Welcome to a new feature on the Floating University blog, FU Asks, where we open up the academic debate on our e-learning platform to the Big Think community. 

This week we're featuring a discussion prompt from Leon Botstein, President of Bard College and conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra:

Market-oriented democracies let competition decide what art gets created and promoted, but this leaves many of the arts underfunded, as they don't appeal to mass audiences. Should the American government step in and launch a robust support of the arts? If so, how could the government go about deciding which projects to fund? And where should these funds come from? 

Here's Botstein offering a tentative framework in which to answer this thorny question, from his Floating University lecture on the arts:

Answer the above prompt and have your response featured on the Floating University e-learning platform!

Visit The Floating University to learn more about our approach to disrupting higher education, or check out Leon Botstein's eSeminar "Art Now: Aesthetics Across Music, Painting, Architecture, Movies, and More."