the idea that something is useless because its not as monetarily or materially productive as this or that career, is in my opinion only, based on ignorance. the produce/consume mentality, in time, will be shown as the bane of our existence. this world needs artists, art historians, museums and the like. there are many reasons, one is that sometimes we need someone from the outside looking in to show us what is right in front of us. i could go on and on.
My opinion might be incorrect, but it isn't incorrect based on ignorance.
I do think that art, history, art history, artists, musicians, museums, etc. are vital. There are two problems, though.
First is that there are many more people who go into those fields than the world wants or needs, as evidenced by their salaries and how many of them never work in the field in which they trained; and a lot of people who go into those fields don't learn this easily researched situation until after they graduate. This is unfortunate, as they end up being unhappy, disillusioned, and not well off financially, and that is no good for anyone.
Second is the idea that, since those things are so important, college students should spend a substantial portion of their time in those courses. But are they more important than additional education in the field that will be your profession? In most cases, no. Also, are they more important than other things that are neglected? For example, the information in Basic Economics, by Sowell (or Economics in One Lesson, by Hazlitt), With the Old Breed, by Sledge, basic finance, basic information on what a corporation is, the history of Rome, the information in How to Win Friends and Influence People, the information in You Can Negotiate Anything, and basic logic are unknown by the vast majority of college graduates. Those items are of vastly more worth to the non-arts graduates and to the nation than having read The Iliad, the Sound and the Fury, the Great Gatsby, a music class, an art class, and a language class.
