Art, Education, and the Democratic Commitment

This argument in favour of subsidizing the arts offers a distinctly political rationale for government support: engaging the arts helps develop the intellectual faculties of judgement. By appealing to art’s instrumental ability to educate democratic citizens, the book avoids the most common criticisms of subsidy, namely that it is elitist and paternalistic. For those who oppose subsidy or are undecided, the book maps arts subsidy onto the larger landscape of political liberalism. Yet, while using political liberalism as its point of departure, the book’s positive argument for subsidy draws on numerous philosophical traditions, including continental philosophy and the philosophy of art.