[NetBehaviour] [spectre] looks like Slovenia might be next

[simon]

respectrespectrespectre...

reading with interest the causes and claims, from Nederlands, to Brasil, 
Slovenia, England, cutting funding for the arts and culture, I would 
like humbly to submit another explanation, other, that is, than economic 
expediency, or ignorance and gross (and net) stupidity on the part of 
policy-makers. The state is scared.

I would suggest that it is the institutional throat that is being cut, 
having seen a similar culling of institutions in NZ: cutting funding 
goes together with removing the autonomy of arts and cultural 
institutions, same as universities - any erstwhile politically 
autonomous institution, and therefore locus of critique. But when I say 
critique, I mean at the level of a power, which is that of institutions, 
of the power.

Where is the undermining of the power actually occurring that 
governments might be frightened? At a wholly other level. Yet the muting 
of institutional critique can be seen as a reaction to certain events, 
the recent financial crisis among them, the ongoing crisis around energy 
consumption/production - and its economics - included. I suggest this 
muting to be in reaction and to entail two actions on the part of states 
and nations: cutting funding to and removing autonomy from educational, 
arts and cultural institutions.

Best,

Simon Taylor

www.squarewhiteworld.com
www.brazilcoffee.co.nz