"GOOD" CULTURE AND "BAD" ECONOMY

People professionally involved with culture believe that "the state dedicates too small an amount of GNP to culture and that without more means the country will turn into a cultural desert". Economists, who envisage culture as one of the expenditures and public goods paid for by taxpayers, are mainly of the opinion that "more means designed for culture would destroy economy and, consequently, culture as well". The paper attempts to answer the questions of who is right or wrong, what culture and economy have in common and what the links between them are. The paper does not provide definite answers, but tentative judgements which cannot really be empirically tested. It goes without saying that the state must provide for the spiritual conditions of the society. It is also true that culture is an indicator of the economical efficiency of a particular society. Yet, the issues of the amount of GNP which should go to culture, who should benefit from it and by whom it should be paid, are much more controversial. The importance of public financing is stressed by both the supporters of the idea of dedicating more of GNP to health and sport networks and the army, and the advocates of culture.