The basis for the New Norwegian Culture policy (NCC) is discussed in terms of the political attempt to extend the fundamental values of equality and social security into art and cultural life. The NCC is a result of a series of reports presented in the early 1970s which reflected a desire to see a broader welfare policy in Norway. The old form of cultural policy is characterized by a narrow concept of culture, priority given to elite art, a narrow group of consumers of elite art, central administration of cultural resources, cultural policy which reflects the establishment, and stipends and honorary salaries to artists. The new objectives encompass a widened concept of culture, mass consumption of art, culture policy in the form of social reform, and state guaranteed minimum salaries for artists. The perception of the visual artist has changed from a charismatic character to an average worker and from perserverance as an indicator of talent to collective organizing. The consensus is that the new policy reflects equality and social security as fundamental characteristics of Norwegian culture. Opposition within the NCC stems from the difficulty in finding a compromise between centralized power and local autonomy in distribution of resources for artists and art projects, relevance of the egalitarian and social security values to art, and funding priorities. Major grievances among artists include role perception, problems with the organization structure, and allocation of guaranteed income. (Author/KC)