Cowen's book is one of the few books to
discuss free trade in the context of
cultural goods. easy and fun to read.
No economics background needed.
You will learn a lot about
the history of different cultural goods, including
persian rugs and the successful
movie industry in India (Bollywood).
simply great!

Although this excellent collection was published in 1988, before the term "New Economy" came into currency, it examines ideas very relevant to the role of government during times of technological change. Recent discussions of "market failure" resulting from network effects or "externalities" have been critiqued by others, especially Margolis and Liebowitz. Cowen's collection digs deep into the economic theory of public goods, externalities, and free riding, as well as providing case studies of the successful private provision of supposedly public goods. Essays include Robert Axelrod on "The Problem of Cooperation", and Nobel Prize winner Ronald Coase, with a helpful and substantial overview by Cowen. One point running throughout the essays is that new technologies, given clear property right assigments, can solve public goods problems and that this is typically a better solution than government involvement.

In deftly describing the organic connection between economic well-being and the production of culture, Cowen essentially affirms the need and the justification for being optimistic about our present state of culture, at least as far as creative output is concerned. He argues against and explains the origin of cultural pessimists and their rhetoric, which the author sees as understandable but not necesssarily correct. That is, not as correct as these pessimists would have you believe. The section on the visual arts is particularly rich with historical vignettes of artists and their way of doing business to get the work out and at the same time try to make some money. This book would be particulary good reading for artists -- in whatever medium -- who are often, too often, trained to see their work and that of others as critics would, rather than as artists and creators, who have bills to pay, not just inspiration to concretize. Cowen does a great job of condensing amusing anecdotes culled from dozens of art history books (most of which, let's face it, can be pretty tedious for the most part). Cowen makes a convincing argument that today, as an artist, one can be as esoteric as s/he likes and still find an audience, BECAUSE the economic structure of commercialism is in place to the extent that it is. In citing examples of artists who managed to become millionaires in their time (Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Mozart, Monet, etc), the author argues that being successful does not have to mean "selling out". Of course, in the process, he also implicitly argues against the ingrained prejudice people have against the idea of "selling out". Let the market and humanity's better judgement do their job of sorting it all out in the end : Only the excellent survives, and what is excellent in an artwork operates independently of the magnitude of popularity. Thus, the author lays out his reasons for the need to be more embracing of new genres of art by accepting the possibility that new stuff may one day be "classics", just as much of what we call "classics" today acquired their present status although they did not start out that way when they were born. By profession, the author is an economist, who apparently takes a great interest in the arts, and is concerned enough about seeing them flourish in diversity to say: Thanks to the market driven economy we have in an economic structure (for better or worse) that goes by the name of capitalism, more than ever before, artists can be as good as they wanna be doing their "thang", and still have a shot at being handsomely remunerated. Art is about pleasure, Cowen says. The pleasure of perception, sensation, feeling, provocation, inspiration, ideas, regardless of the kind. Even cultural whiners whine, with learned diction, because it gives them pleasure, much pleasure, to complain about how things are nowadays.

"In Praise of Commercial Culture" is Cowen's attempt to demonstrate that capitalism and economic growth promote, rather than squelch, individual creativity through artistic expression. In it, he provides a detailed history of the origin and development of markets for literature, painting, sculpture, and music. Throughout the book, he focuses on both pecuniary and non-pecuniary incentives that markets create for individuals to challenge prevailing artistic sentiments and express their creative energies in new and unique ways.

He begins his economic analysis of art markets by stating that the creation of wealth enables people to address their aesthetic interests. Specifically, markets enable artists to free themselves from both the desires of wealthy patrons and the need to satisfy mainstream tastes. This enables outsiders who stand to gain little by appealing to mainstream conventions to take risks and establish new cultural ideas. He gives a number of examples of how members of ethnic minorities managed to break color barriers by creating new genres of music.

In the area of books and literature, he asserts that the decentralization of editorial and financial decision-making enabled the number of publishers to skyrocket. He points out that small independent and university publishers can flourish in a commercial society by gathering capital for little-known authors who operate outside of popular spheres. He states that it has become more and more difficult for a small group of authors to dominate the attention of readers. He responds to the accusation that literary diversity diminishes fame-based incentives for authors by explaining that markets tend to increase the quantity of fame available to everyone over time. As a result, the quantity and quality of literature available to the public also increases over time.

Cowen responds to critics from across the political spectrum. He deconstructs arguments brought against capitalistic art by neo-conservatives, religious leaders, neo-Marxists, feminists, multiculturalists, artists, and surprisingly, some libertarians. He explains that members of each group fear culture because it can produce rapid changes in people's worldviews. As unregulated culture cannot be controlled, people who have a vested interest in preserving certain ideas tend to oppose it. Thus, people who work in politics must limit human creativity to stay in power.

Although his defense of government as a limited entrepreneur in the cultural market will rankle some readers, Cowen's account is a lively historical view of how markets reward individual creativity. Like Samuel Johnson, he praises the ability of markets to enable artists to turn their passions into livelihoods. He presents an effective critique of arguments that favor heavy government involvement in the artistic realm. Most importantly, he demonstrates why individuals should look forward to enjoying high quality artwork for years to come.

What is quite extraordinary about Tyler Cowen's book is not his sohphisticated understanding of economics (one expects that), or even his ability to put across difficult problems clearly, but the breadth of his knowledge about art and music. The book is indispensable to anyone who claims an interest in arts policies.

With a simple conceit, the application of microeconomic theory to the culture of celebrity, Cowen generates fresh insight into the rising proliferation of stars and heroes in our world. By erecting an economic platform from which look at the phenomenon, he is able to stand apart from the usual moralizing approach taken by cultural critics. This is not to say he doesn't consider the views of both cultural optimists and pessimists in his discussion. Indeed, he writes a history of cultural pessimists and optimists starting with the Greeks. However,by giving us a new place to stand and a new perspective from which to examine fame and its pursuit, he performs a valuable service.

Cowen's view of 'fame markets' is in his own words 'largely optimistic,' a view based on the notion that 'markets increase the supply of star performances and the supply of fame with remarkable facility.' At the same time he is well aware that fame markets do not necessarily reward the virtuous. In his own words, he notes "modern fame removes the luster from societal role models" and "intense media scrutiny makes almost all individuals look less meritorious." He points out that media seeks profits, promoting images that will attract viewers, not images that "support the dignity of office."

What stands out in this 'economic' view of fame is Cowen's belief that the past efforts of highly visible reformers and moral and religious leaders have borne fruit to the extent that we as a society no longer need them as much as in the past. It is his contention that moral leaders are more spread among us as compared to earlier times when such leaders occupied high stations in the fame pantheon. This lower visibility of moral leaders, he believes, creates the incorrect perception of a society without moral leadership.

A pithy and enjoyable book whose great strength and only failing is its narrowness of focus. The celebrities we choose say something more about us than this relentlessly economic view would suggest.