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Episode details

Radio 4,10 Aug 2012,10 mins

Climate for Culture

A Point of View

Available for over a year

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.

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