Cultural or Economic Nation? The Concept of “Cultural Economy” in the Contemporary Germany‘s Political Discourse

Abstract

The conceptualization and dissemination of the concept of “cultural economics” has significantly influenced the idea of culture in Germany. In recent decades, culture is increasingly represented as one of the most important factors of economic development, whereas cultural economy as one of the most significant economic sectors with a large number of employees and impressive revenues. Based on the methodology of historical semantics and historical sociology, the article provides a multifaceted study of the concept of “cultural economics”. The concept has become an indicator and driver of the revision of cultural policy in Germany in recent decades, which has led to significant changes in both institutional design and discourse about culture. The introduction of this concept into the election campaign texts of the largest political parties in Germany entailed a modification of the political discourse about culture. This has led to the fact that sections of election programs dedicated to culture increasingly contain financial, economic and industrial vocabulary. Such changes in the political discourse about culture have led to a new contextualization, resemantization and a change in the relationship between the basic concepts of “cultural nation” and “economic nation” in relation to contemporary Germany.