Museums and Social Responsibility – Janes Article post

In MUSEUMS, SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND THE FUTURE WE DESIRE Robert Janes talks about the role of the museum contextualized as part of a larger social and economic ecosystem that is at odds with itself. He posits that the role of the museum in articulating and holding meaning, be it of the world, of culture, or of the nature of existence; is frustrated to differing degrees by a consumption driven capitalist economy. The push for profit, quantifiable results and “eyeballs” has in some ways (as an expression of a capitalist economy) compromised the view of museums as knowledge centers and repositories of information. To move forward responsibly, museums must embrace a core set of values; idealism, intimacy, depth and interconnectedness. These values aid in the creation of authentic and truth supported articulations of social responsibility. They must display not only the collections that represent knowledge accumulation but the quest for knowledge through the exercise of experimentation, openness and a deliberate and purposeful sharing of their mission with other museums and institutions.
At stake is the integrity of the museum as a purpose-driven space and a refuge of truth in all of its forms. While knowledge itself is not immune to bias, the museum strives to present as clear and well-rounded of a picture as is possible. The danger arises as a sense of malaise or cultural ennui seem to pervade human existence. Janes talks at length about the departure of man from nature. As we once derived immense meaning from the natural world, we have lost that meaning the further we depart from that standard. A sense of ambivalence about that same natural world leads to dissonance in the way we think of ourselves and the planet. We lose languages, destroy habitats and cultures, and go so far as to threaten with extinction our cousins on the biological tree of life, the primates. We exist in conflict with our values and principles based on a societally driven impulse to consume. The model of limitless economic growth ends up becoming a source of dissonant thoughts and behaviors as we engage in activities (social and economic) that we know are fundamentally damaging to a planet we are supposed to love. As this model of economic growth is applied to knowledge and museums, it damages the sense of self and understanding of the museum’s mission to accumulate, organize and share knowledge. Capitalism is a little bit of a Ponzi Scheme, he seems to be saying, because unlimited growth results in a society and culture that consumes itself. Apply that idea to the museum model and you end up with an integrally corrupted expression of knowledge that cannot transmit the information it was created to transmit. Museums function as centers of social capital rest at the base of a marketplace economy, not as expressions of it. At least they do in a better and more perfect world. Their value as centers of intellectual and experiential knowledge can too easily be compromised if we impose a consumption-driven model upon them.