Paper presented at Second Annual International Conference on Cultural Economics and Planning, sponsored by the Association for Cultural Economics, Mastricht, Holland, May 26-28, 1982.

The author introduces the conflicting perspectives on the increase in cultural participation in North America in the last thirty years. While some claim that the region is experiencing a cultural boom, others state that only a small percentage of the adult population regularly participates in the arts. He traces this discrepancy to shortcomings with the populist perspective and wishful-thinking researchers, who consciously or unconsciously manipulate empirical data.

Paper presented at Second Annual International Conference on Cultural Economics and Planning, sponsored by the Association for Cultural Economics, Mastricht, Holland, May 26-28, 1982.