Creativity, Government and the Arts

Today’s concept of art is intimately linked with creativity. The type of political system affects creativity: an authoritarian system tends to yield more diversity in quality, but less diversity in the type of art produced. Centralized political systems tend to favour large ‘monuments’. By way of contrast, a federal system increases artists’ freedom by offering multiple sources of support. Government support for the arts crowds out intrinsic motivation and therewith creativity if it is contingent on a particular performance and is simply part of a uniform treatment. It supports creativity if it enlarges artists’ autonomy and participation possibilities.