Economically, art has been viewed as a resource, a commodity, a process, a secondary good, a technology, and as capital. The role of art as a producer of and storage for cultural capital has historically been the most important for society as a whole. Today, however, the general stock of cultural capital is declining. Other trends in the current information economy include a greater appreciation for art as a source of innovation than for art products as commodities in themselves; recognition of the ability of art to serve as a source for minority communities seeking a niche in the global economy; and an increase in efforts to quantify cultural capital. The problem of the decline of cultural capital should be a matter of concern to civil society as a whole.
