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Climate for Culture

John Gray reflects on the climate needed for culture to thrive, identifying totalitarian regimes as the worst enemies of creativity.

John Gray reflects on the climate needed for culture to thrive, recalling Orson Welles' quote from the film "The Third Man" that despotism in Italy produced the Renaissance whereas democracy in Switzerland produced the cuckoo clock."We know that art can flourish under despots but we're reluctant to admit it: if creativity and tyranny can co-exist, the value of freedom seems diminished."
Producer:
Sheila Cook.

Available now

10 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Fri 10 Aug 201220:50
  • Sun 12 Aug 201208:50

Podcast