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Should the government subsidise the clubbing network?

In Berlin, the city government has created a fund to protect the most emblematic clubs from the crisis.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Opinion in favor of Yes por Mario G. Sinde

Many times we complain that governing bodies are not permissive enough with clubs, that they obligate them to close earlier and earlier, and there are more restrictions. So this news that has arrived from the Eden of clubbing is like a breath of fresh air, but it also makes me envious, since I think we are decades away from something similar happening in other places. Techno, like any other kind of music, is culture; and as such it should be taken care of, pampered. It isn’t right that such emblematic places as the Maria should bite the dust - nor should London’s Tate Modern have to close because of pressure from real estate speculation. So I encourage the city council members of all cities to follow Berlin’s example, so that we can have a richer, healthier culture.

Opinion in favor of No por María-Wendoline Castro

There would have been no debate about this issue had it been proposed five years ago, before the economic recession splattered us all with unemployment and the growing annulment of the postulates that make up the backbone of the welfare state. Any measure that protects culture (and in this specific case, the club scene) is worthy of admiration. We have to tell it like it is. But the way that the economy is in many countries, investing a million euros in saving Berlin’s discotheques right now seems like a truly crazy idea. Although people may drown their sorrows in dancing, what they should do is approve measures that give us all something to eat and facilitate the right to a decent place to live.

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