Good & Plenty The Creative Successes of American Arts Funding

"Few would deny that America produces and consumes art of a quantity and quality comparable to that of any country. But is this despite or because of America's meager direct funding of the arts relative to European countries? Overturning the conventional wisdom of this question, Cowen argues that American art thrives through an ingenious combination of small direct subsidies and immense indirect subsidies such as copyright law and tax policies that encourage nonprofits and charitable giving. This decentralized and even somewhat accidental - but decidedly not laissez-faire - system results in arts that are arguably more creative, diverse, abundant, and politically unencumbered than that of Europe. Good and Plenty is essential reading for anyone concerned about the arts or their funding."--BOOK JACKET.