Social Impact of the Arts

This book traces an intellectual history of the development of contrasting ideas around the power of the arts to bring about personal and societal change - for the better and for the worse.It taps into current debates in cultural policy concerning the value of art and public funding across a range of Western countries. It presents a survey of thinking on the arts over the past 2,500 years, from Plato to today. It relates contemporary policymaking to a 'history of ideas'. It aims to establish an informed and appropriate conceptual framework for discussing what the social impact of the arts might mean, including an account of suggested 'negative' impacts. It deals with a wide range of complex ideas in a lucid and accessible way.It offers a fascinating account of the value and functions of the arts in society, in both the private sphere of individual emotions and self-development and public sphere of politics and social distinction.