Keynes’s Grandchildren

Abstract

In this chapter I begin by looking to what John Maynard Keynes, so influential in the arts council movement, in Britain and elsewhere, thought about the role of art, beauty, and contemplation in our lives, and how the state could, to a limited extent, do good by supporting the arts. I draw upon two essays of his, “Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren,” and “My Early Beliefs,” the latter being quite personal regarding the formation of values in his youth that lasted through his life. I then turn to whether there are any lessons to be had from taking together all the various approaches to the arts and the state that have been presented in this book. I come to two conclusions, for neither of which do I claim originality. The first is that the dilemma raised in Chap. 1, between the state following the wishes of the people as expressed either in the market or in stated preferences over public spending, and the state being willing to depart from popular tastes and preferences in order to encourage a deeper engagement with the arts, is inescapable. The second is that one must be wary of the costs of encouraging artists and arts presenters to pursue goals other than their art; funds granted on the basis of how well an arts organization satisfies “instrumental” benefits of the arts will change what arts organizations do, and there are reasons to be cautious.