Bourdieu's Cultural Capital and the Crisis of Arts Funding

In a blog entry on ArtsJournal, Michael Rushton evaluates Pierre Bourdieu's concepts from his 1979 work, 'Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste,' particularly in relation to cultural policy. He differentiates between Bourdieu's sociological assertion that cultural taste reflects class status and can be converted into capital, and his aesthetic viewpoint that cultural evaluations are simply individual preferences. Rushton contends that the sociological perspective is less applicable for social mobility today. He juxtaposes Bourdieu's aesthetic stance with Kant's 'Critique of Judgement' (1790), arguing that arts councils need to make qualitative assessments for public funding. He also cites his own book, 'The Moral Foundations of Public Funding for the Arts,' and discusses John Ganz's opinions on technology elites, suggesting Bourdieu's ideas might portray high art as a public detriment. Additionally, the post references a Los Angeles Times article about the Dataland Museum of AI Arts.