In the Face of Austerity: The Puzzle of Museums and Universities

PUBLIC funding of the arts seems unavoidably controversial. There are, obviously, disagreements as to what is of value. But there is also the matter of whether funds could not better meet more basic needs. Often, this line of questioning is also pressed regarding public funding for universities, for example for minority subjects in Arts and Humanities. Critics do not necessarily deny that these are good in themselves, but they consider that there are more crucial necessities to be met. Indeed, there is something intuitive in this line of reasoning. It is tempting to think that the problem of the just society is focused on the question: ‘how should resources be distributed in order appropriately to meet vital needs?’ Yet this is not the only function that we typically suppose the state and other social institutions to fulfil. For we also commonly recognize that they have a central role in providing social goods such as museums, concert halls, or universities. The role of the state in fostering some social goods rather than others, and so favouring some values at the expense of others, raises a number of challenges. Most obviously it conflicts with the simplest (and indeed too simple) conception of neutrality. If societies dedicate resources in ways which favour one kind of