Issue190 [Victors小组]第十六次作业

乳虎UID: 2251211

190"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."

提纲：
1等解决了饥饿，失业等艺术家多半已经饿死了。
2艺术给人类勇气战胜困难。
3艺术有助于提高劳动力的综合素质，进而促进经济发展。

Is it inappropriate for government to support the arts when people in a society are hungry or unemployed or lank the basis skills needed to survive as the statement claims? I do not think so.

It might be tempting to agree with the author upon the basis that it is possible for government to support arts after eliminating hunger, unemployment and training labor force. Admittedly, populace’s need falls in two , one is material necessary for survive such as food, clothes etc, the other is cultural work satisfying spiritual need such as entertainment, aesthetic and so on. Unquestionably society should satisfy the former first, otherwise, people can not survive let alone enjoy entertainment, aesthetic and so forth. However, the author ignores a significant point that artist often are geniuses who have gift in art but can not do well in earning money. Without the support from government, they might become the first to be starved in a society full of hunger and unemployment which is the immeasurable loss to society

However, although it is necessary to satisfy public's need to survive, government can not ignore the importance of arts. Brilliant art works can encourage public to get through difficulty including hunger, unemployment etc. For example, a film entitled" Flow with the Wind", on the background of American civil war, depicts lady with steellike will who beat unnumbered difficulties and succeeded at last. That splendid film encourage the people in difficulty to fight against difficulty. Similarly, Beethoven's immortal symphonies tells the individuals in difficulty that nothing can beat human beings. Art can instill valor to us which will help us get though hunger, unemployment and any difficulty, without which human beings will be trapped in gloom forever. In that sense, even when there are hunger, unemployment and unskilled people, government should support arts.

What's more, the ultimate method to beat hunger, unemployment lies in improving productivity and develop economy. The improvement of productivity and the development of economy both rely on well-round manpower. Well-round manpower not only need skills but also need arts.Arts can improve the taste or interest in art of human beings, and inspire imagination, which is the fountainhead of innovation. Assuming without excellent art work of artists such as Michelangelo Buonarroti's great sculpture, William Shakesphere's plays etc, human being may be as savage as our ancestors in palaeolithic time although we can use computer, nuclear energy and so on. It’s those great artists that help human beings endure, lift our hearts and endow us courage, and honor and hope and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of human being’s history.

To sum up, government should satisfy public's need to survive. However, art is beneficial to help public to get through difficulty and develop economy, so government should strike a sound balance between satisfy public's need to survive and support arts.

[ 本帖最后由 乳虎 于 2007-7-25 21:16 编辑 ]