survival mode

The Times article about what a new American President might or might not do for the arts (blogged here) drew this immediate response from a Times reader,

Who CARES?...We are in survival mode right now. Anyone concerned with the President's role in the arts has got to be economically unaffected, or someone whose job is 'arts dependent'. If for one moment you think that the Arts are important enough to even be discussed right now, then get real.

But the opposite argument might also apply. Last week the anthropologist Grant McCracken wrote that during an economic downturn consumers move from 'a surging modality' where 'each purchase is an improvement on the last one' to a 'dwelling' one.

Now the consumer is focused on what is good about what one has. The consumer stops anticipating and starts savoring.

The arts offer plenty to savor.