Lodewijk Muns

Connection junks 12-5-2012

Though it is against my steppenwolf nature, at last the networking frenzy has taken hold of me. With less than my usual reticence I captured a few connections for my Linked-in page. This at least the new Dutch neo-capitalist culture politics has accomplished: more people are selling themselves with less sense of shame, or less visible manifestation of it.

I still can’t get rid of associations with window prostitution.

But even with my limited commitment to the medium, I already feel the symptom of this new addiction: the restless hunger for updates.

Participation in the so-called ‘social media’ is taking the form of a collective hysteria. This is alarming: 'social media’ is merely a euphemism for a bunch of commercial facilities, created for no other purpose than making money out of your and my personal data.

Linked-in at least is restricted to a professional profile. Facebook is thumbs-down on all accounts: because of its dreadful, uncontrollable layout; its placement of misspelled advertisements of women traffickers on your page; its abuse of ‘friendship’; and its falsification of your ‘likes’ by marking items as ‘liked’ without you ever touching the damned thumb-up.

But maybe the decisive argument against Facebook is that it robs you of the copyright of your materials (as it states in its small print).

Why feed the monster?

Culture killing (2) 6-10-2011

The Dutch government is cutting its culture budget by negating its co-responsibility for a large number of institutions. These same institutions had previously been given national responsibility, and have been doing their jobs for years and decades with government support.

This is not merely an emergency measure, inspired by the financial crisis. It is part of a larger vision – a vision created by the Secretary of State for culture, well known for his proud ignorance of the field he is turning over.

This Secretary of State has decided to take the U.S. as the new ideal. Of course, the booming cultural life among the Burger Kings is the envy of the world. As geographical and political entities both countries are quite similar. That cultural policy itself is part of our cultural tradition we’d better not think about.

This decision to change the cultural landscape for decades to come was not made in parliament. It was debated and voted for in two sessions by a small committee on June 27 and 30. The most scary thing about this operation is the little noise it makes.

Cuts have their own costs, but that's an issue too complex for the axe wielding Secretary of State. The net result is dubious at best, if we count the hours spent in finding solutions for the collections and activities at risk. Hosts of cultural workers have to stop doing what they’re good at and throw themselves into competition, all repeating the same semi-commercial tricks for the same meagre prizes. No doubt 'consultancy' will flourish, and lots of money will be made out of the shady science of how to make money. This is typical of the wastefulness of capitalism.

Patronage (‘mecenate’) is proposed as the future pillar of culture. The phenomenon has arisen and typically flourishes in totalitarian societies, where there is a clustering of financial and political power. It depends on the rich getting richer. This is the course set for the next decades.

Culture killing 11-6-2011

The Dutch government has decided to cut down the cultural infrastructure by one quarter. It thus destroys what has been built up over the years with little money and much labour and love.

This government treats the arts as a luxury consumption good, to be subjected to the whims of the market. At the same time, private spending is reduced by a drastic VAT increase.

Despite repeated assurances that heritage institutions will be spared, the government dismisses its responsibility for musical heritage. Subsidy for the Netherlands Music Institute (my part time employer) will be reduced to nought as of 2013.

Two political parties which carry the word ‘freedom’ in their name interpret this as the freedom of capital to rule the country. That one of the two parties carries no government responsibility, but by the fear it inspires in the centre and moderate right codetermines government policy, is a sign of the poor quality of democracy in the Netherlands.

Lodewijk Muns composer, author, pianist