“As long as people in a society are hungry or out of work or lack the basic skills needed to survive, the use of public resources to support the arts

“As long as people in a society are hungry or out of work or lack the basic skills needed to survive, the use of public resources to support the arts is inappropriate—and, perhaps, even cruel—when one considers all the potential uses of such money.”

The issue of whether public resources should be allocated to support the arts when the people of the society remain in poverty can be a controversial one. On one hand, some say that public resources should first and foremost go to the welfare of the poor. On the other hand, there are those who agree with the idea of using public funds to support the arts, even if the people of the society are hungry or out of work. I disagree with the latter and agree that public resources should first and foremost go into promoting the welfare of the society, of which the reasons I shall analyze below.

There is no denying that the arts provides many benefits to a society. The arts—whether it is music, paintings, or literary works-- plays many roles in enriching a society. It transfers culture and ideas, and reflects the expression of the people of the society at the current time. It can also promote solidarity and provide defining characteristics to communities, such as the hip hop culture of the African Americans. The arts, though an important component of a society, is not necessarily essential to the wellbeing of a society.

If a society is filled with people who are hungry, or unable to find jobs to feed their families, what is the purpose of allocating public resources to support the arts? Drawing from the ideas of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, human beings would first and foremost seek to satisfy their basic physiological needs before satisfying their psychological needs. If a man was starving from hunger, which would he appreciate more: a loaf or bread of a glimpse of the painting of the Mona Lisa? The answer is obvious. Appreciation and growth of the arts come from an environment where people have sufficient resources and therefore have more financial and intellectual space for artistic pursuits. Take for example the emergence of the Renaissance period. The European society has just surfaced from the Dark ages, a period where there was no economic growth, and people were merely at wars fighting for resources. The Renaissance came about when feudalism was replaced with a form of free enterprise, which promoted a better economic environment. It is clear. Without fulfilling basic needs and wants, there will be no room for growth in the arts as for people are just fighting for basic survival.

Also,consider this other important fact: the citizens of a nation is what that makes up a society. If the people are well provided for, it promotes a stable environment, and increases productivity which in turns potentially increase income for the overall society. Therefore the use of public resources to support the arts is inappropriate if the poverty or unemployment level of a society is high. To promote a stable and healthy society, public resources should first and foremost go into public welfare. The money should go into providing education for the society, which provides valuable skill sets for citizens to look for a jobs. Or it could go into promoting local industries, which generates more income for the country and more jobs for the people. A society should be built from bottoms-up; to provide for the people before chasing artistic pursuits. Also, if the arts was given higher emphasis before the well-being of the citizens, it creates resentment within the citizens which can potentially compromise the stability of a society.

For all the reasons I have enumerated above, I would like to reiterate my agreement with the topic statement. As long as people in a society are hungry or out of work or lack the basic skills needed to survive, the use of public resources to support the arts is inappropriate when the money can go to so many other uses. The basic needs of the people should be provided first before there is room for chasing and promoting artistic pursuits.

(45 minutes) :D:D:D:D