Post-Communism, the Market and the Arts: First Sociological Assessments

The transition from state-directed to market-oriented economies poses many problems for the artists: the logic of the market favors standardization and mass-production which does not fit for the arts. There is a multitude of styles but no clearcut concept of art in the West which could serve as guide-line. Under the communist rule, some artists almost had a monopoly for political criticism, a function which vanished after the fall of communism. Experts from ten countries (Eastern and Western) are dealing with problems like these and related topics.