To some people art is very important, to others it is nothing.
To most, it is nice, but fades besides the everyday problems of
physical survival, housing, food, money, children, etc. As far as I can see, the value boils down to what you think you
are: A meat machine or a spiritual being. For a meat machine,
naturally anything that is not about physical survival is very
secondary. For a spiritual being, who knows what is important?
Basically, that would be up to the individual spiritual being
to decide, wouldn't it? But there appears to be something about art that really means
something to many of us. The fact alone that some people are willing
to spend more money on a single work of art than most people earn
in a lifetime should make you think. It might be wrong or right
or something else, but it definitely shows that something is goin
on there. One pertinent issue is that "art" is defined much more broadly
than most people realize, but that is a seperate chapter. The
fact is it is an observable fact that art makes people happier,
and also that happiness is one of the most important factors in
life, even if you only look at bare survival. Just for instance,
only unhappy people commit suicide, so it should be clear that
being happy is great if you want to live long! Not to mention
that happy people are more productive, and production is basic
for survival. Based on that I feel it pretty clear that art is not a mere "luxury",
but rather a vital ingredient in the lives of the peoples of Earth.
It probably does little good to go into great arguments with those
who believe differently, for this issue, like so many others,
easily borders on beliefs.
The importance of Art