Keynes’s Legacy: an intellectual's influence reflected in arts policy

As Western governments re-examine the economic policies of John Maynard Keynes to solve a global financial crisis believed to be almost as severe as the Great Depression, this article examines his influence on arts policy. The article articulates and examines the central assumptions that underlie the arm's length policy model, such as Keynes's preference for semi-autonomous non-governmental bodies, and locates the sources of those assumptions and ideas in Keynes's social position and political philosophy. Knowing this history enables policymakers and arts administrators to recognize how contemporary policy still reflects this thinking.