Obama and Bain Capital Critic Question Value of Art History Degrees

President Barack Obama faced criticism after suggesting manufacturing offered better income than art history degrees during a 2014 speech at a GE plant in Wisconsin. His comments echoed similar dismissals by Edward Conard, Mitt Romney's former Bain Capital partner, who in a 2012 New York Times interview used 'art-history majors' as shorthand for educated individuals avoiding high-risk economic roles. Conard's book Unintended Consequences: Why Everything You've Been Told About the Economy Is Wrong argues that reducing taxes, regulations, and charitable donations would spur innovation and wealth creation. He contends current inequality levels remain insufficient, believing greater rewards for capital-risk-taking would lure art history graduates from their intellectual pursuits. Artists, by contrast, leverage various forms of capital to produce innovative work, often with societal benefits and significant personal risk. Unlike art historians who typically enter wage-based positions with limited social mobility, artists maintain potential pathways to upper-class status. Art history majors frequently choose service over self-aggrandizement, dedicating themselves to intellectual cultivation or cultural institutions. The debate centers on whether such service-oriented careers hold value compared to high-reward economic activities.