Keynes’s legacy: an intellectual’s influence reflected in arts policy

Abstract

As Western governments re‐examine the economic policies of John Maynard Keynes to solve a global financial crisis believed to be almost as severe as the Great Depression, this article examines his influence on arts policy. The article articulates and examines the central assumptions that underlie the arm’s length policy model, such as Keynes’s preference for semi‐autonomous non‐governmental bodies, and locates the sources of those assumptions and ideas in Keynes’s political philosophy and his involvement in higher education. Knowing this history enables policymakers and arts administrators to recognize how contemporary policy still reflects this thinking.

Keywords:

• arm’s length
• arts council
• Keynes

Acknowledgements

My thanks to Dr. Javier Stanziola and Dr. Eleonora Belfiore, who commented on drafts of this article, also to two anonymous reviewers.

Notes

1. Bradley W. Bateman’s essay in The Cambridge Companion to Keynes assesses the varied interpretations and misinterpretations of Keynesian economic theory (2006, pp. 271–290).

2. CEMA (the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts) was the war‐time precursor to the ACGB. Keynes was its last chairman.

3. By ‘patron’ here, I mean the person who attends and participates as a customer, who patronizes the arts.

4. Letter, 23 January 1942, B. Ifor Evans to J.M. Keynes. JMK papers, King’s College Library, Cambridge.

5. Letter, 28 January 1942, J.M. Keynes to B. Ifor Evans. JMK papers, King’s College Library, Cambridge. Unpublished writings of J.M. Keynes copyright The Provost and Scholars of King’s College Cambridge.