Ethics and cultural policy in a global economy / Sarah Owen-Vandersluis

Sarah Owen-Vandersluis critically examines approaches to culture within the global economy. Building on growing debates about ethical theory and International Political Economy, she argues that differing views on the role of government in the cultural sphere must be understood as normative positions, stemming from different perceptions of the role of culture in social relations, the appropriate criteria for 'good' public policy, and the ideal relationship between culture and economics. In this context, she presents the relative validity of the different approaches to culture as a choice between competing values. Building on this argument, Dr Owen-Vandersluis critically examines both the moral bases of welfare economics and the normative foundations of communitarian approaches as a prelude to developing an original ethical approach to cultural. The important theoretical points developed throughout the study are regularly illustrated with references to two case studies: Canada-US trade in periodicals and European cultural policy. (Font: Editor)

Acknowledgements -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Contending Views of Culture and the Good Life -- 3. Welfare Economics and the Moral Relevance of Culture -- 4. The Ethics of Culture and Community -- 5. Towards an Ethics for Cultural Policy -- 6. Social Justice in a Multicultural Context