You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Government investment in the arts, such as music and theatre, is a waste of money. The government must invest this money in public services instead. To what extent do you agree with this statement?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
You should write at least 250 words.
Sample Answer 1:
It is often argued that the government should finance public services instead of spending its budget on arts, music and theatre. Although I agree that the government’s investments in public services play a very important role, I think that proper funding for the arts sector is also crucial for society.
On the one hand, the government should definitely allocate a large part of its budget to public services. This economic sector determines the overall quality of life, ensuring that some basic services, like schools, hospitals and roads, are available to all citizens irrespective of their income or social status. Public services satisfy the primary needs of the society and thus need proper funding, while artists and musicians are not curing diseases or building houses, so their role is secondary. For example, any country can live without music concerts, but the absence of medicine will create significant problems. That is why the government should adequately finance public services in the first place.
On the other hand, arts, music and theatre are not a waste of money, since they are an integral part of society’s cultural and intellectual development and amusement. Firstly, art and music draw people’s attention to diverse phenomena and represent the inward significance of things. Quite often a single drawing, piece or song can exhort myriads of people to reconsider their attitude towards some situations. This way, art serves as a major source of a nation’s personal and intellectual development. Moreover, visiting museums, watching movies and listening to music are common ways of relaxation and entertainment. Thus, the art sector is also important to society and should not be neglected.
To conclude, though I agree that the government should allocate a large part of its budget to such urgent needs of the society like public services, I think that arts, music and theatre should also be financed since they play an important role in people’s development and entertainment.
[Written by – Khasanjon Abduvaliyev]
Sample Answer 2:
In some countries, the higher tax incomes come from arts such as movie industry, music or theatre business. In this regard, arts are beneficial investments for the government. On the other hand, arts, such as music are the food for soul and government should patronise this sector.
Moreover, in big countries like America and United kingdom arts are one of the biggest earning sources for those countries. The fact that, many people want to come to these countries because their arts are famous and the best in the world. Due to the fact movie industries, music or theatre has been encouraged the government for tax. Indeed, it can help the government to invest some money to public services as well. Hence, those countries are famous for music and movies and its imposing in the world and have become destiny for many people around the world for gaining their passion in arts.
Undoubtedly, in the United States of America, we can see that musician, an actor or an actress have higher incomes but they should taxable for the government that is a policy not only in this country but also in some countries that have good arts too. For this reason to develop some areas, for instance, healthcare, public transportation, etc. The government should encourage the artists and arts. Clearly, to give excellent service for American civil society, arts should not be ignored. Furthermore, taxpayers awareness among arts industries are higher and which is rapidly changing the economic growth of America.
Arts are the important media to give profits for the USA whereas in the UK too. Arts represent the identity, uniqueness, heritage and reflection of a nation. In brief, investing in arts is by means a waste of money, rather it is a good investment both for economic growth and cultural enrichment.
[ by – Dessy Itaar ]
Sample Answer 3:
The government spending on arts has long been a contentious issue. Many counter the idea of government incurring expenses to promote arts. However, I feel governments should continue to spend money on arts. This will be argued by analysing how arts can contribute to a country’s economy as well as serve as a platform to achieve one’s goals.
To begin, arts such as music and theatre are steady sources of income for a country. A case in point would be New Zealand, where the government supports new artists by lending them money to kick-start their careers, which in turn enables the state to collect taxes on the revenue earned by these artists. This stream of income would be lost if there’s no spending to foster local artists. Hence it is clear that arts are vital for a country’s economic health rather than being a liability to it.
In addition, having a decent infrastructure for creative industries would mean realisation of dreams of millions who wish to be artists. For instance, in the UK, a person could choose to adopt arts as a career path, enabling him or her to earn a fair livelihood, rather than having to reluctantly pick a profession that he or she does not feel passionate about. A state where the government doesn’t invest in arts would most likely prevent people to go after what they long for, resulting in frustration on the part of people. Therefore arts play an important part in contentedness of the individuals of a nation.
In summary, the government should continue to devote resources to arts since its significance in a country’s tax system and bringing happiness to people should not be underestimated. Henceforth, government’s funding of arts is not a waste of a country’s resources.
[ by – Sameed Qureshi ]
Sample Answer 4:
Some people are convinced that the financial reserve of the government should be allocated to the public sector rather than on arts. However, I strongly believe that arts play a major role in the development of a country.
Primarily, arts symbolise the culture of a nation. In the primitive era, people celebrated their occasion through music and dance. These cultural activities have become a religious ritual for them, thereby representing an aboriginal tradition. It is in the style of an art such as designs of garments and historic rock sculptures that determine the ethnicity of a group. For example, in the Philippines, the Ifugao tribe in Bulacan is well known for wearing a bahag attire, which looks like an old an old-fangled brief. Their cultural identity becomes famous because of their artistic rice terraces.
Furthermore, arts have become the freedom of expression. Some arts enthusiast can demonstrate their feelings through music or paintings. Such activities have a reasonable means of portraying emotions. One example of this is expressing depression through a composition of a melancholic song rather than to venture in a destructive behaviour such as inebriation of alcohol. Thus, art is a good passion that entices the people to do recreational activities.
Finally, it is widely believed that some artistic outputs have contributed to the tourism of a country. There are holidaymakers who visit a country so they can witness a painting, sculptures or any artistic masterpiece. To illustrate, the painting of Juan Luna “ the Spolarium “ in the Philippines has lured a considerable number of foreign visitors. This is because the painting depicts the suffering of most Filipinos at the time of Spaniard regime, which becomes a historical event in the country.
To conclude, I am convinced that arts have a greater contribution to the society. Not only does it represent the cultural heritage of a country, but it also encourages performing a formidable masterpiece that can promote the culture of a country.
[ by – Chino ]
Sample Answer 5:
The art, music and theatre constitute an integral part of the culture of any country. The government often found supporting these by arranging a requisite amount of funds but for some spending on these activities should ideally be utilised for the welfare of the country’s people as it otherwise does not serve any good purpose. I think there is nothing wrong in supporting arts of a country and government is the ideal body who should do this.
With globalisation, often the culture of developing countries transforms to adopt the traits of developed countries. For example traditional street plays in India are things of past and people are more inclined toward watching movies, a culture from the western countries. This poses a threat to the existence of an intrinsic regional culture of a country which actually defines the spirit and uniqueness of the country. So it is the responsibility of the government to support traditional art, music and theatre which tends to carry the cultural heritage of a country.
Every year a lot is spent by the government to promote regional art, music and theatre and this is something which people suggest is a waste of money. Prima facie it is correct, but on the other hand, it helps promote these features of a country which help the government to attract more and more tourists from other country and it also acts as the livelihood of the people who are solely dependent on these skills. For instance, nation foreign exchange has risen 20%, since the last five years, thanks to the increasing promotion by the government.
To summarise, it may involve a huge cost for a nation to support art, music and theatre but it should be seen as an investment for supporting the unique heritage of the country.
[ by – Bhupender Bhakuni ]