Arts, Excellence, and Warranted Self-Respect

Abstract

Funding for the arts is quite frequently commended by certain political philosophers and political pundits (whom I shall call “edificatory perfectionists”) as a policy that can incline people to improve their ways of life by taking advantage of cultural opportunities. By contrast, this article – which is a substantially modified and abridged version of a few sections from Chapter 8 of my 2017 book Liberalism with Excellence -- advocates such funding because it can promote the occurrence of outstanding achievements and thereby help to bring about the conditions under which every citizen can be warranted in feeling a strong sense of self-respect. Such a rationale will be designated here as “aspirational perfectionism.” Naturally, the tenor of aspirational perfectionism would be especially plain in policies that establish competitions and prizes for excellence in the arts. However, for the purpose of sharpening the contrast between aspirational perfectionism and edificatory perfectionism, this article focuses on subventions disbursed by a system of governance to enable the producers or organizers of artistic events to price their tickets at affordable levels. Subsidies so aimed can indeed sensibly figure among the techniques plied by a system of governance in pursuit of the objectives of aspirational perfectionism.