LNAT Sample Essay - Should the govt prioritise funding for arts over funding for sports. Why or Why

Faced with limited resources, any government is bounded by restrictions for who and what it can fund. The arts and sports, two vitally important disciplines that society’s entertainment and welfare heavily relies on, require such funding. In light of the superior benefits that such a relatable discipline in the arts offer to the masses, I will argue in this essay that the government should prioritise funding for the arts over funding for the sports.

It must first be prefaced that a government’s role is to act according to the best interests of society, maximising welfare as far as possible. As such, the yardstick that will be used in this essay to gauge the favorability of the government’s actions will be the amount of benefit brought to its people.

Some sporting fanatics might argue that as the sports are more profitable than the arts, it is economically more desirable to prioritise funding the sports. This argument bases itself on the impressive viewership of major sporting events, such as the FIFA World Cup that rakes in over 3 billion viewers every single tournament. In many cases, the arts are unable to generate such craze and exhilaration through a sole event and hence fall short in terms of the revenue that it can bring in. As such, it follows that funding sports teams and hosting sporting events would catch the most attention for a country, and can generate handsome profits. It is however quite a red herring that the arts are not profitable, with renowned art pieces such as the Mona Lisa in the Louvre museum constantly acting as tourist attractions. Over time, the revenue that is brought in via such artworks exceeds that of sporting events that are held occasionally. Singapore’s Renaissance Plan best exemplifies this, as the profitable arts scene has flourished ever since billions were injected into popularising arts in Singapore.

The Arts also have an edge over Sports in that it has superior relatability to the masses, hence being more deserved of the government’s funding priority. The wide range of arts from musicals to beautiful paint works connect with the human soul, and is spiritual in its benefits to calm and aesthetically please the human eye. The intangible benefits of art are hence universal. Some argue that the wide array of Sports available globally means that there is always a sport for everyone to follow, but would funding for every single sport in the world ever be plausible for a government? Hence, it is more viable to prioritise funding the arts, which are more relatable to the masses, as opposed to Sports which are more niche and catered to specific groups of society.

Governments should also prioritise funding for the arts over the sports in light of the underconsumption problem that the arts is facing as of status quo. The arts are becoming increasingly unpopular in the modern day, especially amongst youngsters with short attention spans. Traditional artwork is no longer well appreciated by many, and this leads to its lack of consumption. Ask any teenager if he would rather attend a premier league match at the Emirates or take a visit to the art gallery during the weekend, and it is almost with great certainty one would choose the former. The lack of excitement and action in the content of arts renders it ‘boring’ in the eyes of many teens. Hence in light of such concerning underconsumption and under-appreciation of the arts, coupled with the positive externalities brought about by the arts, the government ought to step in. Simple economic theory posits that when a good is underconsumed and the market fails, government funding would then be necessary to solve the issue at hand. Therefore, the government should in fact prioritise funding for the arts over the funding for sports.

In sum, with the arts’ benefits to society outweighing that of the sports, and in light of market failure with arts being under consumed, it stands clear that it is of greater urgency for governments to prioritise funding for the arts rather than sports.

Word Count: 676

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