Research On American Government Cultural And Arts Funding System(From 1930s To 2020s)

The United States is one of the few cultural superpowers in the world nowadays.Although it has a short history of only over two hundred years,it has created the most influential arts and culture around the world on the basis of a short history and weak cultural resources,and even to be a cultural imperialism country.The American government has played a very important role in promoting the development of arts and culture.As we all know,from its founding until today,America has no official administrative agency in arts and culture,neither the arts and cultural policies or law regulations which can be implemented all over the country.But the American government has made and implemented the cultural strategic aims to establish its position as a cultural superpower.Under the federalism,the United States federal government,state and local governments have the correlative and relatively independent arts and cultural policies,and have formed the arts and cultural funding system with American characteristics.The system is a decentralized,diversified and systematic arts and cultural funding mechanism which is involved by the private sector and its core is guided by the American government.That is also the reason why this paper has taken the American governments as the research object.The system has gradually formed from the 1930’s Roosevelt’s New Deal when the federal government had involved into arts and culture officially.The funding system is unique and complicated,is decentralized and unbalanced.It has enormous strengths and unsurmountable weaknesses.It is the outcome of American history and the interaction among different American cultures and powers.It is also the result of well-planned by the American government.From the government to the non-profit organizations,from the policy-makers to the public,they all seek for a dynamic balance from the coordination.Through the comprehensive and systematic analysis and research,this paper can answer the following questions.What role do the American governments have played in the development process of arts and culture?How are the arts and culture policies of the American government made and implemented?How does the American federal government fund arts and culture?How do the American state and local governments fund arts and culture?Why does the American government fund arts and culture even in a country of "small government and big society"?What are the characteristics and weaknesses of American government funding?The answers and research to these questions are the research contents of this paper.This paper has tried to represent the whole picture of arts and culture funded by the American government objectively and fully from the perspectives of history and reality,through the comparison of theory and practice,by the research approaches of case study,comparison and inter-discipline,etc.,and with a lot of statistical tables and figures.The whole paper mainly consists three parts,that is the introduction,the body part and the conclusion part.The first part is the first three chapters which have focused on the research of how the American governments fund the arts and culture.This part mainly deals with the developing history of American government funding arts and culture,and the funding by the federal,state and local governments.This part consists the following basic viewpoints.Firstly,the arts and culture funding policies of American government can be traced back to the earliest times of the European traditions and the odd funding in the colonial period.Then it was the Roosevelt’s period,and it was a good try and successful model for government funding.The arts and culture funding in the cold war period had set the basis for government direct funding.Secondly,the federal government arts funding is focused on the funding of the National Endowment for the Arts(NEA).NEA has forcefully provided the direct funding for arts and culture to the state and local governments through the partnerships with the state and local governments,and has also guided the funding for state and local agencies.At the same time,funding for arts and culture from other federal government departments has shown the funding decentralization of American governments.Thirdly,as a very important part of American government funding,state and local government funding have reached all the fields of arts and culture and the cities and rural areas around the America.Political parties,economic conditions and ideologies are the main factors which will influence the funding.The second part is about the fourth and fifth chapters.It mainly discusses why the American government funds the arts and culture,dealing with the reasons for funding and the opposition for funding and its influences.This paper consists the following viewpoints in this part.Firstly,American government had involved into arts and culture mainly because of the appeal of parties and politics,and the need to serve national diplomacy and security as the civil ambassador.Secondly,the American government funds arts and culture because of the characteristics of arts and culture as the public goods and special goods,and also the consideration for providing the equal arts and culture participation rights for the public,and especially for the disadvantaged.Thirdly,the special tax policies for arts and culture in America is the indirect way to fund arts and culture by the government which can drive and guide effectively the private sector to fund arts and culture.As a capitalism country with developed market-oriented culture,America government will not deliver the arts and culture funding to the private sector totally.Fourthly,although there are great controversies from the very beginning of funding,American governments are very active in funding arts and culture,and the government funding has been carried on firmly for decades.The third part is the sixth chapter and the conclusion which deals with the advantages and weaknesses of American government arts funding,its effects and the enlightenment to China.This paper consists the following viewpoints in this part.Firstly,America has achieved its arts and culture prosperity and cultural imperialism in a very short time which mainly can be dedicated to the promotion and guidance by the government funding to the whole social funding.The federal government,state and local governments combining the private sector funding from foundations and individuals,have made an effective funding mechanism by the combination of active government and effective market.Secondly,there are still many shortcomings and problems in American government funding for arts and culture which were born with the American system,culture and national conditions and can’t be overcome.Thirdly,American government funding for arts and culture has great significance for enlightening China to build a culture power from a culturally big country.Of course,we must consider the problem of localization and adaptation in China.Chinese government should take more responsibilities in arts and culture funding,should promote the combination of active government and effective market which is a very practical approach for the realization of high-quality development of arts and culture funding.