Patronage

Patronage

Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege and often financial aid given by a person or an organization. It can also refer to the right of bestowing offices or church benefices, the business given by a regular customer, and the guardianship of saints.

In some countries the term is often used to describe the corrupt use of state resources to advance the interests of groups, families, ethnicities or races in exchange for electoral support. These patronage systems have different characteristics depending on the area in which they are practiced.

The arts

From the ancient world onward patronage of the arts was important in art history. It is known in greatest detail in reference to pre-modern medieval and Renaissance Europe, though patronage can also be traced in feudal Japan, the traditional Southeast Asian kingdoms, and elsewhere—art patronage tended to arise wherever a royal or imperial system and an aristocracy dominated a society and controlled a significant share of resources. Rulers, nobles, and very wealthy people used patronage of the arts to endorse their political ambitions, social positions, and prestige. That is, patrons operated as sponsors. Some languages still use the term mecenate, derived from the name of Gaius Maecenas, generous friend and adviser to the Roman Emperor Augustus. Some patrons, such as the Medici of Florence, used artistic patronage to “cleanse” wealth that was perceived as ill-gotten through usury. Art patronage was especially important in the creation of religious art. The Roman Catholic Church and later Protestant groups sponsored art and architecture, as seen in churchs, cathedrals, painting, sculpture, and handicrafts.

While sponsorship of artists and the commissioning of artwork is the best-known aspect of the patronage system, other disciplines also benefitted from patronage including those who studied natural philosophy (pre-modern science), musicians, writers, philosophers, alchemists, astrologers, and other scholars. Artists as diverse and important as Chrétien de Troyes, Leonardo de Vinci and Michelangelo, William Shakespeare, and Ben Jonson all sought and enjoyed the support of noble or ecclesiastical patrons.[1][2] Figures as late as Mozart and Beethoven also participated in the system to some degree; it was only with the rise of bourgeois and capitalist social forms in the 19th century that European culture moved away from its patronage system to the more publicly-supported system of museums, theatres, mass audiences and mass consumption that is familiar in the contemporary world.

This kind of system continues across many fields of the arts. Though the nature of the sponsors has changed—from churches to charitable foundations, and from aristocrats to plutocrats—the term patronage has a more neutral connotation than in politics. It may simply refer to direct support (often financial) of an artist, for example by grants.

In the later part of the 20th century the academic sub-discipline of patronage studies began to evolve, in recognition of the important and often neglected role that the phenomenon of patronage had played in the cultural life of previous centuries.

Politics

Political leaders often have at their disposal a great deal of patronage, in the sense that they make decisions on the appointment of officials inside and outside government (for example on quangos). Patronage is therefore a recognized power of the executive branch. In most countries the executive has the right to make many appointments, some of which may be lucrative (see also sinecures). In some democracies, high-level appointments are reviewed or approved by the legislature (as in the advice and consent of the United States Senate); in other countries, such as those using the Westminster system, this is not the case.

In politics, patronage more narrowly defined is the practice by holders of political office of appointing their followers or fellow party members to positions. For example, those could be high-level posts such as ambassadorships, or lower-level civil service posts. Even blue-collar jobs on the government payroll may be sought after. Such overt political patronage is seen as a tool for rewarding and enforcing loyalty; loyalty is the criterion for selecting a person rather than more merit. The selection process may be seen as questionable.

Patronage can consequently be seen as one of the possible major deficiencies of a system of excess bureaucracy, defined as a system with a weak bureaucratic structure, the availability of large public resources to the patron, and that these public resources be easily divisible in order to target specific groups and individuals. Nepotism and cronyism are more specific types of patronage.

Patronage in the United States

In the United States during the Gilded Age, patronage became a central issue.

Republican Senator Roscoe Conkling of New York became a powerful political figure by determining who in the party would be given certain lucrative positions. Conkling and his supporters were known as Stalwarts. The Republican reformers who opposed patronage and advocated a civil service system were known as Mugwumps—their lack of party loyalty seen as having their “mug” on one side of the fence, their “wump” on the other. Between the two were the Halfbreeds, who were less patronage-oriented than the Stalwarts, but not as reform-minded as the Mugwumps.[3]

When James Garfield became president, he appointed Halfbreeds to most offices (despite the appointment of Stalwart Chester A. Arthur to the role of Vice President, which represented a compromise within the Republican Party). This provoked the ire of the Stalwarts. Charles J. Guiteau, a Stalwart, assassinated Garfield in 1881, six months after he became President.
To prevent further political violence and to assuage public outrage, Congress passed the Pendleton Act in 1883, which set up the Civil Service Commission. Henceforth, applicants for most federal government jobs would have to pass an examination. Federal politicians’ influence over bureaucratic appointments waned, and patronage declined as a national political issue.

Patronage reached its pinnacle under the guidance of Postmaster General James Farley during the “New Deal” administration of Franklin Roosevelt, and was considered the driving force behind the administrations social welfare and infrastructure policies, including the expansion of the Postal Department and WPA programs.

Charity

Charitable and other non-profit making organisations often seek an influential figurehead to act as patron. The relationship often does not involve money. As well as conferring credibility, these people can instead use their contacts and charisma to assist the organisation to raise funds or to affect government policy. The British Royal Family are especially prolific in this respect, devoting a large proportion of their time to a wide range of causes.

Commercial

Sometimes consumers support smaller or local businesses or corporations out of loyalty even if other cheaper options exist. Their regular custom is referred to as ‘patronage’.

Sports

In the same manner as commercial patronage, those who attend a sporting event may be referred to as patrons, though the usage in much of the world is now considered archaic — with one notable exception. Those who attend The Masters Tournament, one of the four major championship of professional golf, are still traditionally referred to as “patrons,” largely at the insistence of the Augusta National Golf Club. This insistence is occasionally made fun of by sportswriters and other media. [4] More famously, CBS, which broadcasts the tournament, ran afoul of Augusta National management when Jack Whitaker referred to the patrons as a “mob” during a playoff between Billy Casper and Gene Littler. Augusta co-founder Clifford Roberts had Whitaker banned from commentary duties in following years, though he was restored to work years later to replace another commentator who had fallen ill. [5]

In polo, a “patron” is a person who puts together a team by hiring one or more professionals. The rest of the team may be amateurs, often including the patron himself (or, increasingly, herself). Some patrons are extremely skillful and serious players; others are more lighthearted and in it just for the fun.