Three point what? On the dialogue between Culture and Economy

ultura 1.0

For Sacco, the analysis of culture can be seen as made of three stages that succeed each other in time. In pre-industrial societies the predominant model, Culture 1.0, invests the artist or intellectual with symbolic prominence, sponsored by patrons or the church, in short, the holders of resources and power in quite unequal societies. Who enjoyed it? Those same people, the powerful, or the masses, in public ceremonies mediated by religion and power. The proximity of culture dispensed prestige and reputation, but culture was not yet a sector in itself, it lived rather by the discretionary will of the powerful few and the inspired few. Some of the most resilient symbols of cultural production were created this way, and still inspire crowds to tourism and photography today. This vision of cultural production endures, in a broad sense, in our time.

Culture 2.0

In the next phase, which we may call Culture 2.0, the emergence of industry and market societies, in conjunction with the advance of democracy and the modern state, has raised hitherto unimagined resources to the heart of cultural production. Cultural audiences widened, the privileges of the ruling classes were called into question. The generalisation of public education and the new technologies applied to paper, sound, photography and cinema popularised the incarnations of culture, now also as entertainment. Radio and television multiply this proximity to the masses. The purchasing power and leisure time of workers explode an entertainment "industry". While audiences grow, the number of culture producers remains limited by the fixed costs of the new cultural instruments. Culture, now clearly latu sensu, becomes an important part of the economy.

Culture 3.0

Finally, and only in the last decades, Culture 3.0 enters the scene. Technological innovations expand incredibly the possibilities of cultural fruition and creation. Everyone, or almost everyone, can easily transition from consumer to producer, and the notion of authorship, like that of audience, changes dramatically. Culture becomes an everyday element, part of the texture of societies and economies, simultaneously affecting ideas and consumption habits. Many of the new cultural transactions evidence a non-commercial nature, but many resurrect the primordial, symbolic power of the first great cultural exchanges.

What about heritage?

Traditionally clinging to the built, the material and to what the State is interested in preserving and transmitting, the heritage area resists many of the changes that the transition from Culture 1.0 to 3.0 implies. Dialogue with the market and the mundane, accessibility to new audiences and the ability to reflect the rhythmic interrogations of the political are now fundamental to a new appreciation of heritage. An approach that promotes transaction and celebration alongside preservation. Examples of extraordinary innovation abound and cultural heritage management must assume itself as a new tool for dialogue between the valuable vestiges of the past and the wonderful rhythm of the present. Three point what?

This article was prepared with reference to José Tavares (2014), "Culture and Development: A Guide for Decision-Makers", available here.