Peter Harzem wrote:

>A sad truth is that culture needs an organized society for its existence,
>and, even more sadly, bad government is better than no government: We have
>to pay to keep some semblance of social order, which in fact means we have
>to pay to protect ourselves --our lives and values-- from other humans.  No
>one has found a way having such protection other than by paying for police,
>armed forces, etc.  Depressing truth about human nature, I fear.  We make
>the beauty, but we make the ugliness, too.

The marketplace tends to be fluid and especially in this post industrial,
high technology phase.  Any description that is valid today may be made
invalid tomorrow.  New technologies will offer new ways of delivering
services to specialized markets, no matter how small, and especially one
which has a far higher than average per capita income.

There are some constants, which Adam Smith recognized, are inappropriate
to the sole regulation of supply and demand because cost should not be
the primary consideration.  "Should not" reminds us that Smith was a
moral philosopher.  The making and adjudication of laws, guaranteeing
basic health and safety should not be wholly determined by the marketplace,
even if the marketplace could be more efficient.  These are life and death
issues that once taken are irreversible, that is where money damages cannot
compensate.

Classical music, like all the arts and haute cuisine, tend to be enjoyed by
those whose disposable income is higher than average, so it is especially
unfair to redistribute wealth by government.

Since there is no longer a either a ethical or aesthetic consensus in this
country, the bureaucrats will not allocate support to the arts by any other
standard then what happens to be politically correct at the moment.  One of
the consistent arguments of those who want the highest wall of separation
between church and state is that the church is the beneficiary.  Too much
government support for religion will lead the government to water down
religion.  Why don't we have the same fear about government intrusion into
the arts?

Andrew Carlan