay <strong>in</strong><br />
the own country. A challeng<strong>in</strong>g task for m<strong>in</strong>isters of culture and their<br />
colleagues for economic affairs would be to establish regional exchange<br />
<strong>in</strong>frastructures for the different fields of the arts. One may be sure that<br />
many more works of artistic expression would then appear on the market<br />
that would otherwise depend on subsidies. (Smiers 2003: 205-207). In huge<br />
countries like Brazil, India, Indonesia, or Russia it would be a cultural ga<strong>in</strong><br />
if cultural exchange with<strong>in</strong> the country could be stimulated and facilitated.
76 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 77<br />
Many countries have a complex range of legislated tax measures which<br />
have a direct positive impact on the cultural sector. There is a chance that<br />
they will be less at risk <strong>in</strong> the daily political turmoil than subsidies whose<br />
total amount can be cut more easily. Tax advantages, and comparable<br />
<strong>in</strong>centives are given automatically when for <strong>in</strong>stance, a producer fulfils<br />
certa<strong>in</strong> conditions, unless a specific tax law is changed.<br />
Tax credits are a cost to government because it is giv<strong>in</strong>g up part of<br />
its revenue. However, Canada for <strong>in</strong>stance uses a tax credit system that is<br />
based on the concept of “foregone” tax for private sector companies and<br />
<strong>in</strong>dividuals <strong>in</strong> the cultural field. This might <strong>in</strong>terest, for example, film<br />
producers, who should first try to f<strong>in</strong>d <strong>in</strong>vestment money for mak<strong>in</strong>g a film<br />
themselves. However, the government agrees to reduce the amount of tax<br />
a producer will have to pay <strong>in</strong> the year the exploitation of the film starts.<br />
This means no money (no subsidy is given by the government) but when<br />
the film appears the producer does not have to pay tax at the same rate as<br />
any other <strong>in</strong>come. This form of tax <strong>in</strong>centive is meant to encourage<br />
creativity, and it generates <strong>in</strong>come for the state because the government<br />
gets revenue on a film, book, music cassette or TV programme that would<br />
not otherwise have been produced.<br />
This list of carrots that may help artists, <strong>in</strong>termediaries and the public, is<br />
just a sample of what public authorities can do <strong>in</strong> order to support cultural<br />
diversity. Because these are public facilities, systems of grant<strong>in</strong>g should<br />
be, as much as possible, at an arms’ length from politicians and<br />
bureaucrats. Their preferences should stay out of the decision-mak<strong>in</strong>g<br />
processes. In many countries this is a hard lesson to learn: it is a<br />
challenge.<br />
A bigger challenge, as mentioned before, is whether subsidies and<br />
other public support systems for the arts can rema<strong>in</strong> at all. They are<br />
threatened, as mentioned before, because <strong>in</strong> trade terms they falsify<br />
competition. The threat is actually twofold, and comes, not surpris<strong>in</strong>gly,<br />
from the WTO. With<strong>in</strong> WTO, the National Treatment pr<strong>in</strong>ciple exists. This<br />
implies that foreign enterprises should be treated <strong>in</strong> the same way as local<br />
ones: the same rights, the same obligations. The consequence for the<br />
cultural field of the National Treatment is that foreign artists, producers<br />
and cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries would have the same rights on subsidies and other<br />
preferential treatments as cultural enterprises and creators and performers<br />
liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> that specific country. It is not difficult to guess that this is the<br />
end of any subsidy system. After all, it is impossible to subsidise arts and<br />
enterta<strong>in</strong>ment <strong>in</strong> the whole world!<br />
The second threat comes from the argument that subsidies falsify<br />
competition and distort trade. The pressure on countries, specifically<br />
com<strong>in</strong>g from the US, is that every country must justify why a cultural<br />
support system is not falsify<strong>in</strong>g competition. Maybe, the subsidy for a<br />
very small local theatre group may stay. But, governments must expla<strong>in</strong>,<br />
for <strong>in</strong>stance, why they have three public television channels. The quest<br />
will be for the public service to do what the commercial channels cannot<br />
do. The private, commercial enterprise is the norm, and maybe a little bit of<br />
public service and a m<strong>in</strong>imum of subsidies will be tolerated.<br />
Does this mean that all subsidies and public service <strong>in</strong>stitutions will<br />
be and must be abolished tomorrow? Probably not tomorrow, but decisive<br />
steps <strong>in</strong> this process with<strong>in</strong> WTO have been set, and the time will pass<br />
very quickly.<br />
Public accountability<br />
In the general overview of regulations <strong>in</strong> favour of cultural diversity, the<br />
responsibility of cultural enterprises themselves should be considered.<br />
This is what we may call public accountability. Cultural corporations<br />
should make themselves accountable. The appropriate tool therefore could<br />
be that they commit themselves to a corporate cultural charter. One<br />
should not expect them to voluntarily agree to observe all the regulations<br />
proposed concern<strong>in</strong>g ownership and content regulations: notably to<br />
reduce their size and differentiate their contents. It rema<strong>in</strong>s the task of<br />
public authorities to regulate cultural markets <strong>in</strong> this perspective. Hav<strong>in</strong>g<br />
said this, however, enough has been left over for cultural enterprises to<br />
show themselves as be<strong>in</strong>g responsible. Freedom of expression is not at<br />
daggers drawn with accountability.<br />
The Commission on Global Governance, <strong>in</strong> its report Our Global<br />
Neighbourhood (1995: 56), postulates that while enjoy<strong>in</strong>g basic rights, all<br />
people share responsibilities: to contribute to the common good; to<br />
consider the impact of their actions on the security and welfare of others;<br />
to promote equity, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g gender equity; to protect the <strong>in</strong>terests of<br />
future generations by pursu<strong>in</strong>g susta<strong>in</strong>able development and<br />
safeguard<strong>in</strong>g the global commons; to preserve humanity’s cultural and
78 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 79<br />
<strong>in</strong>tellectual heritage; to be active participants to governance; and to work<br />
to elim<strong>in</strong>ate corruption. (summarized <strong>in</strong> Dacyl 2003: 45).<br />
The concept of responsibility should aga<strong>in</strong> play a role. I do<br />
understand that it is very difficult, if nigh impossible, to motivate large<br />
cultural enterprises to voluntarily make, without any outside pressure, a<br />
list or charter for their behaviour both <strong>in</strong>ternally <strong>in</strong> the company and<br />
externally on what they should accomplish <strong>in</strong> the outside world. I know as<br />
well, that cultural movements do not have the same k<strong>in</strong>d of pressure force<br />
that environmental movements have, but even they must hope that social<br />
and ecological charters like the one which Shell has accepted may work.<br />
Nevertheless, we can put pressure on our governments to make sure that<br />
they oblige cultural corporations (above a certa<strong>in</strong> size) to adopt a<br />
corporate cultural charter.<br />
The cultural field is a precarious place <strong>in</strong> our societies and should<br />
not be controlled only by economically driven rights. Nobody can accept<br />
as a serious argument that enterprises, whose ma<strong>in</strong> aim is to accumulate<br />
capital, are able to behave responsibly concern<strong>in</strong>g the development of<br />
cultural diversity (<strong>in</strong> all aspects, as described above) if they are not<br />
obliged to do so. Thus, governments should state that if you, the cultural<br />
enterprise – com<strong>in</strong>g from abroad, or from <strong>in</strong>side – wish to operate <strong>in</strong> our<br />
country, the basic conditions are these:<br />
- you draft a corporate cultural charter;<br />
- <strong>in</strong> that charter you agree to mention certa<strong>in</strong> specific topics, as<br />
summed up below;<br />
- you discuss this draft publicly, notably with the National Arts<br />
Council;<br />
- you improve the charter accord<strong>in</strong>g to the results of any debates;<br />
- you report yearly upon measures taken to live up to this charter,<br />
and also accept and facilitate reports com<strong>in</strong>g from the National Arts<br />
Councils;<br />
- <strong>in</strong> case your charter and/or the evaluations do not meet the m<strong>in</strong>imal<br />
standards of responsible behaviour, the charter will be replaced by<br />
a directive or another legal <strong>in</strong>strument that obligates you to certa<strong>in</strong><br />
conditions of behaviour;<br />
- <strong>in</strong> case you still do not behave responsibly <strong>in</strong> a culturally diverse<br />
perspective, your operations <strong>in</strong> our country will be term<strong>in</strong>ated.<br />
Will this be realised tomorrow? Probably not. However, should we<br />
aim to reach a situation <strong>in</strong> which cultural enterprises make themselves<br />
accountable? Yes of course. Thus, it is better to prepare ourselves, and<br />
engage <strong>in</strong> the debate on what the responsibilities of cultural corporations<br />
should be. Strategically it is good to remember that large corporations are<br />
concerned with their image. Cultural conglomerates that dom<strong>in</strong>ate the<br />
artistic field can also be shamed, on the topics as discussed before and<br />
about the responsibilities they bear. Therefore we have to formulate what<br />
these responsibilities should be.<br />
I have designed several broad categories, and sub-categories, that<br />
may help to stimulate th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g. There will be people who might say: why<br />
not br<strong>in</strong>g these topics under ownership regulations, as discussed above<br />
(where some behavioural questions are also classed), or under the content<br />
regulations? It would <strong>in</strong>deed be possible. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to<br />
start the exercise with an experimental corporate cultural charter. It opens<br />
the opportunity to publicly debate the k<strong>in</strong>d of responsibility we expect<br />
from cultural enterprises cater<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> our cultural and social surround<strong>in</strong>gs,<br />
and how we like them to make themselves accountable. What are the<br />
topics we might th<strong>in</strong>k of when we speak about a corporate cultural<br />
charter?<br />
* The first category br<strong>in</strong>gs the ownership, the dependency, the<br />
<strong>in</strong>fluence and the lobby relations of the cultural corporation <strong>in</strong>to the<br />
picture. Who are the owners? How is the ownership organised and<br />
structured, <strong>in</strong> what k<strong>in</strong>ds of networks? What k<strong>in</strong>ds of cross-ownerships<br />
exist? From which outside forces is the company dependent, for example<br />
from which banks and other f<strong>in</strong>ancial sources, or from which other social<br />
<strong>in</strong>terest groups? Where do they keep their money? To which political,<br />
religious or other social <strong>in</strong>terest groups are they contribut<strong>in</strong>g? What<br />
<strong>in</strong>formal relations do they have with major decision makers that are<br />
important for their function<strong>in</strong>g?<br />
* The second category concerns how cultural enterprises are to be<br />
governed. They must be obliged to take representatives from diverse<br />
cultural backgrounds onto their boards of trustees. And, they should<br />
<strong>in</strong>vite artists and th<strong>in</strong>kers from different ilk to participate on advisory<br />
committees. At its highest level social and cultural contradictions must be<br />
discussed and the outcomes must stimulate the artistic and cultural<br />
decisions cultural enterprises engage themselves <strong>in</strong>.
80 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 81<br />
* A third category deals with <strong>in</strong>ternal relations <strong>in</strong> the cultural<br />
enterprise. Ownership of the corporation must be separated, as strictly as<br />
possible, from the processes of decision-mak<strong>in</strong>g concern<strong>in</strong>g artistic and<br />
editorial affairs. In several countries news media have editorial covenants<br />
that restrict the <strong>in</strong>fluence of the owners to the nom<strong>in</strong>ation of the chief<br />
editor and the establishment of the editorial basic pr<strong>in</strong>ciples. (Doyle 2002:<br />
152). It goes without say<strong>in</strong>g that this model can be transferred easily to<br />
cultural enterprises. A cultural covenant would seek to prevent proprietors<br />
from <strong>in</strong>fluenc<strong>in</strong>g the editorial and artistic content of the media, production<br />
facilities and outlets they own.<br />
* The fourth category would <strong>in</strong>tervene <strong>in</strong> the relation between<br />
advertisers and the media that produce, present and promote products of<br />
artistic expression (<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g of course enterta<strong>in</strong>ment and design,<br />
comprised as before <strong>in</strong> the concept of the arts). First, cultural enterprises<br />
must be obliged to make a strict division between publicity and<br />
programmes. Their policy on how they will realise this objective must be<br />
transparent and the day-to-day practice must be controllable. Second,<br />
publicity slots, time and space should not overshadow programmes and<br />
other cultural content. Cultural media should not for a substantial part be<br />
driven by the aim of present<strong>in</strong>g as many advertisements as possible. The<br />
public should have the right not to be <strong>in</strong>fluenced any moment of the day<br />
by publicity. Cultural enterprises should commit themselves to carry<br />
substantially less publicity than is nowadays more and more the case.<br />
Publicity should have a modest place and should not push programm<strong>in</strong>g<br />
aside. Third, advertis<strong>in</strong>g should be held to a much higher standard for<br />
truth and accuracy than exists at present. (McChesney 1997: 67,8). It is the<br />
task of cultural corporations to present only advertisements that comply<br />
with this norm, and to make their policies concern<strong>in</strong>g this issue<br />
transparent.<br />
* The fifth category does not evade the difficult topic of how cultural<br />
enterprises should engage themselves <strong>in</strong> questions of moral<br />
responsibility. Producers, distributors and promoters of artistic expression<br />
do always make, by def<strong>in</strong>ition, choices that have a moral component. They<br />
should agree to make their policies <strong>in</strong> this field explicit and must engage<br />
themselves <strong>in</strong> public debates about their choices.<br />
* Corporations that use, unavoidably by their activities <strong>in</strong> society,<br />
common public space – materially, spiritually, or virtually – must also<br />
contribute to the development of the cultural diversity of these societies.<br />
This is the sixth and last category for a corporate cultural charter. They<br />
should respect cultural traditions and cultural heritage, and refra<strong>in</strong> from<br />
misus<strong>in</strong>g or appropriat<strong>in</strong>g it. At the same time, they must oblige<br />
themselves to produce, distribute and promote the whole and diverse area<br />
of theatre, films, music, dance, visual arts, design, literature, games and<br />
diverse multimedia that is dawn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> society. Cultural corporations that<br />
earn substantial amounts of money <strong>in</strong> a given country – for <strong>in</strong>stance<br />
American cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries take more than 2 billion dollars out of the<br />
Canadian market – must oblige themselves to re<strong>in</strong>vest substantial parts of<br />
such sums <strong>in</strong> such a country.<br />
These are reasonable demands. Only, we have to get used to<br />
putt<strong>in</strong>g words to the responsibilities cultural enterprises should bear, and<br />
to give voice to these words.<br />
Monitor<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Facts and figures are essential to make citizens aware about the<br />
abnormality of the concentrated cultural power that a limited number of<br />
corporations exercise <strong>in</strong> our societies. We need to have data that<br />
illum<strong>in</strong>ates how they play a strategic and decisive role as gatekeepers<br />
prevent<strong>in</strong>g cultural diversity from be<strong>in</strong>g part and parcel of our public life.<br />
Without concrete evidence it is difficult to conv<strong>in</strong>ce politicians that<br />
essential cultural values will be lost if they do not <strong>in</strong>tervene. Regulations<br />
will be more adequate, the more they are based on the real production,<br />
distribution, and promotion relations as already exist <strong>in</strong> the different<br />
cultural fields.<br />
There is a lack of knowledge on market shares, on how few songs<br />
can be heard on the radio out of the abundance that musicians create and<br />
perform, on how very few films have been screened by c<strong>in</strong>emas that have<br />
been produced <strong>in</strong> the own country and region, on dump<strong>in</strong>g cultural<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustries practice, on turnovers, on how exist<strong>in</strong>g quota systems function,<br />
on the quantitatively overwhelm<strong>in</strong>g presence of Anglo-Saxon literature <strong>in</strong><br />
non-English speak<strong>in</strong>g countries, et cetera; on changes <strong>in</strong> the cultural<br />
market, and so on; on the facts and figures beh<strong>in</strong>d all the topics as<br />
discussed <strong>in</strong> this book. In Sweden, for <strong>in</strong>stance, research showed that a
82 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 83<br />
public service channel had a decrease of fifty per cent <strong>in</strong> the number of<br />
songs they played over ten years. Such figures may stimulate the debate,<br />
may mobilise audiences and musicians demand<strong>in</strong>g a more richly diverse<br />
offer, and may br<strong>in</strong>g politicians and programme makers themselves to<br />
action. The same might happen <strong>in</strong> other fields and forms of artistic<br />
expression.<br />
There is a need for several monitor<strong>in</strong>g agencies. First, <strong>in</strong> the<br />
framework of a new Convention on Cultural Diversity, developments <strong>in</strong> the<br />
cultural fields should be observed, and data should be gathered and<br />
structured. There should be <strong>in</strong>formation documented about the<br />
implementation of the Convention <strong>in</strong> the different countries and regions;<br />
about the contradictions it has with, for <strong>in</strong>stance the WTO treaties; about<br />
conflicts that potentially may arise; and it should have a transparency<br />
about the cases that will be under dispute settlements. Such a Convention<br />
on Cultural Diversity can only productively function if an Observatory<br />
br<strong>in</strong>gs together <strong>in</strong>formation about the various k<strong>in</strong>ds of regulations member<br />
states have taken <strong>in</strong> order to protect and promote cultural diversity, <strong>in</strong> all<br />
its different mean<strong>in</strong>gs. This data should be structured, made<br />
understandable, and should be a source of <strong>in</strong>spiration for countries whilst<br />
develop<strong>in</strong>g cultural policies that also <strong>in</strong>clude regulatory systems that<br />
restrict the power of cultural conglomerates and that guarantees the offer<br />
of widely diverse contents.<br />
To ensure the implementation of the Convention on Cultural<br />
Diversity and encourage member states to work together to achieve the<br />
objectives pursued, provision should be made for a monitor<strong>in</strong>g<br />
mechanism. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to Ivan Bernier and Hélène Ruiz Fabri (2002), the<br />
responsibilities of a monitor<strong>in</strong>g body would be twofold. It should receive<br />
notifications from states with regard to their procedural obligations. States<br />
could be required not only to notify subsidy systems, <strong>in</strong>tervention<br />
frameworks, domestic regulations and competition rules to the monitor<strong>in</strong>g<br />
committee, but also to submit annual or biennial self-assessment reports.<br />
States would commit themselves to evaluat<strong>in</strong>g the effectiveness of their<br />
actions <strong>in</strong> various aspects. ‘In this way, expertise could be dissem<strong>in</strong>ated<br />
and the approaches pursued by <strong>in</strong>tervention <strong>in</strong>struments harmonized.’<br />
The monitor<strong>in</strong>g committee could also be entrusted to discuss or<br />
even formulate recommendations on compliance with the <strong>in</strong>strument’s<br />
objectives. It could act as a consultative body. ‘Such <strong>in</strong>formation and<br />
monitor<strong>in</strong>g procedures would be useful <strong>in</strong> that they may demonstrate<br />
whether <strong>in</strong>tervention is proportional to the objectives set. Provision might<br />
also be made for establish<strong>in</strong>g cooperation mechanisms. For, example, a<br />
State <strong>in</strong> need of technical cooperation with respect to competition law <strong>in</strong><br />
the cultural sector could obta<strong>in</strong> technical assistance through the<br />
committee.’ (Bernier 2002).<br />
Furthermore, national states should have a Cultural Observatory that<br />
gathers and structures this k<strong>in</strong>d of <strong>in</strong>formation for the own country and<br />
translates the data and facts from many other countries <strong>in</strong>to applicable<br />
policy measures. National states should also establish a Cultural<br />
Competition Authority that will have an <strong>in</strong>terven<strong>in</strong>g role if certa<strong>in</strong> cultural<br />
enterprises dom<strong>in</strong>ate the market too much, with<strong>in</strong> a cultural perspective.<br />
This means that the rul<strong>in</strong>g of this Authority should be far stricter than is<br />
usual with Competition Authorities.<br />
But of course cultural NGO’s should establish their own Cultural<br />
Observatories as well. There is the expectation that they would be more<br />
alert to market distortions. They see <strong>in</strong> the daily practice that thousands of<br />
artists, from many different ilk, contribute to the flourish<strong>in</strong>g of our<br />
cultures, but they also observe when this diversity is absent <strong>in</strong> the public<br />
space. A cultural impact assessment (maybe called a cultural diversity<br />
<strong>in</strong>dex) should be developed nationally, regionally and globally comparable<br />
to the work the environmental movement has done with impact<br />
assessments. Now that Unesco has put the draft<strong>in</strong>g of a Convention on<br />
Cultural Diversity on its agenda, it is high time for cultural NGO’s to<br />
monitor what the content will be, how the text will be formulated, what<br />
k<strong>in</strong>ds of contradictions and struggles may arise and <strong>in</strong> what manner they<br />
may be <strong>in</strong>fluenced, and how, eventually and hopefully, such a Convention<br />
will be implemented. All these dispersed fragments of <strong>in</strong>formation must be<br />
distributed, <strong>in</strong> a coherent way, to arts networks and other groups <strong>in</strong>volved<br />
(or yet to be <strong>in</strong>volved) <strong>in</strong> cultural diversity issues.
84 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 85<br />
at the end comes the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g<br />
STRATEGIC OBSERVATION<br />
For audiences and for policy makers it is difficult to imag<strong>in</strong>e that the<br />
cultural offer could be completely different from their day-to-day<br />
experience. They are not participat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the processes of mak<strong>in</strong>g choices<br />
with<strong>in</strong> cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries. They do not have the <strong>in</strong>formation about what<br />
other artistic, moral, enterta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g, beautiful, raw, romantic, serious, or<br />
unexpected options are possible. The pleasure the enterta<strong>in</strong>ment and other<br />
artistic products provide them does not lead them to th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about<br />
ownership concentrations from cultural giants. Audiences and buyers are<br />
end-users, and are enticed or impressed by the cultural offer that is most<br />
near to them. Therefore, it is very difficult to get discussions started about<br />
the attack that is go<strong>in</strong>g on on cultural diversity, because most people are<br />
unaware that we are <strong>in</strong> the process of loos<strong>in</strong>g important values, not only <strong>in</strong><br />
the ecological, but also <strong>in</strong> the cultural field.<br />
What to do? I would say there are three layers of activity that can<br />
be employed. First, NGO’s <strong>in</strong> the cultural field should tra<strong>in</strong> many of their<br />
adherents to formulate what the problem is; why cultural diversity matters;<br />
what contradictions are <strong>in</strong>herent to this concept; why WTO is not the<br />
appropriate place for giv<strong>in</strong>g public exposure to the whole ra<strong>in</strong>bow of<br />
exist<strong>in</strong>g artistic expression; what k<strong>in</strong>d of Convention and what k<strong>in</strong>ds of<br />
regulations could provide a better breed<strong>in</strong>g ground for cultural diversity<br />
that will also guarantee a fairer <strong>in</strong>come for artists; and what more should<br />
be done, for <strong>in</strong>stance, to push governments to guarantee freedom of<br />
expression, to <strong>in</strong>troduce cultural policies, to stimulate cultural exchange<br />
with neighbour<strong>in</strong>g countries and many other parts of the world; and to do<br />
all what can be done to avoid the dom<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g positions of cultural<br />
enterprises and specific artistic expressions.<br />
It would be a misunderstand<strong>in</strong>g to th<strong>in</strong>k that artists are solely<br />
responsible for spread<strong>in</strong>g the message that another cultural play<strong>in</strong>g field is<br />
possible. And that it would be their task to lobby for it. Yes, it is true that<br />
many of them do not have the chance to f<strong>in</strong>d audiences because cultural<br />
conglomerates obstruct their passage. Nevertheless, it is <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>terest of<br />
all citizens that many artistic expressions are able to be communicated. We<br />
do not have a sane society if only a handful of decision makers determ<strong>in</strong>e
86 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 87<br />
what forms of artistic expressions are available to us and what will<br />
contribute to the development of our identities.<br />
This makes it necessary to broaden the coalition to a second layer.<br />
The purpose should be that as many social organisations as possible put<br />
the promotion of cultural diversity on their agenda. In former times, trade<br />
unions also defended the cultural <strong>in</strong>terests of their members. Why isn’t it<br />
possible for this to come back? There are many more organisations that<br />
fight aga<strong>in</strong>st the dom<strong>in</strong>ation of conglomerates and that have the<br />
promotion of diversity on their agenda. We only have to th<strong>in</strong>k of<br />
movements <strong>in</strong> the field of the environment, health, education and<br />
agriculture. Isn’t it that associations of small entrepreneurs may be kicked<br />
out at short notice for the same reasons as cultural diversity is under<br />
threat?<br />
The third layer is the <strong>in</strong>volvement <strong>in</strong> movements that try to<br />
delegitimise WTO. This neoliberal trade body takes away peoples’<br />
identities. It is exactly this reality that makes it possible for cultural<br />
movements to forge a coalition with activists from all different corners of<br />
social life, from ecology, agriculture, health, education and labour. Their<br />
demands are that basic human rights will not be denied, that identities will<br />
no longer be raped, and that they can give voice to their own desires.<br />
After Cancún it is more than ever clear that WTO stands for a bankrupt<br />
agenda.<br />
All these doubts will be cast <strong>in</strong>to shadow by one certa<strong>in</strong>ty: history<br />
never stays the same. What has been proposed <strong>in</strong> this booklet is a small<br />
contribution to try to open the eyes and m<strong>in</strong>ds of everybody, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />
me. It is possible to imag<strong>in</strong>e that the diversity artists create will one day be<br />
a normal part of our daily experiences. It is not unth<strong>in</strong>kable that cultural<br />
conglomerates will be and must be reduced <strong>in</strong> size substantially. In any<br />
case, it will make our cultures (plural) more vivid, and that is certa<strong>in</strong>ly a<br />
worthwhile endeavour.<br />
If we can learn anyth<strong>in</strong>g from history, it is that th<strong>in</strong>gs never rema<strong>in</strong> the<br />
same. For the contemporary the present is overwhelm<strong>in</strong>gly at hand, and it<br />
looks unchangeable, as if it was always there. However, <strong>in</strong> regard to<br />
artistic expression: the neoliberal agenda is only a couple of decades old,<br />
and most of the cultural giants are not as old as that.<br />
Even after hav<strong>in</strong>g proposed many possible k<strong>in</strong>ds of <strong>in</strong>terventions <strong>in</strong><br />
favour of the development of cultural diversity, it still looks a little<br />
unrealistic to me. Can it become true? How can we conv<strong>in</strong>ce a sufficient<br />
number of our co-citizens that democracy and the right of access to the<br />
means of artistic expression demand that dom<strong>in</strong>ant forms of control on the<br />
cultural landscape must be substantially changed? Are we able to propose<br />
measures that keep the cultural field truly open for many films, genres of<br />
music, books, shows, forms of design and visual arts, games, and<br />
multimedia? Can we establish a Convention on Cultural Diversity that will<br />
put aside the WTO regard<strong>in</strong>g artistic creation, production, distribution,<br />
promotion and the conditions for reception?
88 Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World<br />
Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 89<br />
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Artistic Expression <strong>in</strong> a Corporate World 95<br />
ARTS UNDER PRESSURE<br />
Promot<strong>in</strong>g Cultural Diversity <strong>in</strong> the Age of Globalisation<br />
Joost Smiers<br />
ARTS UNDER PRESSURE analyses the relevant forces beh<strong>in</strong>d decision<br />
mak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> cultural matters worldwide, specifically <strong>in</strong> the field of the arts,<br />
under the <strong>in</strong>fluence of economic globalisation. The book deals with all the<br />
arts, <strong>in</strong> all parts of the world. The arts are a field where emotional<br />
<strong>in</strong>compatibilities, social conflicts, and questions of status between people<br />
collide with great <strong>in</strong>tensity. Add to this the huge economic <strong>in</strong>terests at<br />
stake <strong>in</strong> the cultural field and we f<strong>in</strong>d ourselves <strong>in</strong> highly charged territory.<br />
This is certa<strong>in</strong>ly the case now that economic globalisation is caus<strong>in</strong>g<br />
substantial changes <strong>in</strong> the structure of many <strong>in</strong>stitutions <strong>in</strong> the cultural<br />
field.<br />
The book focuses on the cycle of creation, production, distribution,<br />
promotion, reception and <strong>in</strong>fluence. It asks the key questions: who has the<br />
power to decide what reaches audiences,<strong>in</strong> what quantities, with what<br />
contents and surrounded by what k<strong>in</strong>ds of ambiances? Refut<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
existence of a mass culture, Arts Under Pressure argues that what exists<br />
are artistic creations that are produced, distributed and promoted on a<br />
mass scale. This mass scale pushes aside public attention to the diversity<br />
that - from a democratic perspective - any society desperately needs.<br />
Smiers argues that countries must take culture out of the grip of the WTO<br />
and sign a new International Treaty on Cultural Diversity, which would<br />
give them the full right to take all measures necessary to reduce<br />
significantly the market dom<strong>in</strong>ation of cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries and to formulate<br />
their own cultural policies. The neoliberal world order is not capable of<br />
protect<strong>in</strong>g what is fragile, and this is certa<strong>in</strong>ly the case for the blossom<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of artistic diversity at a local level. The author sets out a completely new<br />
vision of copyright: the abolition of which, he suggests, would be<br />
advantageous for artists, third world countries and the public doma<strong>in</strong>. In<br />
the digital doma<strong>in</strong> we can see that the spontaneous meltdown of copyright<br />
is already happen<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
CONTENTS<br />
Introduction<br />
1. The arts and the world<br />
The arts: an arena of struggle - Specific forms of communication - A triangle and a<br />
high-tech-archipelago<br />
2. The power to decide<br />
The effects of sheer size - The question of ownership –Cultural package, political<br />
freight, economic weight -Second-tier corporations - Production and distribution<br />
on a mass scale - Visual arts markets: as nervous as the stock market - After the<br />
magnetic telegraph<br />
3. Doubtful orig<strong>in</strong>ality<br />
The twenty-first century’s most valuable commodity –Hunt the pirates? - Mp3,<br />
Napster, freenet… - Orig<strong>in</strong>ality - Artists still create - A Western concept<br />
4. Local artistic life<br />
De-localization - A vast doma<strong>in</strong> of cultural production –Diversity destroyed <strong>in</strong><br />
less than a decade - Traditional, folk, popular, world… - Identities: demarcations<br />
of differences - Hybridity everywhere, but why?<br />
5. Corporate driven culture<br />
Aesthetics and the land of desire - Someth<strong>in</strong>g to tell, someth<strong>in</strong>g to sell - Surround<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the commercial message - Violence travels well - Influence – Arous<strong>in</strong>g desire,<br />
awaken<strong>in</strong>g memory, creat<strong>in</strong>g fantasy - The story corporate culture doesn’t tell<br />
6. Freedom and protection<br />
Squar<strong>in</strong>g the circle - Trade: another world war - Re-th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g economic globalization<br />
- A new <strong>in</strong>ternational treaty on cultural diversity - The road away from cultural<br />
conglomeration - Cultural policies – Regional <strong>in</strong>frastructures for the distribution of<br />
films – The abolition of copyright- The need for respect and new creative<br />
dynamics - Substantial remuneration for artists - Protect<strong>in</strong>g cultural heritage - The<br />
raid on art -All that’s fragile needs protection - The production of discourse is<br />
always controlled - The digital doma<strong>in</strong> is not what it seemed to be<br />
7. ‘Everyth<strong>in</strong>g of value is defenceless’<br />
References<br />
JUNE 2003; 320 pages<br />
Hb ISBN 1 84277 262 7<br />
Pb ISBN 1 84277 263 5
In Praise of Commercial Culture<br />
Tyler Cowen<br />
Acknowledgments:<br />
I have received an unusual amount of assistance with this book. First I<br />
would like to give special thanks to Michael Aronson for his work as<br />
editor. A number of other <strong>in</strong>dividuals also have been of special help,<br />
<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Col<strong>in</strong> Day, Mart<strong>in</strong> Kessler, Daniel Kle<strong>in</strong>, Thelma Kle<strong>in</strong>, and Titus<br />
Levi. Andrew Levy gave especially useful comments on the literature chapter<br />
and Eric Lyon gave especially useful comments on the music chapter. Several<br />
anonymous referees offered very useful feedback as well. I also would like<br />
to thank Michael Aronson, Andrea Rich and Thomas Schell<strong>in</strong>g for their<br />
encouragement and support dur<strong>in</strong>g the publication process. I also have<br />
received useful comments from Milton Babbitt, William Baumol, Marv<strong>in</strong><br />
Becker, Mark Blaug, David Boaz, Peter Boettke, Peter Brook, Meyer Burste<strong>in</strong>,<br />
Penelope Brook Cowen, Jerome Ellig, Joel Foreman, H. Bruce Frankl<strong>in</strong>,<br />
Jeffrey Friedman, Elisa George, Richard Goldthwaite, Dan Green, Kev<strong>in</strong> and<br />
Rob<strong>in</strong> Grier, David Henderson, George Hwang, Tom Jenney, Paul Keat<strong>in</strong>g, Alv<strong>in</strong><br />
Kernan, Susanne Kernan, Paul Korsh<strong>in</strong>, Randall Kroszner, Timur Kuran, Don<br />
Lavoie, David Levy, John Majewski, Julius Margolis, Carrie Meyer, John<br />
Michael Montias, Fabio Padovano, Pamela Regis, David Schmidtz, Daniel<br />
Sutter, Alex Tabarrok, Turok of Turok's Choice, Karen Vaughn, Fred Wall,<br />
Katar<strong>in</strong>a Zajc, Marty Zupan, and sem<strong>in</strong>ar participants at New York University<br />
and the Institute for Humane Studies. I wish to thank Richard F<strong>in</strong>k, Charles<br />
Koch, and David Koch for assistance with fund<strong>in</strong>g, through the Center for<br />
Market Processes and the Koch Foundation. General thanks are due also to<br />
Walter Gr<strong>in</strong>der and Roy Childs. Katar<strong>in</strong>a Zajc and Sarah Jenn<strong>in</strong>gs provided<br />
<strong>in</strong>valuable research assistance.<br />
Reader feedback is welcome. I can be reached at Department of Economics,<br />
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, or tcowen@gmu.edu.<br />
TABLE OF CONTENTS<br />
1. The Arts <strong>in</strong> a Market Economy<br />
2. The Market for the Written Word<br />
3. The Wealthy City as a Center for Western Art<br />
4. From Bach to the Beatles: The Develop<strong>in</strong>g Market for Music<br />
5. Why Cultural Pessimism?
There is no great work of art which does not convey a new message to<br />
humanity; there is no great artist who fails <strong>in</strong> this respect. This is the<br />
code of honor of all the great <strong>in</strong> art, and consequently <strong>in</strong> all great works<br />
of the great we will f<strong>in</strong>d that newness which never perishes, whether it be<br />
of Josqu<strong>in</strong> des Pres, of Bach or Haydn, or of any other great master.<br />
Because: Art means New Art<br />
Arnold Schoenberg, Style and Idea, Selected Writ<strong>in</strong>gs of Arnold Schoenberg<br />
(London: Faber and Faber, 1975), p.115.<br />
I have many times asked myself, not without wonder, the source of a certa<strong>in</strong><br />
error which, s<strong>in</strong>ce it is committed by all the old without exception, can be<br />
believed to be proper and natural to man: namely, that they nearly all<br />
praise the past and blame the present, revile our actions and behaviour and<br />
everyth<strong>in</strong>g which they themselves did not do when they were young, and<br />
affirm, too, that every good custom and way of life, every virtue and, <strong>in</strong><br />
short, all th<strong>in</strong>gs imag<strong>in</strong>able are always go<strong>in</strong>g from bad to worse.<br />
Baldesar Castiglione, The Book of the Courtier{London: Pengu<strong>in</strong> Books, 1967<br />
[1528]), p.107.<br />
1. THE ARTS IN A MARKET ECONOMY<br />
Does a market economy encourage or discourage music, literature, and the<br />
visual arts? Do economic forces of supply and demand help or harm the<br />
pursuit of creativity? I see commercial enterprise as encourag<strong>in</strong>g cultural<br />
production for the same reasons that non-pecuniary enjoyments tend to rise<br />
<strong>in</strong> wealthier and more productive societies. This book will present some<br />
social mechanisms that l<strong>in</strong>k markets, wealth, and creativity (chapter one),<br />
exam<strong>in</strong>e how these mechanisms have operated throughout cultural history<br />
(chapters two through five), and attempt to account for the widespread<br />
perception that modernity suffers from a cultural malaise (the conclud<strong>in</strong>g<br />
chapter five).<br />
I seek to redress the current <strong>in</strong>tellectual and popular balance and<br />
encourage a more favorable attitude towards the commercialization of<br />
culture that we associate with modernity. I portray the capitalist market<br />
economy as a vital but underappreciated <strong>in</strong>stitutional framework for<br />
support<strong>in</strong>g a plurality of coexist<strong>in</strong>g artistic visions, provid<strong>in</strong>g a steady<br />
stream of new and satisfy<strong>in</strong>g creations, help<strong>in</strong>g consumers and artists<br />
ref<strong>in</strong>e their tastes, and pay<strong>in</strong>g homage to the eclipsed past by captur<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
reproduc<strong>in</strong>g, and dissem<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g it.<br />
In support of this view I will develop several related themes concern<strong>in</strong>g<br />
culture. First, I will contrast cultural optimism with some oppos<strong>in</strong>g<br />
philosophies of cultural pessimism. Differ<strong>in</strong>g varieties of cultural<br />
pessimism are found among conservatives, neo-conservatives, the Frankfurt<br />
school, and some versions of the political correctness and multiculturalist<br />
movements, as well as <strong>in</strong> the history of ideas more generally. The first<br />
four chapters offer a critique of these views, and the f<strong>in</strong>al chapter offers<br />
a deconstruction of them.<br />
Second, I redef<strong>in</strong>e the dist<strong>in</strong>ction between popular or "low" culture, and<br />
"high" culture from a cultural optimist perspective. When viewed <strong>in</strong> longrun<br />
terms, successful high culture usually comes out of a healthy and<br />
prosperous popular culture. Forces for popular culture therefore serve as<br />
forces support<strong>in</strong>g the eventual emergence of high culture as well. I also<br />
question the common identification of quality culture with high culture,
and of popular culture with low-level or accessible culture. Shakespeare,<br />
Mozart, and Beethoven thought of their work as popular, while much of<br />
today's so-called popular culture is <strong>in</strong> fact a highly ref<strong>in</strong>ed product which<br />
appeals only to a dist<strong>in</strong>ct m<strong>in</strong>ority. Rather than try<strong>in</strong>g to use aesthetic<br />
criteria to order art works on a high/low spectrum, I exam<strong>in</strong>e how economic<br />
<strong>in</strong>centives affect the artist's choice of audience. Poetry costs very little<br />
to write, and therefore can appeal to m<strong>in</strong>ority tastes. Most movies, <strong>in</strong><br />
contrast, must cover their high capital costs by appeal<strong>in</strong>g to a larger<br />
number of viewers.<br />
Third, I focus on the role of markets and economic factors, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />
technology, <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>fluenc<strong>in</strong>g culture. I do not present a monocausal<br />
materialist theory of culture, but I do outl<strong>in</strong>e some ways <strong>in</strong> which economic<br />
forces have shaped Western art, literature, and music s<strong>in</strong>ce the<br />
Renaissance. Without dismiss<strong>in</strong>g the role of non-economic forces, I argue<br />
that economic forces have had stronger effects on culture than is commonly<br />
believed. The pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g press paved the way for classical music, while<br />
electricity led to rock and roll. For better or worse, artists are subject<br />
to economic constra<strong>in</strong>ts, just as other bus<strong>in</strong>essmen are.<br />
Fourth, I attempt to account for why the philosophy of cultural pessimism<br />
has proven so persuasive and has attracted so many adherents. The fifth and<br />
f<strong>in</strong>al chapter outl<strong>in</strong>es a series of social mechanisms that help expla<strong>in</strong> why<br />
cultural pessimism has rema<strong>in</strong>ed such a successful and popular philosophy.<br />
For a variety of reasons discussed <strong>in</strong> that chapter, contemporary culture<br />
tends to appear degenerate even when it is thriv<strong>in</strong>g. This deconstruction of<br />
cultural pessimism does not prove the worth of contemporary creations, but<br />
I do hope to encourage a more critical stance towards views that culture is<br />
corrupt or decl<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g.<br />
DEFIN<strong>ITI</strong>ONS: CAPITALISM AND THE MARKET ECONOMY<br />
I def<strong>in</strong>e capitalism as a legal framework based on private property and<br />
voluntary exchange; this framework supports an advanced system of commerce,<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry, technology, and markets. I take it for granted that capitalism<br />
supports these <strong>in</strong>stitutions, and I focus on the more controversial question<br />
of how culture will fare <strong>in</strong> such a world.<br />
The word capitalism refers to the private ownership of capital goods that<br />
is found under such a regime. I also use the term "market economy" to refer<br />
more generally to a nexus of voluntary exchanges. Beethoven and<br />
Michelangelo, who sold their artworks for a profit, were entrepreneurs and<br />
capitalists. Rembrandt, who ran a studio and employed other artists, fits<br />
the designation as well. I treat capitalism <strong>in</strong> terms of its underly<strong>in</strong>g<br />
economic logic, rather than <strong>in</strong> terms of a particular historical epoch, as<br />
do many Marxists. Nonetheless I do not assume that capitalism has operated<br />
<strong>in</strong> the same fashion across historical eras. In reality, different k<strong>in</strong>ds of<br />
markets (and states) have shaped the arts <strong>in</strong> radically different ways. The<br />
greater ability of modern performers to reach large audiences has given<br />
popular music a relative boost over classical music, for <strong>in</strong>stance. The<br />
decl<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g f<strong>in</strong>ancial power of the church lead to a dim<strong>in</strong>ution of <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong><br />
religious art. Chapters two, three, and four will present numerous examples<br />
of how cross-sectional variations <strong>in</strong> forms of capitalism have <strong>in</strong>fluenced<br />
accompany<strong>in</strong>g artistic productions.<br />
I do not def<strong>in</strong>e capitalism <strong>in</strong> terms of a pure market model, as do many<br />
libertarians. Historically capitalism and powerful states have risen hand-
<strong>in</strong>-hand; this connection will not be severed <strong>in</strong> foreseeable imag<strong>in</strong>able<br />
future. I am concerned more with particular features of the capitalist<br />
model than with the purity of market freedom. Specifically, I focus on the<br />
follow<strong>in</strong>g features, which I identify with our modern, commercialized<br />
society: profit and fame <strong>in</strong>centives, decentralized f<strong>in</strong>ancial support, the<br />
possibility of f<strong>in</strong>ancial <strong>in</strong>dependence for some artists, the entrepreneurial<br />
discovery of new artistic technologies and media, and the ability to profit<br />
by preserv<strong>in</strong>g the cultural creations of the past.<br />
I do dist<strong>in</strong>guish capitalism from societies whose wealth is based on<br />
outright plunder, fortuitous discovery of a natural resource, tax haven<br />
status, or other accidental features. These societies may develop wealth,<br />
but they will not reap the full benefit of the mechanisms discussed below.<br />
Steal<strong>in</strong>g wealth, or luck<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to wealth, typically will stimulate the<br />
demand for culture, but unlike under capitalism, the supply capacity for<br />
cultural production will not be favored as well. Artistic masterpieces<br />
usually stem from favorable conditions on both the demand and supply sides<br />
of the market, as will be illustrated by numerous examples throughout the<br />
text.<br />
I do not argue that capitalism is a monocausal or even a primary<br />
determ<strong>in</strong>ant of artistic success. If Beethoven's parents had not met,<br />
married, and slept together when they did, the market could not have<br />
produced another Beethoven some other way. Pure, dumb luck is one of many<br />
factors <strong>in</strong> cultural success. The greater cultural vitality of Renaissance<br />
Florence than modern S<strong>in</strong>gapore does not serve as a counterexample to my<br />
thesis, even though S<strong>in</strong>gapore is wealthier and arguably more capitalistic<br />
as well. S<strong>in</strong>gapore and Florence differ <strong>in</strong> many important regards, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />
their cultural heritage, degree of government censorship, and <strong>in</strong>tellectual<br />
climate. Culture is a problem of jo<strong>in</strong>t production <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g both economic<br />
and non-economic forces; I am argu<strong>in</strong>g that we should upgrade our estimate<br />
of the efficacy of the market, not that the market is all-important.<br />
Counterexamples to my version of cultural optimism arise to the extent that<br />
cultural successes come about <strong>in</strong> spite of the market, and to the extent<br />
that cultural failures come about because of the market. The text presents<br />
a number of counterexamples, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the failure of the modern world to<br />
support contemporary classical composers, the decl<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g quality of the<br />
bestseller lists, and the dubious quality of much of American television,<br />
among many others. I view these counterexamples as real rather than<br />
apparent, and I seek to expla<strong>in</strong> them rather than to expla<strong>in</strong> them away. An<br />
optimistic perspective should not bl<strong>in</strong>d us to failures or h<strong>in</strong>der the<br />
identification of the mechanisms that cause cultural markets to misfire.<br />
It is obvious to most observers that new art faces significant obstacles <strong>in</strong><br />
a market economy. Large numbers of consumers are ignorant, poorly educated,<br />
and sometimes even hostile to <strong>in</strong>novation. Many creators are confronted by<br />
large corporate conglomerates that demand a proven track record or prior<br />
contacts. Complex networks of retail distribution, advertis<strong>in</strong>g, and media<br />
make some products profitable and others unprofitable, often without regard<br />
for artistic quality. Art lovers, who revere aesthetic merit, often dislike<br />
or resent market exchange for these reasons. No social system, however,<br />
elevates "Goodness" to a decid<strong>in</strong>g pr<strong>in</strong>ciple, whether the realm be art,<br />
politics, or economics. Rather than compar<strong>in</strong>g the market for art to a<br />
Platonic alternative, I seek to uncover the social mechanisms that<br />
encourage and discourage creative artistic achievement and therefore shed<br />
light on the production of culture.
DEFIN<strong>ITI</strong>ONS: CULTURE AND ART<br />
I use the terms culture and art <strong>in</strong>terchangeably to cover man-made artifacts<br />
or performances which move us and expand our awareness of the world and of<br />
ourselves. I have <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g, sculpture, music, film, architecture,<br />
photography, theater, literature, and dance. What counts as culture is a<br />
matter of degree; broadly, culture ought to broaden our horizons and help<br />
us see the world <strong>in</strong> a new way. Culture stands above the concept of<br />
enterta<strong>in</strong>ment, although good culture is often enterta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g. I will devote<br />
special attention to the visual arts, literature, and music, arguably the<br />
three arts most central to the Western tradition. Each of these topics<br />
receives a chapter of its own. These arts come closest to provid<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
common knowledge base and they have provided the primary field of debate<br />
for the economics of the arts.<br />
No s<strong>in</strong>gle book can consider artistic production as a whole. Furthermore,<br />
the question "What is art?" has become <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly less fruitful with the<br />
grow<strong>in</strong>g diversity of production. Numerous quasi-artistic activities hold a<br />
blurred, <strong>in</strong>-between status.<br />
Fashion, decoration, cuis<strong>in</strong>e, sports, product design, computer graphics,<br />
and commercial art - to name just a few examples - br<strong>in</strong>g beauty and drama<br />
<strong>in</strong>to our lives. Even if these genres do not fit a narrow def<strong>in</strong>ition of art<br />
they nonetheless stimulate our aesthetic sense. Most of these genres have<br />
met with great success <strong>in</strong> the contemporary world, but I do not address<br />
those topics directly <strong>in</strong> this book. I hope to show some illustrative<br />
factors <strong>in</strong> the history of the major arts, rather than cover each and every<br />
cultural episode.<br />
In addition, I focus on Western culture, although I am currently work<strong>in</strong>g on<br />
a more systematic treatment of non-Western, tribal, and <strong>in</strong>digenous<br />
cultures, which I will present <strong>in</strong> future writ<strong>in</strong>gs. Some foreign cultures<br />
appear to provide counter-examples to the view that markets benefit the<br />
arts. Haiti, for <strong>in</strong>stance, has produced much pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g and music of note,<br />
despite be<strong>in</strong>g the poorest country <strong>in</strong> the Western hemisphere. My prelim<strong>in</strong>ary<br />
research <strong>in</strong>dicates two conclusions, which I will only mention here. First,<br />
some of the mechanisms regulat<strong>in</strong>g artistic success may differ <strong>in</strong> countries<br />
with very small degrees of division of labor, both <strong>in</strong> consumption and<br />
production. To that extent the arguments of this book do not hold <strong>in</strong> all<br />
circumstances. Second, many non-Western arts have relied more heavily on<br />
markets and wealth than it may first appear. The market for Haitian Naive<br />
pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>gs, for <strong>in</strong>stance, has been driven largely by tourists from<br />
wealthier, capitalist countries. Much of the growth <strong>in</strong> third world arts,<br />
musics, and literatures has been supported by modernization, grow<strong>in</strong>g<br />
wealth, and cultural exchange. A more complete approach to the matter must,<br />
however, await future research and writ<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
What is good culture?<br />
The case for cultural optimism relies partly on judgments about the quality<br />
of contemporary cultural creations. Skeptics who dislike all contemporary<br />
culture usually cannot be conv<strong>in</strong>ced to weaken their pessimism. Cultural<br />
assessments conta<strong>in</strong> an irreducibly subjective component and for this reason<br />
it is not possible to present a knockdown argument for (or aga<strong>in</strong>st)<br />
cultural optimism. Rather than tackl<strong>in</strong>g cultural pessimism head on, I<br />
attempt to chip away at its plausibility, while keep<strong>in</strong>g debate over the<br />
quality of particular artworks from dom<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g the analysis. My approach to<br />
cultural pessimism runs as follows. First, this open<strong>in</strong>g chapter presents a<br />
number of social mechanisms through which a healthy, grow<strong>in</strong>g economy tends<br />
to support cultural creativity. While these mechanisms do not prove the
<strong>in</strong>tr<strong>in</strong>sic aesthetic worth of any particular creations, they do weaken the<br />
expectation that commerce should corrupt culture. Second, the three<br />
subsequent empirical chapters will outl<strong>in</strong>e the successful operation of<br />
these mechanisms <strong>in</strong> the past, and will show that criticisms of contemporary<br />
culture resemble the criticisms leveled at past masterworks. F<strong>in</strong>ally, the<br />
text will discuss some particular developments <strong>in</strong> our contemporary culture<br />
which I see as healthy and creative. The discussions of contemporary<br />
culture will entail both a value-neutral aspect and a value-laden aspect.<br />
The value-neutral aspect attempts to show that market wealth supports<br />
creative artworks of many different k<strong>in</strong>ds, appeal<strong>in</strong>g to many different<br />
tastes. My favored variety of aesthetic pluralism admits the validity of<br />
contrast<strong>in</strong>g perspectives on culture, values diversity, and recognizes the<br />
ultimate <strong>in</strong>commensurability of many artistic values. Orson Welles argued<br />
for the supremacy of consumer op<strong>in</strong>ion <strong>in</strong> judg<strong>in</strong>g aesthetic value. He once<br />
said: "We must not forget the audience. The audience votes by buy<strong>in</strong>g<br />
tickets. An audience is more <strong>in</strong>telligent than the <strong>in</strong>dividuals who create<br />
their enterta<strong>in</strong>ment. I can th<strong>in</strong>k of *noth<strong>in</strong>g* that an audience won't<br />
understand. The only problem is to <strong>in</strong>terest them. Once they are <strong>in</strong>terested,<br />
they understand anyth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the world. That must be <strong>in</strong> the feel<strong>in</strong>g of the<br />
moviemaker."<br />
Harold Bloom advocates a different po<strong>in</strong>t of view. He considers the true<br />
masterpieces of the Western canon to be <strong>in</strong>accessible to most readers.<br />
Culture, Bloom's substitute for religion, requires a Gnostic rather than<br />
Catholic view of the truth. Only those who read, reread, and study the<br />
classic works can hope to unlock their secrets. A work easily accessible on<br />
first read<strong>in</strong>g is unlikely to be truly great. The best writers know far more<br />
than their audiences, who are wrongly tempted to dismiss F<strong>in</strong>negans Wake as<br />
nonsense. The elitist venture of criticism can proceed without much regard<br />
for the preferences of the audience. Rather than attempt<strong>in</strong>g to adjudicate<br />
between these two provocative perspectives, the value-neutral aspect of my<br />
analysis considers the ability of capitalism to support each k<strong>in</strong>d of art.<br />
The market br<strong>in</strong>gs crowd-pleas<strong>in</strong>g artists, such as Michael Jackson or Steven<br />
Spielberg, <strong>in</strong> touch with their audiences, while at the same time secur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
niches for more obscure visions, such as those of James Joyce or Charles<br />
Ives. The categories commonly labeled high and low art often are<br />
complements rather than alternatives that we must choose between. The<br />
value-neutral approach to cultural evaluation also stresses how the wealth,<br />
commercialization, and technology of the modern world provide the means and<br />
the <strong>in</strong>centives to preserve past culture. Cultural optimism does not suggest<br />
that any modern playwright is the superior or even the equal of William<br />
Shakespeare. It will never be the case that our favorite works, or the very<br />
best works, all were produced just yesterday (see chapter five for more on<br />
this po<strong>in</strong>t). Rather, cultural optimism receives some of its support from<br />
the unparalleled ability of the modern world to preserve, ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>,<br />
dissem<strong>in</strong>ate, and <strong>in</strong>terpret past masterworks by the likes of Shakespeare,<br />
Mozart, Monet, and many others. Artistic preservation and dissem<strong>in</strong>ation are<br />
supported by market mechanisms, just as artistic creativity is.<br />
Artistic production is not a once-and-for-all event, but rather is an<br />
ongo<strong>in</strong>g process, often stretch<strong>in</strong>g over centuries, and requir<strong>in</strong>g cont<strong>in</strong>ued<br />
societal cooperation. William Hazlitt wrote a famous essay - "Why the Arts<br />
are not Progressive - A Fragment" - that has been cited aga<strong>in</strong>st the idea of<br />
cultural progress. Hazlitt argued correctly that the arts do not experience<br />
progress <strong>in</strong> the same manner that the natural sciences do. In the arts,<br />
later <strong>in</strong>ventions do not typically render earlier <strong>in</strong>ventions obsolete. To<br />
give a modern example, we cannot establish that Garcia Marquez is<br />
objectively "better" or "worse" than Charles Dickens. I do not, however,<br />
accept Hazlitt's total rejection of the idea of cultural progress. Today's<br />
art consumers enjoy more choice and greater diversity than ever before.<br />
Regardless of how aesthetic philosophy judges Garcia Marquez vs. Dickens,<br />
modern readers can now enjoy both for a pittance.
Market exchange and capitalism produce diverse art, rather than art that<br />
appeals to one particular set of tastes. Mid-to- late twentieth century<br />
Western culture, although a favorite target of many critics, will go down<br />
<strong>in</strong> history as a fabulously creative and fertile epoch. The culture of our<br />
era has produced last<strong>in</strong>g achievements <strong>in</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema, rhythm and blues, rock and<br />
roll, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, architecture, dance, graphic and<br />
commercial design, fashion, jazz, the proliferation of classical, early<br />
music, and "orig<strong>in</strong>al <strong>in</strong>strument" record<strong>in</strong>gs, the short story, Lat<strong>in</strong><br />
American fiction, genre fiction, and the biography, to name but a few<br />
examples. These genres have offered a wide variety of styles, aesthetics,<br />
and moods. An <strong>in</strong>dividual need not have a very particular set of tastes to<br />
love contemporary creations. The second part of the book's aesthetic<br />
argument requires a greater role for subjective judgments about artistic<br />
value. Are Jasper Johns, Steven Spielberg, Karlhe<strong>in</strong>z Stockhausen, and the<br />
Beatles frauds, mediocrities, or geniuses? Dare we go one step further and<br />
ask the same question about even more controversial (and lesser known)<br />
figures, such as Robert Gober, John Woo, Robert Ashley, and My Bloody<br />
Valent<strong>in</strong>e? Although I am not provid<strong>in</strong>g a treatise on aesthetics, I do,<br />
throughout the chapters, raise the possibility that these artists and<br />
others are <strong>in</strong> fact notable masters who will last the ages. The three<br />
chapters on art, literature, and music suggest that the contemporary world<br />
has produced a very large number of excellent creators and works. I do not,<br />
and cannot, provide knockdown arguments for these aesthetic views, but I<br />
hope that the book as a whole will persuade the reader to take a closer<br />
look at these and other artists. Despite the subjective component beh<strong>in</strong>d<br />
these judgments, I try to persuade the reader to see widespread support for<br />
the cultural optimist vision, as I do.<br />
The tastes and recommendations which comprise the value-laden part of the<br />
argument will appear odd or idiosyncratic to some readers. Nonetheless I<br />
have deliberately tried to restrict myself to figures and works which have<br />
already achieved recognition from the specialists <strong>in</strong> their fields. Most<br />
lovers of Mozart and Haydn react with skepticism or disagreement when<br />
Ashley, Feldman, Scelsi, and Glass are cited as notable composers of our<br />
age. Yet the highly respected Fanfare, a journal of music review<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
promotes precisely these names and rejects the notion that music<br />
composition is dead, as do I. Observers tend to be cultural optimists <strong>in</strong><br />
areas where they specialize, and cultural pessimists when they serve as<br />
outsiders or general critics, for reasons to be discussed <strong>in</strong> chapter five.<br />
The cultural optimist position does not seek to make the achievements of<br />
modern creators commensurable with the achievements of the greats of the<br />
past, just as we cannot rank Dickens and Marquez, or ascerta<strong>in</strong> whether five<br />
or ten Beatles songs might add up <strong>in</strong> value to one Haydn str<strong>in</strong>g quartet. It<br />
can be said, however, that modern creators have offered the world a large<br />
variety of deep and last<strong>in</strong>g creations, which are universal <strong>in</strong> their scope<br />
and significant <strong>in</strong> their import. These creations delight and enrich large<br />
numbers of <strong>in</strong>telligent listeners, and cont<strong>in</strong>ue to <strong>in</strong>fluence subsequent<br />
artists. We can expect many modern and contemporary works to stand the test<br />
of time, and <strong>in</strong>deed many have already stood a test of time. Alfred<br />
Hitchcock, once considered a purely commercial filmmaker for the masses,<br />
now is revered as an artistic genius by audiences, film critics, and other<br />
movie directors. We can expect many more recent creators to pass the test<br />
of time <strong>in</strong> a similar manner.<br />
CULTURAL PESSIMISM AND OPTIMISM<br />
One significant class of critics, whom I call the cultural pessimists, take<br />
a strongly negative view of modernity and of market exchange. They<br />
typically believe that the market economy corrupts culture. The modern age<br />
is often compared unfavorably to some earlier time, such as the classical
period, the Enlightenment, the n<strong>in</strong>eteenth century, or even the early<br />
twentieth century. T. S. Eliot exemplified the pessimistic view when he<br />
wrote: "We can assert with some confidence that our own period is one of<br />
decl<strong>in</strong>e; that the standards of culture are lower than they were fifty years<br />
ago; and that the evidences of this decl<strong>in</strong>e are visible <strong>in</strong> every department<br />
of human activity." Cultural pessimism comes from various po<strong>in</strong>ts along the<br />
political spectrum and transcend traditional left-w<strong>in</strong>g/right-w<strong>in</strong>g<br />
dist<strong>in</strong>ctions. Its roots, <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>tellectual history, <strong>in</strong>clude Plato, August<strong>in</strong>e,<br />
Rousseau, Pope, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Spengler.<br />
Cultural pessimism received its most explicit statement <strong>in</strong> the seventeenth<br />
and eighteenth centuries, <strong>in</strong> the so-called "Battle of the Books." In these<br />
debates, William Temple, Jonathan Swift and others argued that modern<br />
writ<strong>in</strong>gs and achievements were <strong>in</strong>ferior to those of antiquity. The<br />
follow<strong>in</strong>g chapters, and chapter five, cover the <strong>in</strong>tellectual history of<br />
cultural pessimism <strong>in</strong> greater detail. In the contemporary scene, however,<br />
various forms of cultural pessimism exert wide <strong>in</strong>tellectual <strong>in</strong>fluence. Neoconservative<br />
<strong>in</strong>tellectuals, such as Daniel Bell and Irv<strong>in</strong>g Kristol, have<br />
questioned whether a market economy supports healthy artistic tendencies.<br />
Bell, for <strong>in</strong>stance, favors artistic modernism but views it as exhausted and<br />
superseded by less constructive movements. Allan Bloom, <strong>in</strong> his Clos<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
the American M<strong>in</strong>d, provides a Straussian slant on cultural pessimism. Bloom<br />
blames left-w<strong>in</strong>g academics, youth culture, and the philosophy of moral<br />
relativism for our supposed cultural malaise. In the American political<br />
realm the new religious Right and Republican right have attacked the moral<br />
values exhibited by contemporary culture. Nationalist parties <strong>in</strong> Europe<br />
have criticized the loss of cultural unity brought by a market economy.<br />
The pessimism of the neo-conservatives often extends beyond culture <strong>in</strong> the<br />
narrow sense. Many neo-conservatives believe that Western civilization is<br />
collaps<strong>in</strong>g under a plague of permissiveness, crime, loss of community, and<br />
related ailments. Robert Bork, <strong>in</strong> his latest book Slouch<strong>in</strong>g Towards<br />
Gomorrah, provides an extreme statement of this view. The supposedly sorry<br />
state of the modern arts is both a cause and reflection of the deeper<br />
plight of modernity. As I consider cultural pessimism, however, I focus<br />
only on the charges about culture <strong>in</strong> the narrower sense of artistic<br />
production. Neo-Marxists and critics of mass culture, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
Frankfurt School, also adhere to largely pessimistic views. Max Horkheimer,<br />
Theodor Adorno, and Herbert Marcuse, among many others, believe that market<br />
exchange damages the quality of cultural production. The commodification of<br />
culture stifles our critical faculties, <strong>in</strong>duces alienation, degrades<br />
artworks, and protects the capitalist system aga<strong>in</strong>st <strong>in</strong>ternal challenges.<br />
Adorno advocates atonal music, and regards jazz and rock and roll as<br />
abom<strong>in</strong>able corruptions. Frankfurt School writers tend to dislike popular<br />
culture, which they perceive as hostile to the project of a society built<br />
on modernist reason. Jorgen Habermas, also associated with the Frankfurt<br />
School, stakes out a positive position on modernity but holds unsympathetic<br />
attitudes towards the culture of capitalism. On one hand, Habermas views<br />
modernity as explicitly progressive, as did Marx. Habermas believes <strong>in</strong> the<br />
utopian potential of modernity, based on objective reason and the<br />
Enlightenment project of a good society. On the other hand, Habermas is<br />
highly critical of modernity as we experience it <strong>in</strong> contemporary capitalist<br />
society. He sees Western reason, when comb<strong>in</strong>ed with capitalism, technology,<br />
and the media, as a force of dom<strong>in</strong>ation rather than a force of liberation<br />
or free expression. Critical social theory is needed to reform<br />
communicative discourse and br<strong>in</strong>g about a more fully progressive modernity.<br />
Habermas sees the market as h<strong>in</strong>der<strong>in</strong>g rather than aid<strong>in</strong>g critical<br />
communication.<br />
Many neo-liberal writers echo the concerns of the Frankfurt School,<br />
although they do not accept Marxist solutions. Neil Postman emphasizes how<br />
modern technology and media corrupt our culture. The title of Herbert
Schiller's book summarizes the views of many: Culture, Inc.: The Corporate<br />
Takeover of Public Expression. Pierre Bourdieu, one of the lead<strong>in</strong>g<br />
sociologists of culture, argues aga<strong>in</strong>st the corporate control of culture<br />
that he associates with a market economy. Even the ma<strong>in</strong>stream American case<br />
for liberal social democracy portrays capitalism as an uneasy ally of<br />
culture, at best. The political correctness movement often identifies<br />
market culture with the suppression of women and m<strong>in</strong>orities. Puritan<br />
fem<strong>in</strong>ist Cather<strong>in</strong>e McK<strong>in</strong>non, <strong>in</strong> her book Only Words, argues that sexually<br />
explicit literature and art create harm and should be banned. Some branches<br />
of multiculturalist thought argue that free cultural exchange leads to<br />
cultural homogenization and a culture of the least common denom<strong>in</strong>ator.<br />
Marshall McLuhan raised the specter of a "global village," <strong>in</strong> which we all<br />
consume the same products. In the political realm we f<strong>in</strong>d cultural<br />
protectionism practiced around the world.<br />
Many left-w<strong>in</strong>g "cultural studies" scholars stake out a mixed position.<br />
These <strong>in</strong>dividuals tend to look sympathetically on modern popular culture<br />
but they dislike capitalism and the forces of the market. Frederic Jameson<br />
exemplifies these attitudes. He describes himself as a "relatively<br />
enthusiastic consumer of postmodernism," but he also promises us that<br />
central plann<strong>in</strong>g someday will return <strong>in</strong> superior form. Only then will our<br />
culture become a "project" to be planned by free <strong>in</strong>dividuals. Writers from<br />
the British Birm<strong>in</strong>gham school (e.g., Richard Hoggart, Raymond Williams,<br />
Stuart Hall) tend to reject the dist<strong>in</strong>ction between high and low culture<br />
and they propose a unified methodological approach to the two. Like much of<br />
the cultural studies movement, writers <strong>in</strong> that tradition have helped<br />
legitimize popular culture and have shown sympathy for cultural optimism.<br />
Unlike the Frankfurt School, Birm<strong>in</strong>gham writers see popular culture as<br />
conta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g liberat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>fluences aga<strong>in</strong>st otherwise elitist capitalist<br />
structures. When it comes to the market, however, the Birm<strong>in</strong>gham school<br />
uses neo-Marxist economic analysis and emphasizes mechanisms of hegemony,<br />
rather than <strong>in</strong>novation and freedom of expression. F<strong>in</strong>ally, to conclude this<br />
discussion of sources, cultural pessimism is by no means an exclusively<br />
<strong>in</strong>tellectual phenomenon. The f<strong>in</strong>al chapter of this book exam<strong>in</strong>es the<br />
criticisms of contemporary culture com<strong>in</strong>g from parents, churches, artists<br />
themselves, and other sources.<br />
Cultural optimism<br />
The cultural optimists are a less prom<strong>in</strong>ent group <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>tellectual history<br />
than the pessimists. Cultural optimism nonetheless has attracted a number<br />
of prom<strong>in</strong>ent defenders <strong>in</strong> the history of ideas. Charles Perrault, a<br />
seventeenth-century French believer <strong>in</strong> cultural progress, wrote Mother<br />
Goose and other tales <strong>in</strong> a deliberate attempt to match Aesop's Fables.<br />
Baldesar Castiglione defended cultural progress <strong>in</strong> his The Book of the<br />
Courtier. He argued that the modern age (1478-1529 for him) compared<br />
favorably to the world of the ancients. Samuel Johnson, an eighteenthcentury<br />
English writer defended the civiliz<strong>in</strong>g aspects of books,pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
and commercial booksell<strong>in</strong>g. Jean Anto<strong>in</strong>e Condorcet, a classical liberal<br />
Girondist and victim of the French Revolution, argued that human reason<br />
provides a strong impetus for cultural progress.<br />
We f<strong>in</strong>d at least three versions of the cultural optimist position <strong>in</strong> the<br />
history of ideas. The first view suggests that the arts tend to flourish <strong>in</strong><br />
a modern liberal order (today, democratic capitalism, although not all the<br />
cultural optimists of the past were democrats). I promote that position <strong>in</strong><br />
this book. This view does not predict that any s<strong>in</strong>gle geographic area<br />
necessarily produces great culture <strong>in</strong> a particular genre. As discussed<br />
above, artistic creativity is highly cont<strong>in</strong>gent upon many factors,<br />
<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g luck. Nonetheless the world as a whole is highly diverse and we<br />
can expect a flourish<strong>in</strong>g of creativity <strong>in</strong> the aggregate. Bad luck or<br />
<strong>in</strong>terven<strong>in</strong>g causes may <strong>in</strong>fluence a specific culture for the worse, but
cultural optimism nonetheless suggests that a preponderance of factors<br />
favor positive outcomes for the free world as a whole.<br />
The second version of cultural optimism goes further and makes the<br />
political prediction that a liberal order will rema<strong>in</strong> prom<strong>in</strong>ent for many<br />
years to come. I have sympathies for this view as well, but it lies beyond<br />
the purview of this book (<strong>in</strong> its defense, see Francis Fukayama, The End of<br />
History.) The third version of cultural optimism argues that the arts will<br />
flourish precisely because capitalism is doomed and will be replaced by a<br />
superior system, such as socialism or communism. This is the classic<br />
Marxian statement of cultural optimism, which I reject.<br />
My favored version of cultural optimism draws upon a wide variety of<br />
contemporary writers, many of whom work outside a purely academic context.<br />
Camille Paglia defends the Roll<strong>in</strong>g Stones and Hollywood c<strong>in</strong>ema as<br />
artistically vital forces <strong>in</strong> the modern world. She even writes favorably<br />
about how capitalist wealth has stimulated artistic production. Robert<br />
Pattison's The Triumph of Vulgarity, takes the supposed aesthetic defects<br />
of rock and roll and <strong>in</strong>terprets them as virtues; his book On Literacy<br />
argues that literacy has been <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g over time, rather than decreas<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Herbert Gans, <strong>in</strong> his Popular Culture and High Culture, praises popular<br />
culture and argues that modernity has produced <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g diversity of<br />
culture. Cultural studies theorist Paul Willis, <strong>in</strong> his Common Culture,<br />
praises the "symbolic creativity" of capitalist consumerism. Nelson George,<br />
well-known author and critic for the Village Voice, defends rap music and<br />
argues the importance of "black capitalism" for contemporary music. Wendy<br />
Ste<strong>in</strong>er, <strong>in</strong> her The Scandal of Pleasure, defends contemporary culture and<br />
the autonomy of art aga<strong>in</strong>st moraliz<strong>in</strong>g critics, from both left and right.<br />
William Grampp, economist and author of Pric<strong>in</strong>g the Priceless, argues that<br />
artistic production is not necessarily subject to market failure. Terence<br />
Kealey's The Economic Laws of Scientific Research deals with science rather<br />
than culture, but makes analogous arguments about the benefits of commerce.<br />
Alv<strong>in</strong> Toffler, <strong>in</strong> his early The Culture Consumers, chronicled the growth of<br />
art and culture <strong>in</strong> America; his later book The Third Wave writes of the<br />
tendency of mass media to decl<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> the face of decentralized competitive<br />
forces. The postmodern theorists, while they do not necessarily hold<br />
optimistic attitudes towards either culture or capitalism, have<br />
<strong>in</strong>sightfully analyzed the forces beh<strong>in</strong>d the proliferation of cultures <strong>in</strong> a<br />
market economy and the breakdown of absolutist cultural standards.<br />
I proceed by consider<strong>in</strong>g how markets <strong>in</strong>fluence artistic creation. Material<br />
wealth helps relax external constra<strong>in</strong>ts on <strong>in</strong>ternal artistic creativity,<br />
motivates artists to reach new heights, and enables a diversity of artistic<br />
forms and styles to flourish. I then turn to high and low culture. The same<br />
forces that encourage artistic production for the market also help expla<strong>in</strong><br />
why high and low culture have split. A brief overview of each subsequent<br />
chapter is offered at the very end of this <strong>in</strong>troductory chapter.<br />
SOCIAL MECHANISMS FOR CULTURE:<br />
HOW WEALTH SUPPORTS HIGHER AESTHETIC GOALS<br />
Art markets consist of artists, consumers, and middlemen, or distributors.<br />
Artists work to achieve self-fulfillment, fame, and riches. The complex<br />
motivations beh<strong>in</strong>d artistic creation <strong>in</strong>clude love of the beautiful, love of<br />
money, love of fame, personal arrogance, and <strong>in</strong>ner compulsions. Creators<br />
hold strong desires to be heard and witnessed. Sir Joshua Reynolds, <strong>in</strong> his<br />
Discourses on Art, pronounced that "The highest ambition of every Artist is
to be thought a man of Genius." More generally, I treat artists as pursu<strong>in</strong>g<br />
a complex mix of pecuniary and non-pecuniary returns.<br />
Consumers and patrons stand as the artist's silent partners. We support<br />
creators with our money, our time, our emotions, and our approbation. We<br />
discover subtle nuances <strong>in</strong> their work which the artists had not noticed or<br />
consciously <strong>in</strong>tended. Inspired consumption is a creative act which further<br />
enriches the viewer and the work itself. Art works provoke us to reexam<strong>in</strong>e<br />
or reaffirm what we th<strong>in</strong>k and feel, and consumer and patron demands for<br />
artworks f<strong>in</strong>ance the market. Distributors br<strong>in</strong>g together producer and<br />
consumer, whether the product be beauty soap, bread, or Beethoven. The<br />
resultant meet<strong>in</strong>g of supply and demand fuels the creative drive and<br />
dissem<strong>in</strong>ates its results. Neither producers nor consumers of art can<br />
flourish without the other side of the market. No distributor can profit<br />
without attract<strong>in</strong>g both artists and consumers.<br />
The <strong>in</strong>teractions between producers, consumers, and distributors provide the<br />
basic sett<strong>in</strong>g for the analysis of this book. Creators respond to both<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternal and external forces. Internal forces <strong>in</strong>clude the artist's love of<br />
creat<strong>in</strong>g, demands for money and fame, and the desire to work out styles,<br />
aesthetics, and problems posed by previous works. External forces <strong>in</strong>clude<br />
the artistic materials and media available, the conditions of patronage,<br />
the distribution network, and opportunities for earn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>come. When<br />
translated <strong>in</strong>to the term<strong>in</strong>ology of economics or rational choice theory, the<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternal forces correspond to preferences and external forces represent<br />
opportunities and constra<strong>in</strong>ts. These <strong>in</strong>ternal and external forces <strong>in</strong>teract<br />
to shape artistic production.<br />
Psychological motivations, though a driv<strong>in</strong>g force beh<strong>in</strong>d many great<br />
artworks, do not operate <strong>in</strong> a vacuum, <strong>in</strong>dependent of external constra<strong>in</strong>ts.<br />
Economic circumstances <strong>in</strong>fluence the ability of artists to express their<br />
aesthetic aspirations. Specifically, artistic <strong>in</strong>dependence requires<br />
f<strong>in</strong>ancial <strong>in</strong>dependence and a strong commercial market. Beethoven wrote: "I<br />
am not out to be a musical usurer as you th<strong>in</strong>k, who writes only to become<br />
rich, by no means! Yet, I love an <strong>in</strong>dependent life, and this I cannot have<br />
without a small <strong>in</strong>come."<br />
Capitalism generates the wealth that enables <strong>in</strong>dividuals to support<br />
themselves through art. The artistic professions, a relatively recent<br />
development <strong>in</strong> human history, flourish with economic growth. Increas<strong>in</strong>g<br />
levels of wealth and comfort have freed creative <strong>in</strong>dividuals from tiresome<br />
physical labor and have supplied them with the means to pursue their<br />
flights of fancy. Wealthy societies usually consume the greatest quantities<br />
of non-pecuniary enjoyments. The ability of wealth to fulfill our basic<br />
physical needs elevates our goals and our <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> the aesthetic. In<br />
accord with this mechanism, the number of <strong>in</strong>dividuals who can support<br />
themselves as full-time creators has risen steadily for centuries. Perhaps<br />
ironically, the market economy <strong>in</strong>creases the <strong>in</strong>dependence of the artist<br />
from the immediate demands of the culture- consum<strong>in</strong>g public. Capitalism<br />
funds alternative sources of f<strong>in</strong>ancial support, allow<strong>in</strong>g artists to <strong>in</strong>vest<br />
<strong>in</strong> skills, undertake long-term projects, pursue the <strong>in</strong>ternal logic of their<br />
chosen genre or niche, and develop their market<strong>in</strong>g abilities. A commercial<br />
society is a prosperous and comfortable society, and offers a rich variety<br />
of niches <strong>in</strong> which artists can f<strong>in</strong>d the means to satisfy their creative<br />
desires.<br />
Many artists cannot make a liv<strong>in</strong>g from their craft, and require external<br />
sources of f<strong>in</strong>ancial support. Contrary to many other commentators, I do not<br />
<strong>in</strong>terpret this as a sign of market failure. Art markets sometimes fail to<br />
recognize the merits of great creators, but a wealthy economy, taken as a<br />
whole, is more robust to that k<strong>in</strong>d of failure <strong>in</strong> judgment than is a poor
economy. A wealthy economy gives artists a greater number of other sources<br />
of potential f<strong>in</strong>ancial support. Private foundations, universities, bequests<br />
from wealthy relatives, and ord<strong>in</strong>ary jobs, that bane of the artistic<br />
impulse, all have supported budd<strong>in</strong>g creators. Jane Austen lived from the<br />
wealth of her family, T. S. Eliot worked <strong>in</strong> Lloyd's bank, James Joyce<br />
taught languages, Paul Gaugu<strong>in</strong> accumulated a f<strong>in</strong>ancial cushion through his<br />
work as a stock broker, Charles Ives was an <strong>in</strong>surance executive, V<strong>in</strong>cent<br />
van Gogh received support from his brother, William Faulkner worked <strong>in</strong> a<br />
power plant and later as a Hollywood screenwriter, Philip Glass drove a<br />
taxi <strong>in</strong> New York City. William Carlos Williams worked as a physician <strong>in</strong><br />
Rutherford, New Jersey, and wrote poetry between the visits of his<br />
patients. Wallace Stevens, the American poet, pursued a full-time career <strong>in</strong><br />
the <strong>in</strong>surance <strong>in</strong>dustry. "He was a very imag<strong>in</strong>ative claims man," noted one<br />
former colleague. When offered an endowed chair to teach and write poetry<br />
at Harvard University, Stevens decl<strong>in</strong>ed. He preferred <strong>in</strong>surance work to<br />
lectur<strong>in</strong>g and did not wish to sacrifice his position <strong>in</strong> the firm. At one<br />
po<strong>in</strong>t a co-worker accused Stevens of work<strong>in</strong>g on his poetry dur<strong>in</strong>g company<br />
time. He replied: "I'm th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about surety problems Saturdays and Sundays<br />
when I'm stroll<strong>in</strong>g through Elizabeth Park, so it all evens out."<br />
Parents and elderly relations have f<strong>in</strong>anced many an anti- establishment<br />
cultural revolution. Most of the lead<strong>in</strong>g French artists of the n<strong>in</strong>eteenth<br />
century lived off family funds - usually generated by mercantile activity -<br />
for at least part of their careers. The list <strong>in</strong>cludes Delacroix, Corot,<br />
Courbet, Seurat, Degas, Manet, Monet, Cezanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, and<br />
Moreau. French writers Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verla<strong>in</strong>e, Gustave Flaubert<br />
went even further <strong>in</strong> their anti-establishment attitudes, aga<strong>in</strong> at their<br />
parents' expense. Even the most seclusive artists sometimes rely furtively<br />
on capitalist wealth. Marcel Proust sequestered himself <strong>in</strong> a cork-l<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
room to write, cover<strong>in</strong>g himself <strong>in</strong> blankets and ventur<strong>in</strong>g outside no more<br />
than fifteen m<strong>in</strong>utes a day. Yet he relied on his family's wealth, obta<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
through the Parisian stock exchange. Paul Gaugu<strong>in</strong>, who left the French art<br />
world for the tropical island of Tahiti, did so know<strong>in</strong>g that his pictures<br />
would appreciate <strong>in</strong> value <strong>in</strong> his absence, allow<strong>in</strong>g for a triumphal return.<br />
Gaugu<strong>in</strong> never ceased his tireless self-promotion, and dur<strong>in</strong>g his Pacific<br />
stays he constantly monitored the value of his pictures <strong>in</strong> France.<br />
Wealth and f<strong>in</strong>ancial security give artists the scope to reject societal<br />
values. The bohemian, the avant-garde, and the nihilist are all products of<br />
capitalism. They have pursued forms of liberty and <strong>in</strong>ventiveness that are<br />
unique to the modern world.<br />
Pecuniary <strong>in</strong>centives<br />
Many artists reject the bohemian lifestyle and pursue profits. The artists<br />
of the Italian Renaissance were bus<strong>in</strong>essmen first and foremost. They<br />
produced for profit, wrote commercial contracts, and did not hesitate to<br />
walk away from a job if the remuneration was not sufficient. Renaissance<br />
sculptor Benvenuto Cell<strong>in</strong>i, <strong>in</strong> his autobiography, remarked that "You poor<br />
idiots, I'm a poor goldsmith, and I work for anyone who pays me." Bach,<br />
Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven were all obsessed with<br />
earn<strong>in</strong>g money through their art, as a read<strong>in</strong>g of their letters reveals.<br />
Mozart even wrote: "Believe me, my sole purpose is to make as much money as<br />
possible; for after good health it is the best th<strong>in</strong>g to have." When<br />
accept<strong>in</strong>g an Academy Award <strong>in</strong> 1972, Charlie Chapl<strong>in</strong> remarked: "I went <strong>in</strong>to<br />
the bus<strong>in</strong>ess for money and the art grew out of it. If people are<br />
disillusioned by that remark, I can't help it. It's the truth." The massive<br />
pecuniary rewards available to the most successful creators encourage many<br />
<strong>in</strong>dividuals to try their hand at enter<strong>in</strong>g the market. Profits signal where<br />
the artist f<strong>in</strong>ds the largest and most enthusiastic audience. British "punk
viol<strong>in</strong>ist" Nigel Kennedy has written: "I th<strong>in</strong>k if you're play<strong>in</strong>g music or<br />
do<strong>in</strong>g art you can <strong>in</strong> some way measure the amount of communication you are<br />
achiev<strong>in</strong>g by how much money it is br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> for you and for those around<br />
you." Creators desir<strong>in</strong>g to communicate a message to others thus pay heed to<br />
market earn<strong>in</strong>gs, even if they have little <strong>in</strong>tr<strong>in</strong>sic <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> material<br />
riches. The millions earned by Pr<strong>in</strong>ce and Bruce Spr<strong>in</strong>gsteen <strong>in</strong>dicate how<br />
successfully they have spread their <strong>in</strong>fluence.<br />
Beethoven cared about money as a means of help<strong>in</strong>g others. When approached<br />
by a friend <strong>in</strong> need, he sometimes composed for money: "I have only to sit<br />
down at my desk and <strong>in</strong> a short time help for him is forthcom<strong>in</strong>g." Money, as<br />
a general medium of exchange, serves many different ends, not just greedy<br />
or materialistic ones.<br />
Fund<strong>in</strong>g artistic materials<br />
Artists who chase profits are not always accumulat<strong>in</strong>g wealth for its own<br />
sake. An artist's <strong>in</strong>come allows him or her to purchase the necessary<br />
materials for artistic creation. Budd<strong>in</strong>g sculptors must pay for bronze,<br />
alum<strong>in</strong>um, and stone. Writers wish to travel for ideas and background, and<br />
musicians need studio time. J.S. Bach used his outside <strong>in</strong>come, obta<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
from play<strong>in</strong>g at wedd<strong>in</strong>gs and funerals, to buy himself out of his commitment<br />
to teach Lat<strong>in</strong>, so that he would have more time to compose. Robert Townsend<br />
produced the hit film "Hollywood Shuffle" by sell<strong>in</strong>g the use of his credit<br />
cards to his friends. Money is a means to the ends of creative expression<br />
and artistic communication. Capitalist wealth supports the accouterments of<br />
artistic production. Elizabethan theaters, the venue for Shakespeare's<br />
plays, were run for profit and funded from ticket receipts. For the first<br />
time <strong>in</strong> English history, the theater employed full-time professional<br />
actors, production companies, and playwrights. Build<strong>in</strong>gs were designed<br />
specifically for dramatic productions. Shakespeare, who wrote for money,<br />
earned a good liv<strong>in</strong>g as an actor and playwright. Pianos, viol<strong>in</strong>s,<br />
synthesizers, and mixers have all been fall<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> price, relative to<br />
general <strong>in</strong>flation, s<strong>in</strong>ce their <strong>in</strong>vention. With the advent of the home<br />
camcorder, even rudimentary movie-mak<strong>in</strong>g is now widely available.<br />
Photography blossomed <strong>in</strong> the late n<strong>in</strong>eteenth century with technological<br />
<strong>in</strong>novations. Equipment fell drastically <strong>in</strong> price and develop<strong>in</strong>g pictures<br />
became much easier. Photographers suddenly were able to work with hand<br />
cameras, and no longer needed to process pictures immediately after they<br />
were taken. Photographic equipment no longer weighed fifty to seventy<br />
pounds, and the expense of ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g a travel<strong>in</strong>g darkroom was removed.<br />
Fall<strong>in</strong>g prices for materials paper have made the arts affordable to<br />
millions of enthusiasts and would-be professionals. In previous eras, even<br />
paper was costly, limit<strong>in</strong>g the development of both writ<strong>in</strong>g and draw<strong>in</strong>g<br />
skills to relatively well-off families. V<strong>in</strong>cent van Gogh, an ascetic loner<br />
who ignored public taste, could not have managed his very poor lifestyle at<br />
an earlier time <strong>in</strong> history. His nonconformism was possible because<br />
technological progress had lowered the costs of pa<strong>in</strong>ts and canvas and<br />
enabled him to persist as an artist. Female artists, like Berthe Morisot<br />
and Mary Cassatt, also took advantage of fall<strong>in</strong>g materials costs to move<br />
<strong>in</strong>to the market. In the late n<strong>in</strong>eteenth century women suddenly could pa<strong>in</strong>t<br />
<strong>in</strong> their spare time without hav<strong>in</strong>g to spend exorbitant sums on materials.<br />
Artistic willpower became more important than external f<strong>in</strong>ancial support.<br />
This shift gave victims of discrim<strong>in</strong>ation greater access to the art world.<br />
The presence of women <strong>in</strong> the visual arts, literature, and music has risen<br />
steadily as capitalism has advanced.<br />
Fall<strong>in</strong>g materials costs help expla<strong>in</strong> why art has been able to move away<br />
from popular taste <strong>in</strong> the twentieth century. In the early history of art,<br />
pa<strong>in</strong>t and materials were very expensive; artists were constra<strong>in</strong>ed by the
need to generate immediate commissions and sales. When these costs fell,<br />
artists aimed more at <strong>in</strong>novation and personal expression, and less at<br />
pleas<strong>in</strong>g buyers and critics. Modern art became possible. The Impressionists<br />
did not require immediate acceptance from the French Salon, and the<br />
Abstract Expressionists could cont<strong>in</strong>ue even when Peggy Guggenheim was their<br />
only buyer.<br />
The artist's own health and well-be<strong>in</strong>g, a form of "human capital," provides<br />
an especially important asset. Modernity has improved the health and<br />
lengthened the lives of artists. John Keats would not have died at age 26<br />
of tuberculosis with access to modern medic<strong>in</strong>e. Paula Modersohn-Becker, one<br />
of the most talented pa<strong>in</strong>ters Germany has produced, died from complications<br />
follow<strong>in</strong>g childbirth, at the age of 31. Mozart, Schubert, Emily Broennte,<br />
and many others who never even made their start also count as medical<br />
tragedies who would have survived <strong>in</strong> the modern era. The ability of a<br />
wealthy society to support life for greater numbers of people, compared to<br />
pre-modern societies, has provided significant stimulus to both the supply<br />
and demand sides of art markets.<br />
Most advances <strong>in</strong> health and life expectancy have come quite recently. In<br />
the United States of 1855, one of the wealthiest and healthiest countries<br />
<strong>in</strong> the world at that time, a newly born male child could expect no more<br />
than 39 years of life. Yet many of the greatest composers, writers, and<br />
pa<strong>in</strong>ters will peak well after their fortieth year. Birth control<br />
technologies, generally available only for the last few decades, have given<br />
female creators greater control over their lives and domestic conditions.<br />
Most of the renowned female pa<strong>in</strong>ters of the past, for various <strong>in</strong>tentional<br />
or accidental reasons, had either few children or no children at all. Child<br />
bear<strong>in</strong>g responsibilities kept most women out of the art world. Today,<br />
budd<strong>in</strong>g female artists can exercise far greater control over whether and<br />
when they wish to have children. The <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g prom<strong>in</strong>ence of women <strong>in</strong><br />
music, literature, and the visual arts provides one of the most compell<strong>in</strong>g<br />
arguments for cultural optimism. For much of human history, at least half<br />
of the human race has been shut out from many prom<strong>in</strong>ent artistic forms, and<br />
women are only beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g to redress the balance.<br />
Do the arts lag <strong>in</strong> productivity?<br />
William Baumol and William Bowen, two economists who have analyzed the<br />
perform<strong>in</strong>g arts, believe that economic growth imposes a "cost disease" on<br />
artistic production. They claim that ris<strong>in</strong>g productivity causes the arts to<br />
<strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> relative cost, as a share of national <strong>in</strong>come. The arts<br />
supposedly do not enjoy the benefits of technical progress to equal degree.<br />
It took forty m<strong>in</strong>utes to produce a Mozart str<strong>in</strong>g quartet <strong>in</strong> 1780, and still<br />
takes forty m<strong>in</strong>utes today. As wages rise <strong>in</strong> the economy, the relative cost<br />
of support<strong>in</strong>g the arts will <strong>in</strong>crease, accord<strong>in</strong>g to this hypothesis.<br />
Contrary to Baumol and Bowen, the evidence presented <strong>in</strong> this book suggests<br />
that the arts benefit greatly from technological progress. The pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g<br />
press, <strong>in</strong>novations <strong>in</strong> paper production, and now the World Wide Web have<br />
<strong>in</strong>creased the availability of the written word. The French Impressionists<br />
drew their new colors from <strong>in</strong>novations <strong>in</strong> the chemical <strong>in</strong>dustry. Record<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and radio, both capital technologies, have improved the productivity of the<br />
symphony orchestra. Symphonic productions now reach millions of listeners<br />
more easily than ever before. These technological improvements are not<br />
once-and-for-all events that only postpone the onset of the cost disease.<br />
Rather, technological progress benefits the arts <strong>in</strong> an ongo<strong>in</strong>g and<br />
cumulative fashion.<br />
The cost disease argument neglects other beneficial aspects of economic<br />
growth. The arts benefit more from technological advances than it may at
first appear. Production of a symphonic concert, for <strong>in</strong>stance, <strong>in</strong>volves<br />
more than sitt<strong>in</strong>g an orchestra <strong>in</strong> a room and hav<strong>in</strong>g them play Shostakovich.<br />
The players must discover each other's existence, ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> their health and<br />
mental composure, arrange transportation for rehearsals and concerts, and<br />
receive quality feedback from critics and teachers. In each of these<br />
regards the modern world vastly surpasses the productivity of earlier<br />
times, largely because of technological advances. Other productivity<br />
advances arise from new ideas. A str<strong>in</strong>g quartet <strong>in</strong> 1800 could play Mozart,<br />
but a str<strong>in</strong>g quartet today can play Brahms, Bartok, Shostakovich, and Jimi<br />
Hendrix as well.<br />
Creativity - a form of human capital - pervades cultural <strong>in</strong>dustries. Most<br />
productivity improvements, whether <strong>in</strong> the arts or not, come from human<br />
creativity, the "perform<strong>in</strong>g art" of the scientist, eng<strong>in</strong>eer, or <strong>in</strong>ventor.<br />
Our enterta<strong>in</strong>ment and leisure <strong>in</strong>dustries have generated productivity<br />
<strong>in</strong>creases that would put many computer companies or eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g firms to<br />
shame.<br />
MECHANISMS IN SUPPORT OF ARTISTIC DIVERSITY<br />
Well-developed markets support cultural diversity. A quick walk through any<br />
compact disc or book superstore belies the view that today's musical and<br />
literary tastes are becom<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly homogeneous. Retail outlets use<br />
product selection and diversity as primary strategies for br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g<br />
consumers through the door. Even items which do not turn a direct profit<br />
will help attract bus<strong>in</strong>ess and store visits, thereby support<strong>in</strong>g the ability<br />
of the bus<strong>in</strong>ess to offer a wide variety of products. The successive<br />
relaxation of external constra<strong>in</strong>ts on <strong>in</strong>ternal creativity tends to give<br />
rise to a wide gamut of emotions and styles. Contemporary culture has<br />
proved itself optimistic, celebratory, and life-affirm<strong>in</strong>g. Buddy Holly, the<br />
skyscraper, Howard Hodgk<strong>in</strong>, and Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the<br />
Third K<strong>in</strong>d show positive cultural forces with great vigor. Hank Williams,<br />
Isaac Bashevis S<strong>in</strong>ger, and Ingmar Bergman's Persona depict a sadder, more<br />
shatter<strong>in</strong>g aesthetic, although not without the possibility of redemption.<br />
And for a dark and ecstatic experience we are drawn to the works of Mark<br />
Rothko. Depravity and excess, exquisitely executed, can be found <strong>in</strong> Robert<br />
Mapplethorpe, the Sex Pistols, and Bertolucci's Last Tango <strong>in</strong> Paris.<br />
The available variety of artistic products should come as no surprise. Adam<br />
Smith emphasized that the division of labor, and thus the degree of<br />
specialization, is limited by the extent of the market. In the case of art,<br />
a large market lowers the costs of creative pursuits and makes market<br />
niches easier to f<strong>in</strong>d. In the contrary case of a s<strong>in</strong>gle patron, the artist<br />
must meet the tastes of that patron or earn no <strong>in</strong>come. Grow<strong>in</strong>g markets <strong>in</strong><br />
music, literature, and the f<strong>in</strong>e arts have moved creators away from<br />
dependence on patronage. A patron, as opposed to a customer, supports an<br />
artist with his or her own money, without necessarily purchas<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
artistic output. Samuel Johnson, writ<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the eighteenth century,<br />
referred to a patron as "a wretch who supports with <strong>in</strong>solence, and is paid<br />
with flattery." Even Johnson, however, did not believe that patrons were<br />
<strong>in</strong>tr<strong>in</strong>sically bad; the problem arises only when artists are completely<br />
dependent upon a s<strong>in</strong>gle patron. Patronage relationships, which today stand<br />
at an all-time high, have become more beneficial to artistic creativity<br />
over time. The size and diversity of modern fund<strong>in</strong>g sources gives artists<br />
barga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g power to create space for their creative freedom. Growth of the<br />
market has liberated artists, not only from the patron, but also from the<br />
potential tyranny of ma<strong>in</strong>stream market taste. Unlike <strong>in</strong> the eighteenth<br />
century, today's books need not top the bestseller list to remunerate their<br />
authors handsomely. Artists who believe that they know better than the
crowd can <strong>in</strong>dulge their own tastes and lead fashion. Today it is easier<br />
than ever before to make a liv<strong>in</strong>g by market<strong>in</strong>g to an artistic niche and<br />
reject<strong>in</strong>g ma<strong>in</strong>stream taste. The wealth and diversity of capitalism have<br />
<strong>in</strong>creased the latitude of artists to educate their critics and audiences.<br />
Start<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the late n<strong>in</strong>eteenth century, many pa<strong>in</strong>ters deliberately refused<br />
to produce works that were easily accessible to viewers. At first Manet,<br />
Monet, and Cezanne shocked the art world with their pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>gs but<br />
eventually they converted it. The f<strong>in</strong>ancial support they received from<br />
their families and customers was crucial to this struggle. The twentieth<br />
century American Pop artists, such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenste<strong>in</strong>, Robert<br />
Rauschenberg, and Jasper Johns, also made <strong>in</strong>itial sacrifices to elevate our<br />
tastes. Today we enjoy their brilliant pictures while tak<strong>in</strong>g the onceshock<strong>in</strong>g<br />
approach for granted.<br />
In the realm of culture, market mechanisms do more than simply give<br />
consumers what they want. Markets give the producer the greatest latitude<br />
to educate his or her audience. Art consists of a cont<strong>in</strong>ual dialogue<br />
between producer and consumer; this dialogue helps both parties decide what<br />
they want. The market <strong>in</strong>centive to conclude a profitable sale<br />
simultaneously provides an <strong>in</strong>centive to engage consumers and producers <strong>in</strong> a<br />
process of want ref<strong>in</strong>ement. Economic growth <strong>in</strong>creases our ability to<br />
develop sophisticated and specialized tastes.<br />
Many commentators, such as Joergen Habermas, see the development of<br />
"critical theory" as vital to the reform of social and <strong>in</strong>dividual wants.<br />
Habermas's critical theorist stands outside the market order and attempts<br />
to deconstruct and dehegemonize the presuppositions upon which modern<br />
society is based. Rational communicative discourse, and want ref<strong>in</strong>ement,<br />
provides a key to his philosophy. I differ from Habermas <strong>in</strong> terms of how I<br />
conceive the cultural discovery process. Rather than see<strong>in</strong>g communicative<br />
reason as a project which stands outside and evaluates the market, I<br />
conceive of communicative reason with<strong>in</strong> a concrete <strong>in</strong>stitutional framework<br />
with market <strong>in</strong>centives and property rights. Habermas wishes to step outside<br />
of that framework to direct culture from above by reason and clear<br />
communication. I see his "pure speech community" as a Platonic myth, and<br />
<strong>in</strong>stead place greater emphasis on the competition of contrast<strong>in</strong>g notions of<br />
cultural reason with<strong>in</strong> regimes ruled by <strong>in</strong>centives.<br />
Competition and complementarity are forces for <strong>in</strong>novation. Artists offer<br />
new products to <strong>in</strong>crease their <strong>in</strong>come, their fame, and their audience<br />
exposure. They seek to avoid duplicat<strong>in</strong>g older media and styles, which<br />
become played out and filled with previous achievements. Picasso had the<br />
talent to master many styles, but won greater accolades with his<br />
<strong>in</strong>novations than he would have achieved by copy<strong>in</strong>g the French<br />
Impressionists.<br />
Rather than safely perform<strong>in</strong>g Haydn and Beethoven, four young talented<br />
performers decided to become the Kronos Quartet, and to perform music by<br />
Glass, Riley, and African music. As a leader <strong>in</strong> a new l<strong>in</strong>e of production,<br />
the quartet has earned especially high profits. The Arditti Quartet has not<br />
earned the profits of Kronos, but nonetheless has staked out its position<br />
as preem<strong>in</strong>ent str<strong>in</strong>g quartet for contemporary chamber music. Innovation<br />
enables artists to overcome their fear of be<strong>in</strong>g compared to previous<br />
giants. A century of German and Austrian musicians - Schumann, Schubert,<br />
Brahms, and Bruckner - dreaded comparison with Beethoven and pursued new<br />
directions. Brahms avoided compos<strong>in</strong>g symphonies for many years, <strong>in</strong>stead<br />
writ<strong>in</strong>g songs and vocal ensembles. These works surpassed Beethoven's vocal<br />
music. Later Brahms turned to symphonies when his skills were up to the<br />
task. Brahms had once written: "You don't know what it is like always to<br />
hear that giant march<strong>in</strong>g along beh<strong>in</strong>d me." Beethoven refused to hear the
operas of Mozart for this reason, but even Beethoven could not escape be<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong>timidated by his own achievements. Rather than f<strong>in</strong>ish<strong>in</strong>g a tenth<br />
symphony, which might have paled <strong>in</strong> comparison to his n<strong>in</strong>th, he wrote his<br />
<strong>in</strong>novative late str<strong>in</strong>g quartets.<br />
Walter Jackson Bate co<strong>in</strong>ed the phrase The Burden of the Past. Harold Bloom<br />
produced a theory of poetry based on The Anxiety of Influence. In another<br />
book, A Map of Misread<strong>in</strong>g, Bloom suggests another response to the past -<br />
deliberate misunderstand<strong>in</strong>g of previous contributions. These tactics allow<br />
artists to overcome the quantity and quality of accumulated past<br />
masterworks. Creators sometimes respond to past masterworks with emulation<br />
rather than with product differentiation. The Impressionist pa<strong>in</strong>ters saw<br />
many of their <strong>in</strong>novations with sharp colors, flatness of field, and<br />
verticality of perspective <strong>in</strong> Japanese woodblock pr<strong>in</strong>ts. They responded by<br />
collect<strong>in</strong>g and promot<strong>in</strong>g such pr<strong>in</strong>ts; Mary Cassatt even copied the style<br />
literally. Similarly, the Roll<strong>in</strong>g Stones were encouraged by the possibility<br />
of follow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the footsteps of Muddy Waters, not scared off. Raphael<br />
favored the preservation of antiquities to "keep alive the examples of the<br />
ancients so as to equal and surpass them."<br />
Many of the newest cultural permutations emulate the very old and the<br />
sometimes forgotten. Tribal or "primitive" modes of art have exercised a<br />
strong <strong>in</strong>fluence throughout our century. Picasso took much <strong>in</strong>spiration from<br />
African masks, Brancusi and Modigliani drew upon Cycladic art, the<br />
Surrealists looked to the South Pacific, and Art Deco was <strong>in</strong>fluenced by the<br />
Mayan Temple. Both rock-and-rollers and contemporary "classical" composers<br />
explore orig<strong>in</strong>ally African rhythmic traditions.<br />
Critics often write premature obituaries for chang<strong>in</strong>g styles and genres.<br />
The writ<strong>in</strong>g of epic poetry has not ceased but lives on <strong>in</strong> the works of<br />
Derek Walcott, who emulates Homer. Body Heat and Paul Verhoeven's Basic<br />
Inst<strong>in</strong>ct follow the film noir tradition of the 1940s or 1950s. Many of the<br />
most popular bands of the last several years - like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and<br />
Smash<strong>in</strong>g Pumpk<strong>in</strong>s - have created a deliberately retrograde sound,<br />
hearken<strong>in</strong>g back to the 1970s. In classical music, Arvo P_„_rt resurrects<br />
the medieval tradition and <strong>in</strong> jazz George Gruntz has revitalized the big<br />
band.<br />
The pastiche orientation of today's so-called "postmodern" style responds<br />
to two market <strong>in</strong>centives. First, an <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g number of past styles<br />
accumulate over time. It becomes harder to create works that do not refer<br />
to past styles <strong>in</strong> some fashion. Second, both creators and audiences come to<br />
know more past styles over time, due to the success of markets <strong>in</strong><br />
preserv<strong>in</strong>g and dissem<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g cultural creations. Performers f<strong>in</strong>d themselves<br />
<strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly able to establish rapport with their audiences by referr<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
past works. Warhol could reproduce Chairman Mao, Marilyn Monroe, or the<br />
Mona Lisa <strong>in</strong> silkscreen form, but Leonardo da V<strong>in</strong>ci had a smaller number of<br />
established icons - primarily religious - to draw upon.<br />
Some new artistic developments turn their back on the futuristic and hightech<br />
and embrace earlier, more naturalistic forms of art. Witness the<br />
recent trend of rock stars to go "unplugged" and produce acoustic albums<br />
and concerts. Andy Goldsworthy and Robert Smithson, two contemporary<br />
sculptors, work with objects taken from nature, such as stones, tree<br />
branches, and ice. Artist Cy Twombly uses crayon to great effect. Artists<br />
<strong>in</strong>crease their <strong>in</strong>come and fame by reach<strong>in</strong>g audiences, and they will not<br />
hesitate to cast off electronic gadgetry and draw upon earlier styles to<br />
achieve that end.
Stand<strong>in</strong>g still is one tactic that artists cannot prosper by <strong>in</strong> a dynamic<br />
market economy. Artists stake out niche positions but they are not<br />
protected aga<strong>in</strong>st competition for long. Picasso and Braque <strong>in</strong>troduced<br />
cubism but eventually had to contend with competitors who built on their<br />
work. Decl<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g em<strong>in</strong>ence and profits, comb<strong>in</strong>ed with threaten<strong>in</strong>g<br />
competition, often <strong>in</strong>duce the orig<strong>in</strong>al artist to <strong>in</strong>novate aga<strong>in</strong>.<br />
Strav<strong>in</strong>sky, Picasso, and the Beatles outpaced their competitors, at least<br />
for a while, by undergo<strong>in</strong>g several metamorphoses of style.<br />
Eventually most artists lose the drive or depth to meet challenges and<br />
consequently, they give up their place as <strong>in</strong>dustry leaders. Andy Warhol set<br />
up The Factory and sold studio-made pr<strong>in</strong>ts and silkscreens under his own<br />
name, Maria Callas did not take sufficient care with her voice, and Ross<strong>in</strong>i<br />
ceased compos<strong>in</strong>g operas altogether. E.M. Forster published his last novels<br />
<strong>in</strong> the 1920s, even though he did not die until 1970. "I have noth<strong>in</strong>g more<br />
to say," was his explanation. These artists ceded their places on the<br />
cutt<strong>in</strong>g edge of their respective fields.<br />
New <strong>in</strong>novations do not always eclipse older, more established artistic<br />
forms, but they do <strong>in</strong>evitably change them. Outside competition shakes up<br />
older forms and spurs new <strong>in</strong>genuity. Renaissance sculpture communicated the<br />
idea of depth perspective to pa<strong>in</strong>ters, jazz crept <strong>in</strong>to the rhythms of<br />
classical music, and movies have speeded up the pac<strong>in</strong>g of the best-sell<strong>in</strong>g<br />
novel. Sometimes a new medium pushes other works <strong>in</strong> the opposite direction.<br />
The advent of television prompted film directors to develop the big-screen,<br />
spectacular movie with special effects. Photography created a cheap<br />
substitute for portraiture, which <strong>in</strong>duced pa<strong>in</strong>ters to direct their talents<br />
to more abstract and less realistic themes.<br />
Artistic fertilizations and <strong>in</strong>novations also occur backwards <strong>in</strong> time, as<br />
later works improve the quality of earlier ones by chang<strong>in</strong>g their mean<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Verdi's opera Otello and Orson Welles's film Othello tell us more about<br />
Shakespeare's Othello than does any piece of literary criticism. These<br />
variations on the work, through different media and presentation, enable us<br />
to see Shakespeare's work anew. Verdi's music br<strong>in</strong>gs out the aspect of<br />
terror <strong>in</strong> the text and <strong>in</strong>fluences how we read the play. Subsequent<br />
contributions and adaptations thus make Shakespeare's work richer, just as<br />
Shakespeare's orig<strong>in</strong>al Othello now contributes to the depth of the later<br />
versions. Art Tatum's piano improvisations, Lichtenste<strong>in</strong>'s takeoffs on<br />
French and Abstract Expressionist pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>gs, and Beethoven's Diabelli<br />
Variations all shed light on previous artworks to an especially high<br />
degree. T. S. Eliot, who focused on this mechanism <strong>in</strong> his essay "Tradition<br />
and the Individual Talent," has been prom<strong>in</strong>ent on both sides of such<br />
exchanges.<br />
Art creates an <strong>in</strong>terdependent language whose whole exceeds the sum of the<br />
parts. Masterpieces therefore provide more satisfaction and <strong>in</strong>sight as we<br />
accumulate artistic experience. Ross<strong>in</strong>i's operas were once viewed as "too<br />
Germanic" and "too <strong>in</strong>tellectual," because he used the orchestra to frame<br />
the melodic l<strong>in</strong>e. The eventual adoption of this practice by opera composers<br />
all over Europe illum<strong>in</strong>ated the universality of Ross<strong>in</strong>i's orig<strong>in</strong>al<br />
conception. Arthur Danto observes that Andy Warhol's Brillo Boxes would not<br />
have qualified as a work of art, had they been created one hundred years<br />
ago. Not only would these works have passed unappreciated, but they would<br />
not provide compell<strong>in</strong>g images outside of a modern commercial context.<br />
The importance of context and the possibility of ex-post<br />
"re<strong>in</strong>terpretations" make the best artworks truly <strong>in</strong>exhaustible. The more<br />
music we know, the more we can hear <strong>in</strong> the compositions of Bach and<br />
Beethoven. The very best creators manage to anticipate the future<br />
development of their genre and to produce works that will subsequently
exhibit an ever greater richness. In these cases both the consumption and<br />
production of art are subject to <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g returns to scale. The more<br />
notable works that are produced, the greater the significance of the best<br />
works from the past. The present therefore deserves at least partial credit<br />
for our understand<strong>in</strong>g of the past. Ironically, if modern culture were so<br />
poor, it would not be able to produce so many cultural pessimists with such<br />
a f<strong>in</strong>e appreciation of past masterworks. Successive creations <strong>in</strong>crease the<br />
potency of some works but devalue others. We now f<strong>in</strong>d Richardson's Pamela<br />
to be implausible and chauv<strong>in</strong>ist; the hero<strong>in</strong>e submits to a forced marriage<br />
to an unsavory character and eventually grows to enjoy it. Contemporary<br />
audiences might best enjoy James Dean's Rebel Without a Cause as un<strong>in</strong>tended<br />
farce, rather than as a rous<strong>in</strong>g story of an angry young man. Markets have<br />
preserved the physical substance of these works but have devalued their<br />
orig<strong>in</strong>al force and mean<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Cultural critics and commentators contribute powerfully to the vitality of<br />
market art. Critics put artistic consumers <strong>in</strong> touch with artistic<br />
producers, and help us separate the wheat from the chaff. They support the<br />
process of taste ref<strong>in</strong>ement. Listeners who take a sudden <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong><br />
classical music do not have to sort through the entire eighteenth century<br />
repertoire, but can listen to Mozart and Haydn. Clement Rosenberg and<br />
Harold Greenberg helped the American Abstract Expressionist pa<strong>in</strong>ters f<strong>in</strong>d a<br />
public audience and w<strong>in</strong> their way <strong>in</strong>to museums. Paul<strong>in</strong>e Kael directs our<br />
attention to the best of recent film. I hope my own commentary - <strong>in</strong> the<br />
form of this book - boosts the <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> contemporary art and music.<br />
These forms of professional cultural criticism, all relatively new<br />
professions, owe their thanks to capitalist wealth. The modern world can<br />
support many thousands of <strong>in</strong>tellectuals who specialize <strong>in</strong> argu<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
merits of artistic products.<br />
Outsiders as <strong>in</strong>novators<br />
Outsiders and marg<strong>in</strong>alized m<strong>in</strong>orities often drive artistic <strong>in</strong>novation. Much<br />
of the dynamic element <strong>in</strong> American culture, for <strong>in</strong>stance, has been due to<br />
blacks, Jews, and gays, as Camille Paglia has noted. Outsiders have less<br />
stake <strong>in</strong> the status quo and are more will<strong>in</strong>g to take chances. They face<br />
disadvantages when compet<strong>in</strong>g on ma<strong>in</strong>stream turf, but a differentiated<br />
product gives them some chance of obta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g a market foothold. Individuals<br />
who will not otherwise break <strong>in</strong>to the market are more <strong>in</strong>cl<strong>in</strong>ed to take<br />
risks, s<strong>in</strong>ce they have less to lose. Were an all-black orchestra or black<br />
conductor to record the umpteenth version of Mozart's Jupiter symphony, the<br />
racially prejudiced would have no reason to promote or purchase the<br />
product. (Few <strong>in</strong>dividuals know the name or the works of the most critically<br />
renowned black conductor of our century, Dean Dixon.) The cost of <strong>in</strong>dulg<strong>in</strong>g<br />
discrim<strong>in</strong>atory taste is low when the market offers the virtuostic von<br />
Karajan and Boehm, both former Nazi supporters. But when black performers<br />
played "Take the A Tra<strong>in</strong>" or "Maybellene," even many racists were impelled<br />
to support the outsider with their dollars.<br />
The most <strong>in</strong>fluential African-American contributions have not come <strong>in</strong> the<br />
most established cultural forms, such as letters, landscape pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>gs, and<br />
theater. Instead, America's black m<strong>in</strong>ority has dom<strong>in</strong>ated new cultural areas<br />
- jazz, rhythm and blues, breakdanc<strong>in</strong>g, and rap. M<strong>in</strong>ority <strong>in</strong>novators br<strong>in</strong>g<br />
novel <strong>in</strong>sights to cultural productions. Their atypical background provides<br />
ideas and aesthetics that the ma<strong>in</strong>stream does not have and, <strong>in</strong>itially,<br />
cannot comprehend. M<strong>in</strong>orities also must rationalize their outsider status.<br />
They deconstruct their detractors, reexam<strong>in</strong>e fundamentals, and explore how<br />
th<strong>in</strong>gs might otherwise be. They tend to br<strong>in</strong>g the upstart, parvenu<br />
mentality necessary for <strong>in</strong>novation. Jazz musician Max Roach po<strong>in</strong>ted out:<br />
"Innovation is <strong>in</strong> our blood. We [blacks] are not people who can sit back
and say what happened a hundred years ago was great, because what was<br />
happen<strong>in</strong>g a hundred years ago was shit: slavery. Black people have to keep<br />
mov<strong>in</strong>g."<br />
Capitalism has allowed m<strong>in</strong>ority groups to achieve market access, despite<br />
systematic discrim<strong>in</strong>ation and persecution. Black rhythm and blues<br />
musicians, when they were turned down by the major record companies,<br />
marketed their product through the <strong>in</strong>dependents, such as Chess, Sun, Stax<br />
and Motown. The radio stations that favored T<strong>in</strong> Pan Alley over rhythm and<br />
blues found themselves circumvented by the jukebox and the phonograph.<br />
These decentralized means of product delivery allowed the consumer to<br />
choose what k<strong>in</strong>d of music would be played. The French Impressionist<br />
pa<strong>in</strong>ters, rejected by the government-sponsored academy, f<strong>in</strong>anced and ran<br />
their own exhibitions.<br />
In the process modern art markets were born. Jews were kept out of many<br />
American bus<strong>in</strong>esses early <strong>in</strong> this century, but they developed the movie<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry with their own capital, usually earned through commercial retail<br />
activity. Women cracked the fiction market <strong>in</strong> eighteenth century England<br />
once a wide public readership replaced the system of patronage. Innovators<br />
with a potentially appeal<strong>in</strong>g message usually can f<strong>in</strong>d profit-seek<strong>in</strong>g<br />
distributors who are will<strong>in</strong>g to place money above prejudice or grudges.<br />
Innovations <strong>in</strong> preserv<strong>in</strong>g past culture<br />
The diversity of the contemporary world <strong>in</strong>cludes our unparalleled ability<br />
to preserve and market the cultural contributions of the past. Markets<br />
provide profits to those who successfully preserve and market the cultural<br />
contributions of previous artists. Today's consumers have much better<br />
access to the creations of Mozart than listeners of that time did, even if<br />
we restrict the comparison to Europe. More people saw Wagner's R<strong>in</strong>g cycle<br />
on public television <strong>in</strong> 1990 than had seen it live <strong>in</strong> all R<strong>in</strong>g productions<br />
s<strong>in</strong>ce the premiere <strong>in</strong> 1876. Recorded boxed sets and complete editions of<br />
little-known composers are now common. Once-obscure operas and symphonies<br />
are available <strong>in</strong> profusion.<br />
Compact disc reissues of classic performances have exceeded all<br />
expectations; record companies eagerly reissue obscure record<strong>in</strong>gs that sell<br />
only a few thousand copies. Old movies, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g many silents, can be<br />
rented on video cassette for a pittance. The video laser disc, likely to<br />
fall drastically <strong>in</strong> price, will provide new and better access to movies and<br />
musical performances. Many classic symphonic and <strong>in</strong>strumental performances<br />
have been reissued on compact disc. New and def<strong>in</strong>itive editions of many<br />
literary works, or better translations, are be<strong>in</strong>g published for the first<br />
time. The classics are available <strong>in</strong> cheap paperback. Television, video<br />
stores, and bookstores give modern fans much better access to Shakespeare<br />
than the Elizabethans had.<br />
Even lesser pa<strong>in</strong>ters now have their own one-man shows with published<br />
catalogs full of beautiful color plates. Wealthy American art collectors<br />
have enabled New York's Museum of Modern Art and Metropolitan Museum of Art<br />
to become world leaders <strong>in</strong> preserv<strong>in</strong>g the art of our century and of<br />
centuries past. The Getty and Norton Simon museums <strong>in</strong> California have been<br />
assembled <strong>in</strong> recent times from two large private donations. Even the<br />
government-run National Gallery of Art assembled most of its hold<strong>in</strong>gs from<br />
private collections like those of the Mellon, Kress, Dale, and Widener<br />
families - pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>gs that were headed for museums <strong>in</strong> any case.<br />
Live performance, as a means of preserv<strong>in</strong>g the past, also has flourished.<br />
Today's concertgoers can sample a range of musical periods, <strong>in</strong>struments,<br />
and styles with an ease that previous ages would have envied. While
conductors are master<strong>in</strong>g twentieth century idioms, they are also ref<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />
"orig<strong>in</strong>al performance" presentations of Renaissance, Baroque, and classical<br />
styles. American symphony orchestras <strong>in</strong> Cleveland, Boston, New York,<br />
Philadelphia, and other cities have outpaced many of their European<br />
competitors. From 1965 to 1990 America grew from hav<strong>in</strong>g 58 symphony<br />
orchestras to hav<strong>in</strong>g nearly 300, from 27 opera companies to more than 150,<br />
and from 22 non-profit regional theaters to 500.<br />
Our <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g facility at preservation accelerates the rate<br />
of artistic <strong>in</strong>novation. As extant products are spread and assimilated with<br />
greater ease, newer <strong>in</strong>novations are demanded and thus spurred to arrive<br />
more quickly. Artists can satisfy these demands through their quicker<br />
access to a wide variety of ideas and <strong>in</strong>spirations. Beethoven's late str<strong>in</strong>g<br />
quartets rema<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong>accessible to most listeners for long periods of time,<br />
whereas Bartok's str<strong>in</strong>g quartets received quick fame because of the<br />
Juilliard Quartet record<strong>in</strong>gs. That is one reason why Bartok's <strong>in</strong>novations<br />
were assimilated more rapidly than were Beethoven's. Musicians, critics,<br />
and listeners could hear Bartok's quartets whenever they chose, and they<br />
assimilated the new ideas speedily; Beethoven's contributions took more<br />
time to sort out. New methods of communication and preservation have been<br />
aris<strong>in</strong>g and spread<strong>in</strong>g at an <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g pace. Pr<strong>in</strong>t took at least two<br />
centuries to become a generally used means of stor<strong>in</strong>g and communicat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong>formation. Radio took thirty-five years. C<strong>in</strong>ema and television each took<br />
less than twenty years. The compact disc, the VCR, and now the Internet<br />
have caught on even more quickly. As new media spread with greater<br />
rapidity, so do new artistic products and genres.<br />
Learn<strong>in</strong>g from the past requires preservation and reproduction. Many of the<br />
artistic creations of antiquity, which were not ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> sufficiently<br />
durable form, have been lost to the world forever. The onset of the Dark<br />
Ages caused the market for cultural preservation to dry up; dur<strong>in</strong>g early<br />
medieval times, for <strong>in</strong>stance, many sculptures were worth more for their<br />
bronze, and therefore were melted down and destroyed. The market for<br />
cultural preservation was not fully revived until the spur of Renaissance<br />
wealth supported the markets for old artworks, manuscripts, and artifacts.<br />
Many of the Greek and Roman manuscripts that did survive came to the West<br />
through Islamic civilization, the wealthiest and most market-oriented<br />
region of its day.<br />
Is modernity an age of mass culture?<br />
Many commentators see the modern age as the age of mass culture, where<br />
large numbers of <strong>in</strong>dividuals unth<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>gly consume the same products. But<br />
the mass culture model applies, at most, to the fields of television and<br />
sports. These areas are highly visible and therefore easy to focus on. I<br />
see television and sports are special cases where competitive pressures<br />
have been partially stifled. They do not represent the vanguard or the<br />
high po<strong>in</strong>ts of modern culture.<br />
Post-war American television, by and large, has not provided cultural<br />
riches. Television programs enterta<strong>in</strong> us and present appeal<strong>in</strong>g characters,<br />
but a canonic list of the best television programs would not, <strong>in</strong> this<br />
author's op<strong>in</strong>ion, stand up to a comparable list from music, pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g, or<br />
literature. My personal and purely idiosyncratic nom<strong>in</strong>ations for the best<br />
television products ever - Brita<strong>in</strong>'s Monty Python troupe and Ingmar<br />
Bergman's The Magic Flute - both were produced for government-owned<br />
stations, rather than for the market-based American system. I concur with<br />
Robert Hughes, who notes that several hours of American television provide<br />
the best argument aga<strong>in</strong>st market-supplied culture.
The <strong>in</strong>fluence of the television market also has had some consequences for<br />
other cultural media, such as motion pictures. Today a considerable<br />
percentage of the profits from a movie come from the sale of television<br />
rights. Moviemakers, to some degree, have shifted their attention away from<br />
more specialized moviegoers to the more general television audience.<br />
Television helps fund movies which would otherwise not be made, but it also<br />
exerts a negative <strong>in</strong>fluence on movie quality.<br />
I do not <strong>in</strong>tend the above remarks as an anti-television polemic. Television<br />
- even its lower brow forms - provides a useful medium for present<strong>in</strong>g<br />
social issues and show<strong>in</strong>g audiences by example how people can deal with<br />
their personal problems. The rapid and healthy <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> social and<br />
sexual openness, which blossomed <strong>in</strong> the 1960s and 1970s, is due partly to<br />
television. Television also provides a variety of other non-artistic<br />
services, rang<strong>in</strong>g from news to Sesame Street <strong>in</strong> Spanish to nature<br />
documentaries.<br />
Legal restrictions on cable television are partly to blame for the cultural<br />
shortcom<strong>in</strong>gs of television. For many years the American government gave<br />
monopoly power to the three major networks and certa<strong>in</strong> privileged local<br />
stations. The Federal Communications Commission also holds the power to<br />
revoke the licenses of stations that do not broadcast <strong>in</strong> the so-called<br />
"public <strong>in</strong>terest." Television has not been able to develop the diversity<br />
necessary to support <strong>in</strong>novative and visionary cultural products.<br />
The quality of television is especially vulnerable to restrictions on<br />
competition because TV programs have no other outlet. Music, <strong>in</strong> contrast,<br />
has been less affected by the limitations of radio. Live performance,<br />
phonographs, and juke boxes have provided alternate market<strong>in</strong>g outlets.<br />
There are also more radio stations than television channels. If mass taste<br />
had controlled other genres as it has controlled television, they too would<br />
fare little or no better. A society with three major outlets for books,<br />
distribut<strong>in</strong>g common products for all who wish to read, would not have<br />
produced Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita or Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis. The<br />
virtues of cultural markets lie not <strong>in</strong> the quality of mass taste but rather<br />
<strong>in</strong> the ability of artists to f<strong>in</strong>d m<strong>in</strong>ority support for their own<br />
conceptions. Even Michael Jackson, an unparalleled cultural phenomenon<br />
whose Thriller album has sold fifty million copies worldwide, has never<br />
commanded the allegiance of most Americans.<br />
With the widespread advent of cable and satellite television, the reign of<br />
mass taste <strong>in</strong> television programm<strong>in</strong>g has begun to decl<strong>in</strong>e. The competitive<br />
rivalry of market forces tends to "de-massify" the media, to borrow a<br />
phrase from Alv<strong>in</strong> Toffler. The television audience is fragment<strong>in</strong>g as<br />
special <strong>in</strong>terest stations proliferate on cable. In the last fifteen years,<br />
the three major networks have lost thirty million viewers - a third of<br />
their audience. Diverse products appeal<strong>in</strong>g to market niches can exploit the<br />
vulnerability of bland products aimed at mass audiences. Cable<br />
subscriptions frequently give <strong>in</strong>dividuals access to 150 stations or more,<br />
and the number is grow<strong>in</strong>g steadily.<br />
It nonetheless rema<strong>in</strong>s an open question how much cultural <strong>in</strong>spiration<br />
television will produce <strong>in</strong> the future. The American experience with cable<br />
television has disappo<strong>in</strong>ted many expectations. Many cable channels focus on<br />
repackag<strong>in</strong>g traditional network programs; we now can view reruns of<br />
situation comedies at all times of the day. Much of cable's diversity has<br />
supported evangelists, Home Shopp<strong>in</strong>g Network, personal advertisements <strong>in</strong><br />
search of romance, ongo<strong>in</strong>g weather reports, airl<strong>in</strong>e schedules, and soap<br />
operas <strong>in</strong> various languages. These products are useful to consumers but<br />
they are unlikely to provide cultural products that will stand the test of<br />
time. Cable channels have produced fewer new programs that many observers
had expected. Even when the number of available channels is large, creators<br />
still must cover their production and market<strong>in</strong>g costs by br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a<br />
sizable audience.<br />
On the brighter side, cable now offers a smorgasbord of the world's<br />
greatest movies, the modern drama of sport<strong>in</strong>g events, MTV, and a smatter<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of the high arts. The Discovery channel provides quasi-cultural services<br />
through photography and portray<strong>in</strong>g the beauties of the natural world. The<br />
educational functions of cable br<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>direct cultural benefits.<br />
Individuals can now take a class <strong>in</strong> Shakespeare without leav<strong>in</strong>g their<br />
liv<strong>in</strong>g rooms, or can use foreign language channels to improve their<br />
l<strong>in</strong>guistic skills, thereby enlarg<strong>in</strong>g their access to the world's cultural<br />
treasures.<br />
It rema<strong>in</strong>s to be seen whether the failures of cable TV will prove temporary<br />
or permanent. The advent of digital compression will br<strong>in</strong>g the number of<br />
cable stations to at least 500 <strong>in</strong> the near future. The future may br<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong>teractive cable systems that will allow each viewer to choose the program<br />
that he or she prefers from a large program menu. It is possible that cable<br />
television, like the pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g press, radio, and the phonograph <strong>in</strong> their<br />
early days, is just beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g to realize its potential. The <strong>in</strong>troduction of<br />
the video cassette and laser disc have expanded view<strong>in</strong>g diversity further.<br />
Viewers can now choose what will appear on their screen, draw<strong>in</strong>g on a wide<br />
range of video stores and tape producers. In addition to movies, these<br />
outlets offer tapes of travel footage, music, dance, pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>gs, opera, and<br />
video art. Today's video stores are treasure chests of modern cultural<br />
achievement, follow<strong>in</strong>g along the l<strong>in</strong>es of the ancient Ptolemiac library <strong>in</strong><br />
Alexandria, but far more successful <strong>in</strong> their preservation and distribution.<br />
Sports rema<strong>in</strong> the primary arena where mass culture will survive <strong>in</strong> the<br />
future. Sports mix enterta<strong>in</strong>ment with live drama and a smatter<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
performance art and dance. Rather than hir<strong>in</strong>g actors and actresses to<br />
pretend that staged events matter, we fund events whose reality does matter<br />
to the participants. Consumers are wealthy enough to create real drama with<br />
fame, money, and ego on the l<strong>in</strong>e. Sports - although they do not qualify as<br />
art <strong>in</strong> the narrow sense - provide a commonly observed stage onto a world of<br />
many diverse and specialized performances.<br />
Sport<strong>in</strong>g leagues are a natural market monopoly rather than a monopoly<br />
created by government. Many sports fans prefer the drama of see<strong>in</strong>g a welldef<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
"best," such as the Super Bowl, or they prefer see<strong>in</strong>g the game that<br />
others are see<strong>in</strong>g. By follow<strong>in</strong>g well-established sports, <strong>in</strong>dividuals have<br />
someth<strong>in</strong>g they can discuss and share with others, even strangers. In both<br />
basketball and football we have seen upstart leagues (the ABA and the AFL)<br />
but the eventual result was consolidation and cooperation.<br />
M<strong>in</strong>or leagues and college teams show that sport<strong>in</strong>g natural monopolies are<br />
far from absolute, but the established major leagues nonetheless possess a<br />
strong <strong>in</strong>cumbency advantage. Yet even the natural monopoly of <strong>in</strong>cumbent<br />
sports leagues has not shut down diversity and <strong>in</strong>novation. Spectators can<br />
watch a greater number of sports than ever before, either <strong>in</strong> live<br />
performance or on cable television. We have round-the-clock coverage of the<br />
Olympics. Soccer and tennis can now be viewed on a regular basis, and<br />
followed on the Internet. Professional NBA basketball had been thought on<br />
the verge of ext<strong>in</strong>ction <strong>in</strong> the 1970s, but today acrobatic moves and slam<br />
dunks are captur<strong>in</strong>g the imag<strong>in</strong>ation of youth around the world.
GOVERNMENT AS CUSTOMER: WHAT ROLE DOES THE STATE PLAY?<br />
Music and the arts have been mov<strong>in</strong>g away from government fund<strong>in</strong>g s<strong>in</strong>ce the<br />
Middle Ages. The Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the n<strong>in</strong>eteenth century<br />
Romantic movement, and twentieth century modernism all brought art further<br />
<strong>in</strong>to the market sphere. Today, most of the important work <strong>in</strong> film, music,<br />
literature, pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g, and sculpture is sold as a commodity. Contemporary<br />
art is capitalist art, and the history of art has been a history of the<br />
struggle to establish markets. These trends will not be reversed <strong>in</strong> any<br />
foreseeable course for the current world, regardless of our op<strong>in</strong>ion of<br />
government fund<strong>in</strong>g for the arts. Most countries <strong>in</strong> the world are not<br />
contemplat<strong>in</strong>g reversions to socialism. The arguments of this book, taken<br />
alone, cannot determ<strong>in</strong>e which side is correct <strong>in</strong> the American political<br />
debates over government fund<strong>in</strong>g of the arts. Rather, I wish to challenge<br />
the common premise of cultural pessimism beh<strong>in</strong>d both sides. Fund<strong>in</strong>g critics<br />
argue that the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is corrupt<strong>in</strong>g American<br />
culture, while fund<strong>in</strong>g advocates claim that elim<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g the NEA would<br />
critically damage American culture. I see American culture, and the culture<br />
of the free world, as fundamentally healthy <strong>in</strong> any case.<br />
The real choice today is between two alternate optimistic visions of our<br />
cultural future. In one vision, government fund<strong>in</strong>g plays a m<strong>in</strong>or but<br />
supportive role by creat<strong>in</strong>g niches for artists who might otherwise fall<br />
between the cracks. Government serves as one of many entrepreneurs <strong>in</strong> the<br />
cultural marketplace.<br />
In the second vision, even small amounts of government fund<strong>in</strong>g will more<br />
likely corrupt the arts than improve them. The costs of politiciz<strong>in</strong>g art<br />
might outweigh the benefits from additional government fund<strong>in</strong>g of art.<br />
Governments, even democratic ones, tend to favor the cultural status quo<br />
that put them <strong>in</strong> power, or to shape a new status quo that will cement their<br />
power.<br />
Contrary to the claim of Alexis de Tocqueville, democracy need not prove an<br />
<strong>in</strong>ferior system for the arts, compared to aristocracy. At most democratic<br />
government might be <strong>in</strong>ferior for the arts, compared to aristocratic<br />
government. Democratic systems as a whole do extraord<strong>in</strong>arily well when they<br />
allow an accompany<strong>in</strong>g capitalistic market to fund most of its artistic<br />
activity. The cultural rise of the American nation, which occurred after<br />
largely after de Tocqueville wrote, provides the strongest argument aga<strong>in</strong>st<br />
his thesis. After the second World War, America has been a clear world<br />
leader <strong>in</strong> film, pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g, and popular music, and has had a strong presence,<br />
arguably second to none, <strong>in</strong> literature, poetry, and music composition.<br />
Among other factors, de Tocqueville overlooked the rise of the steamship,<br />
which brought American <strong>in</strong> closer touch with Europe <strong>in</strong> the late n<strong>in</strong>eteenth<br />
century, and facilitated beneficial cultural exchange.<br />
The state does best <strong>in</strong> promot<strong>in</strong>g the arts when it acts as simply another<br />
customer, patron, or employer, rather than as a bureaucracy with a public<br />
mandate. Direct government fund<strong>in</strong>g works best when it serves as private<br />
fund<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> disguise, such as when Philip IV hired Velazquez to serve as his<br />
court pa<strong>in</strong>ter. In similar fashion, the royal court of Louis XIV supported<br />
Moliere and the German municipalities of Weimar, C_"_then, and Leipzig<br />
hired Johann Sebastian Bach to serve as town musician. We can f<strong>in</strong>d many<br />
cases where monarchs, Popes, municipalities, guilds, and other governmental<br />
or quasi-governmental <strong>in</strong>stitutions commissioned or otherwise supported<br />
notable works.<br />
We should not, however, overestimate the successes of government fund<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
For every Velazquez, governments have supported hundreds of unknown court<br />
pa<strong>in</strong>ters. Autocracy will sometimes place substantial resources <strong>in</strong> the hands
of an artistic superstar, but, more often than not, will promote mediocre<br />
hacks. The purse str<strong>in</strong>gs are <strong>in</strong> the hands of politicians who seek personal<br />
power for themselves, and flattery and obedience from others. For this<br />
reason aristocratic government does not guarantee artistic success, even<br />
though we can po<strong>in</strong>t to some <strong>in</strong>spired aristocratic buyers.<br />
Whether government fund<strong>in</strong>g for the arts should be discont<strong>in</strong>ued, ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>ed,<br />
or extended br<strong>in</strong>gs two sets of <strong>in</strong>commensurable values <strong>in</strong>to conflict. On one<br />
hand, the case aga<strong>in</strong>st fund<strong>in</strong>g makes two valid po<strong>in</strong>ts. First, tax-supported<br />
fund<strong>in</strong>g forces consumers to forgo goods and services which they would<br />
prefer more than art. Second, many <strong>in</strong>dividuals believe it is unjust to<br />
force conservative Christians to support an exhibit of Robert Mapplethorpe,<br />
to draw an example from the U.S. context. On the other hand, fund<strong>in</strong>g<br />
supporters po<strong>in</strong>t out that more money will support more artists, more art,<br />
and, if done with reasonable care, will improve our artistic heritage.<br />
Neither side has succeeded <strong>in</strong> show<strong>in</strong>g that its favored values are more<br />
important than the values favored by the other side.<br />
Public choice theory suggests that government arts fund<strong>in</strong>g cannot be<br />
restructured to avoid this clash of artistic vs. non-artistic values.<br />
Artistic buyers must be liberated from account ability to the masses, if<br />
they are to have a chance of <strong>in</strong>fluenc<strong>in</strong>g the market <strong>in</strong> a positive<br />
direction. Art and democratic politics, although both beneficial<br />
activities, operate on conflict<strong>in</strong>g pr<strong>in</strong>ciples. In the field of art new<br />
masterpieces usually br<strong>in</strong>g aesthetic revolutions, which tend to offend<br />
majority op<strong>in</strong>ion or go over its head. In the field of politics we seek<br />
stability, compromise, and consensus. This same conservatism, so valuable<br />
<strong>in</strong> politics, stifles beauty and <strong>in</strong>novation <strong>in</strong> art.<br />
The current American political debate has confronted the NEA with an<br />
impossible task. The NEA is supposed to deliver the benefits of privileged<br />
spend<strong>in</strong>g while receiv<strong>in</strong>g its fund<strong>in</strong>g from a democratic system based on<br />
political accountability. The result is an agency whose best and most<br />
<strong>in</strong>novative actions - such as fund<strong>in</strong>g exhibits of Robert Mapplethorpe and<br />
Andres Serrano - are precisely those that offend its taxpay<strong>in</strong>g supporters.<br />
Ironically, the massive publicity generated by NEA critics may have done<br />
more for the arts than the NEA itself. Jesse Helms, with his virulent,<br />
prejudiced attacks on Robert Mapplethorpe, did far more for that artist<br />
than the Wash<strong>in</strong>gton arts establishment has. Mapplethorpe's name is now a<br />
household word.<br />
In his lifetime, Mapplethorpe did not need government assistance; he became<br />
a millionaire by sell<strong>in</strong>g his photographs <strong>in</strong> the marketplace. Jesse Helms,<br />
however, did br<strong>in</strong>g Mapplethorpe his current fame. The American government<br />
has done a good deal to support the arts, but most of the successes have<br />
come from outside of the NEA. The entire NEA budget, at its peak, fell well<br />
short of the amount of money required to produce Kev<strong>in</strong> Costner's Waterworld<br />
epic. NEA expenditures have never exceeded seventy cents per capita, and<br />
the NEA has never been vital to American artistic success. Before 1965,<br />
when the NEA was created, American culture - even the preservation of high<br />
culture - flourished. The best American symphony orchestras and museums<br />
were created well before 1965 and without NEA <strong>in</strong>volvement.<br />
The bulk of American governmental support for the arts has come <strong>in</strong> two<br />
other forms. First, the tax deduction for contributions to artistic nonprofits<br />
has greatly benefited museums, opera companies, and other artistic<br />
activities that rely on private donations. Government also exempts not-forprofit<br />
<strong>in</strong>stitutions from <strong>in</strong>come taxation. Tax deductibility allows<br />
government to support the arts without mak<strong>in</strong>g judgments about the relative<br />
artistic merits of different projects. Just as tax deductibility has
succeeded <strong>in</strong> support<strong>in</strong>g American religion or the American hous<strong>in</strong>g market,<br />
so has it improved the quantity and quality of American culture.<br />
Second, federal and state governments provide massive <strong>in</strong>direct support to<br />
the arts through subsidies to higher education. Many of today's cutt<strong>in</strong>gedge<br />
composers and writers rely on university positions for part- or fulltime<br />
support while they pursue their craft. While the number of writers and<br />
composers <strong>in</strong> university jobs may have overly academized American culture,<br />
professorships have been the only available source of support for many of<br />
these creators. Whether American higher educational policies have been a<br />
good th<strong>in</strong>g, all th<strong>in</strong>gs considered, falls outside the scope of this book.<br />
But seen as cultural policy, government subsidies for higher education are<br />
far more significant than the small sums spent by the NEA.<br />
Governments often support creativity most effectively by provid<strong>in</strong>g a large<br />
number of jobs where <strong>in</strong>dividuals are not expected to work very hard. Many<br />
lead<strong>in</strong>g eighteenth century writers, for <strong>in</strong>stance, worked for the government<br />
bureaucracy. These <strong>in</strong>dividuals pursued their creative <strong>in</strong>terests either <strong>in</strong><br />
their spare time or while "on the job." John Gay, Daniel Defoe, and<br />
Jonathan Swift, to name but a few examples, all received substantial <strong>in</strong>come<br />
from government employment. Goethe spent much of his life work<strong>in</strong>g as a<br />
government adm<strong>in</strong>istrator while writ<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> his spare time. The university<br />
has now stepped <strong>in</strong>to the role once provided by the bureaucracy - teach<strong>in</strong>g<br />
posts give talented <strong>in</strong>dividuals f<strong>in</strong>ancial security with a relative m<strong>in</strong>imum<br />
of daily responsibilities.<br />
The fund<strong>in</strong>g model of Western Europe differs from that of the United States.<br />
Germany and France, for <strong>in</strong>stance, deliberately sacrifice contemporary<br />
popular culture to both older, high culture and to the contemporary avantgarde.<br />
These governments restore old cathedrals and subsidize classic opera<br />
and theater, while simultaneously support<strong>in</strong>g the extreme avant-garde, such<br />
as Boulez, Stockhausen, and Beuys. Yet European popular culture, especially<br />
<strong>in</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema and music, is largely moribund and lack<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> creativity. Germany<br />
and France have not escaped the bureaucratization of culture. The French<br />
M<strong>in</strong>istry of Culture,for <strong>in</strong>stance, spends $3 billion a year and employs<br />
12,000 bureaucrats. Yet France has lost her position as a world cultural<br />
leader, and few other countries embrace American popular culture with such<br />
fervor.<br />
Government <strong>in</strong>volvement <strong>in</strong> cultural preservation <strong>in</strong>volves costs beyond the<br />
immediate tax burden - state support makes the arts more bureaucratic and<br />
less dynamic. Government, when it acts as customer on a very large scale,<br />
often pushes out beneficial market <strong>in</strong>fluences. The American market has less<br />
government fund<strong>in</strong>g but receives much more fund<strong>in</strong>g from consumers and<br />
private donors. As <strong>in</strong> the American debate, European arts fund<strong>in</strong>g br<strong>in</strong>gs a<br />
clash of potentially <strong>in</strong>commensurable values and does not admit of<br />
resolution through positive analysis alone. One alternative (m<strong>in</strong>ority)<br />
vision suggests that government fund<strong>in</strong>g can create a useful target for<br />
radical artists. American pa<strong>in</strong>ter John Sloan said "Sure, it would be f<strong>in</strong>e<br />
to have a M<strong>in</strong>istry of the F<strong>in</strong>e Arts <strong>in</strong> this country. Then we'd know where<br />
the enemy is."<br />
HIGH AND LOW CULTURE<br />
Sometimes we dist<strong>in</strong>guish between "high" culture, the items achiev<strong>in</strong>g<br />
greatest critical acclaim, and "low" culture, the most popular cultural<br />
items. Economic <strong>in</strong>centives support this split between high and low culture.<br />
Capitalism supports product diversity and gives many artists the means to<br />
work outside of the popular ma<strong>in</strong>stream. The result<strong>in</strong>g split between high
culture and low culture <strong>in</strong>dicates the sophistication of modernity, not its<br />
corruption or dis<strong>in</strong>tegration. A world where high and low culture were<br />
strongly <strong>in</strong>tegrated would be a world that devoted little effort to<br />
satisfy<strong>in</strong>g m<strong>in</strong>ority tastes. Genres that rely heavily on equipment and<br />
materials, which I describe as capital-<strong>in</strong>tensive, tend to produce popular<br />
art. Genres with low capital costs, which I describe as labor-<strong>in</strong>tensive,<br />
tend to produce high art. The movie spectacular with expensive special<br />
effects is likely to have a happy end<strong>in</strong>g. The low-budget art film, directed<br />
and f<strong>in</strong>anced by an iconoclastic auteur, may leave the viewer search<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Basic f<strong>in</strong>ancial and economic reasons support these tendencies. Ongo<strong>in</strong>g<br />
artistic endeavors must cover their costs - through sale, subsidy, or<br />
donation - if they are to persist. To the extent that costs are high, the<br />
<strong>in</strong>fluence of the funders <strong>in</strong>creases and the artistic freedom of the creators<br />
decreases.<br />
Pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g and poetry, highly labor-<strong>in</strong>tensive solo activities, offer<br />
especially large room for the avant-garde. Creators <strong>in</strong> these areas can<br />
eschew the mass public and pursue creative self-expression without<br />
receiv<strong>in</strong>g compla<strong>in</strong>ts from shareholders. Capital-<strong>in</strong>tensive movies, <strong>in</strong><br />
contrast, reflect middle-class tastes more closely. Most movies must pull<br />
<strong>in</strong> large sums of money to cover their production and distribution costs.<br />
Movie makers are therefore impelled to appeal to a relatively broad<br />
audience.<br />
Hollywood provides an ongo<strong>in</strong>g battleground for oppos<strong>in</strong>g high and low<br />
culture forces, as the differ<strong>in</strong>g goals of the participants build artistic<br />
conflict <strong>in</strong>to the system. Artists are motivated by creative selfexpression,<br />
fame, and money, but owners of capital goods are usually<br />
motivated by profit alone. Consider the film Blade Runner. Actor Harrison<br />
Ford sought fame and stature, director Ridley Scott sought creative selfexpression,<br />
but the shareholders of Warner sought profit alone. Warner<br />
forced Scott to add a happy end<strong>in</strong>g to his masterpiece, even though the<br />
resolution was unconv<strong>in</strong>c<strong>in</strong>g and dim<strong>in</strong>ished the quality of the picture. Only<br />
later, when the movie was reissued (Blade Runner: The Director's Cut), was<br />
Scott able to restore the orig<strong>in</strong>al, and far superior, ambiguous end<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Harrison Ford and Ridley Scott are renowned and worshipped for their talent<br />
but the shareholders of Warner are not. F<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g no other reward, the<br />
shareholders pursue profit maximization and push for mass audience appeal.<br />
High and low culture usually appear to be diverg<strong>in</strong>g. New genres tend to<br />
have <strong>in</strong>itially high capital costs; otherwise they would have been<br />
previously feasible prior to <strong>in</strong>novation. The new art of film appealed to a<br />
broad public with popular themes. At the same time pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g and literature,<br />
with fall<strong>in</strong>g capital costs, moved away from mass taste. Charlie Chapl<strong>in</strong>'s<br />
City Lights and James Joyce's F<strong>in</strong>negans Wake, two versions of the modernist<br />
aesthetic pitched at different audiences, reflect these vary<strong>in</strong>g economic<br />
constra<strong>in</strong>ts. Some parts of capitalist culture move <strong>in</strong> the direction of<br />
popular taste while, at the same time, others become more esoteric.<br />
Fall<strong>in</strong>g costs and grow<strong>in</strong>g demand enabled the movies to grow more rapidly <strong>in</strong><br />
the 1920s than did other cultural media. Popular culture appeared to be<br />
ga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g at the expense of high culture. But <strong>in</strong> fact such growth eventually<br />
transforms popular culture <strong>in</strong>to high culture. As popular culture genres<br />
lower their costs, they achieve the potential for greater diversity and<br />
exoticism.<br />
Art films, documentaries, and avant-garde movies have expanded s<strong>in</strong>ce the<br />
early days of the medium. Artistic genres or sub-genres sometimes will move<br />
back <strong>in</strong> the direction of popular taste and away from the esoteric. Even if<br />
the cost of artistic production is fall<strong>in</strong>g, the costs of distribution may
e ris<strong>in</strong>g, mak<strong>in</strong>g an apparently labor-<strong>in</strong>tensive endeavor <strong>in</strong> fact highly<br />
capital-<strong>in</strong>tensive. Publishers of best- sell<strong>in</strong>g novels, <strong>in</strong> their attempt to<br />
reach larger audiences, spend more on advertis<strong>in</strong>g than ever before.<br />
Publishers need to recoup these expenditures through high sales volume. The<br />
need to hit the bestseller lists helps expla<strong>in</strong> why plot has achieved<br />
greater emphasis over subtlety and elegance of language. Literature as a<br />
whole has become more diverse, and provided greater room for the esoteric,<br />
but media expenditures have caused the bestseller list to emphasize mass<br />
appeal to <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g degree.<br />
The decreas<strong>in</strong>g economic importance of the family has re<strong>in</strong>forced the split<br />
between high and low culture. In previous eras <strong>in</strong>dividuals tended to learn<br />
job skills from older family members. Many of the most renowned creators of<br />
the past - <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g all of the best known classical composers and some of<br />
the lead<strong>in</strong>g pa<strong>in</strong>ters - received extensive familial tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g at very young<br />
ages. These family mentors were often good artists and musicians, but they<br />
tended to lack creativity and hold tastes well with<strong>in</strong> the ma<strong>in</strong>stream. They<br />
taught their sons and daughters to produce accessible creations. Today<br />
<strong>in</strong>creased wealth and division of labor have allowed expert tra<strong>in</strong>ers to<br />
replace family mentor<strong>in</strong>g. Budd<strong>in</strong>g composers now seek to please genre<br />
specialists rather than a general audience.<br />
Increas<strong>in</strong>g ease of reproducibility, a fundamentally healthy market<br />
development, drives a further wedge between high and low culture.<br />
Reproducibility gives critics the option of embrac<strong>in</strong>g relatively unpopular<br />
creations from the past. Eighteenth century musical audiences, for the most<br />
part, knew only the music that they could hear <strong>in</strong> live performance.<br />
Record<strong>in</strong>gs did not exist and the music of earlier composers was difficult<br />
to obta<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> manuscript form. High and low musical culture had to be drawn<br />
from the same limited set of options, <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g the likelihood that they<br />
would co<strong>in</strong>cide.<br />
Today's critical listener can draw his or her high culture from the music<br />
of many centuries. We can applaud the merits of Palestr<strong>in</strong>a and Mahler while<br />
Top 40 plays REM and Madonna. The <strong>in</strong>creased number of past creations and<br />
our superior access to them support a greater diversity of taste. The most<br />
popular music is usually drawn from current styles, whereas the<br />
accumulation of passed time <strong>in</strong>creases the likelihood that critics will<br />
favor works from the past.<br />
High culture, however, has never been a static concept. Reproducibility and<br />
preservation allow today's low culture to evolve <strong>in</strong>to tomorrow's high<br />
culture. Shakespeare, <strong>in</strong> his day, enjoyed great popularity with the masses,<br />
but he had not yet entered a cultural pantheon. Many critics had never seen<br />
the plays, considered him "low brow," or simply ignored his work.<br />
The later growth of a mass market <strong>in</strong> books allowed readers and critics to<br />
study and debate Shakespeare at their leisure. By the eighteenth century<br />
some critics were suggest<strong>in</strong>g that he was one of the greatest Western<br />
writers. Draw<strong>in</strong>g upon accumulated centuries of textual study and exegesis,<br />
Harold Bloom now tells us that "The Western canon *is* Shakespeare..."<br />
By the time a new high culture has evolved through critical debate,<br />
however, popular culture has left it far beh<strong>in</strong>d. Critical op<strong>in</strong>ion changes<br />
slowly, only after much discussion, debate, and soul-search<strong>in</strong>g. The masses,<br />
<strong>in</strong> contrast, often change their fickle tastes overnight. The turnover <strong>in</strong><br />
Top 40 radio far outpaces the turnover <strong>in</strong> the Pengu<strong>in</strong> Guide to classical<br />
music record<strong>in</strong>gs. Many buyers deliberately seek out the new, but many<br />
critics seek to develop evaluations that will stand the test of time.
OUTLINE OF CHAPTERS AND TOPICS<br />
Tak<strong>in</strong>g the cultural pessimists as an <strong>in</strong>tellectual foil, I seek to present a<br />
more persuasive framework for understand<strong>in</strong>g the past, present, and future<br />
of our culture. The next four chapters exam<strong>in</strong>e some aspects of the<br />
evolution of culture, consider the criticisms of the pessimists, and argue<br />
for an optimistic attitude more favorable to a capitalistic market economy.<br />
The topics of the chapters are as follows. The second chapter focuses on<br />
the economics of literary production s<strong>in</strong>ce the Western advent of the<br />
pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g press <strong>in</strong> the fifteenth century. Books are easier to reproduce and<br />
store than most artworks and can therefore reach larger audiences. The<br />
professional author faces a larger middle class market than most<br />
professional artists do; this may prove either a bless<strong>in</strong>g or a curse. I<br />
consider how and when professional authorship became possible, whether fame<br />
<strong>in</strong>centives have misfired <strong>in</strong> literature, and whether today's literary world<br />
is plagued by excessive commercialization.<br />
The third chapter, on the visual arts, provides a selected overview of<br />
Western pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g and sculpture from the Italian Renaissance up through the<br />
present day. Most of the narrative focuses on critical periods <strong>in</strong> art<br />
history, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the Florent<strong>in</strong>e Renaissance, the Dutch Golden Age of the<br />
seventeenth century, the French Impressionists, and the rise of New York as<br />
a world art center <strong>in</strong> this century. For reasons expla<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> that chapter,<br />
the visual arts have been especially dependent upon the rise of<br />
cosmopolitan urban centers, the growth of wealthy merchant classes, and<br />
<strong>in</strong>novations <strong>in</strong> the physical materials of production.<br />
The fourth chapter exam<strong>in</strong>es the role of markets <strong>in</strong> support<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
development of Western music. The chronology stretches from the rise of<br />
Baroque and classical music up through blues, rock and roll, rap, and<br />
contemporary classical composition. Music, at various times, has been<br />
marketed through church sett<strong>in</strong>gs, live concert performance, sheet music,<br />
and record<strong>in</strong>gs and radio. The different methods of sell<strong>in</strong>g musical ideas<br />
help account for the diversity of music and for the especially pronounced<br />
split between high musical culture and low musical culture.<br />
Literature, music, and pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g have developed at different times, <strong>in</strong><br />
different locales, and under different market conditions. Yet these arts<br />
also provide an <strong>in</strong>tegrated picture of the evolution of artistic<br />
achievement. A similar logic of creativity - <strong>in</strong>novators seek<strong>in</strong>g to free<br />
themselves from external constra<strong>in</strong>ts to pursue <strong>in</strong>ternal goals - pervades<br />
artistic work <strong>in</strong> all forms and genres. The diverse paths of the various<br />
arts can be partially accounted for by differences <strong>in</strong> costs of production,<br />
durability, reproducibility, capital-labor ratios, and means of market<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
The fifth and conclud<strong>in</strong>g chapter exam<strong>in</strong>es the sources and motivations<br />
beh<strong>in</strong>d cultural pessimism <strong>in</strong> more detail. Who are the cultural pessimists<br />
and why do they adopt such skeptical attitudes? The pessimists, who also<br />
partake <strong>in</strong> creative activity, are <strong>in</strong>fluenced by <strong>in</strong>ternal and external<br />
artistic forces just as cultural producers are. If we embrace cultural<br />
optimism for the production of art, what hopes ought we hold for the<br />
criticism of art? I treat criticism, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g excessively pessimistic<br />
criticism, as a form of diversity favored by market mechanisms, and as part<br />
of the discovery mechanism which supports cultural ref<strong>in</strong>ement and progress.