Rome’s opera house has fired 200 members of its permanent orchestra and chorus. The company has been experiencing financial problems for some time now, it’s acclaimed director Riccardo Muti having quit two weeks ago. (The Guardian)
This strikes a very personal nerve. I am extremely passionate about music (particularly classical music), and have an uncle who is the artistic director of the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, who tells my family of the struggles the Orchestra has with receiving funding from the government.
So here I pose the question of whether the arts should get more government funding.
There are two sides to this:

Pros: The arts contribute to humanity and make society develop intellectually. Without government support, artists and musicians will have to turn to private patrons, which won’t reflect the tastes and opinions of the public, but rather only the wealthy. To look at more reasons governments should fund the arts, see http://stopbcartscuts.wordpress.com/about/ .

Cons: Given the current economic crisis (seen specifically in the Rome opera case – Italy is experiencing the worst economic crisis it’s had in decades) it is understandable that governments want to re-focus funding on areas that they deem more necessary and “basic” than the arts. As well, when the government is involved, censorship is a greater possibility. http://www.economist.com/debate/days/view/875 has some good ideas as to why lack of government funding for the arts might not be such a bad thing.

Works Cited:

“Economist Debates: Arts Funding.” The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 22 Aug. 2012. Web. 05 Oct. 2014.

“Rome Opera Sacks 200 Permanent Members of Orchestra and Chorus.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 3 Oct. 2014. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.

Image: http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/03/rome-opera-house-sacks-members-orchestra-chorus