Capitalism - The ideological link behind insufficient funding for the arts

The first ideology that influences the funding of the arts is capitalism.  Capitalism as an educational ideology supports the idea that learning is based on becoming self-sufficient with an emphasis on functional literacy and math skills, or simply making the “grade” with “quality work” (personal communication, Arlene Leach-Bizari, September, 2010). Capitalism creates an image of students as cogs in the wheel who will perpetuate the cycle of creating wealth by becoming product oriented individuals (personal communication, Arlene Leach-Bizari, September, 2010). Throughout history the arts have been viewed by many as a “frills or extra” (Gullatt, 2007, p.212).  Inadequate funding causes a devaluation of the arts in education, creating a myth of normalcy and nature in society.  The danger in creating this myth is that the arts are no longer viewed as essential, meaning they are not essential for work, which in turn makes them irrelevant to capitalism, a driving force in the United States.  The importance of the arts has been ignored in schools because it is thought that artists do not contribute to the society in the same way as mathematicians or scientists.  Sometimes, artists struggle to make a living and therefore are not as valued in the society and schools.  The big jobs that the government is promoting are jobs that focus on mathematics and science.  The world is interested in advancing technology but not interested in the creative minds that are needed to develop new inventions.  Contrary to this belief, being able to manipulate and create with technology requires a variety of creative skills.  Without creativity there is no place to go.  One role of the schools is to make students who will be able to go out into the workforce and give back to the society.  Since the jobs that the government wants to fill are math, and science focused these content areas are more focused on and given more funding.  Capitalism influences what students are learning.  The capitalistic perception is, where there is money to be made, there is money to be.  Contrary to this capitalistic belief, the “creative workforce is growing at a rate more than double that for the rest of the nation’s workforce” (Weiss, 2004).