craftsmen/artisans vs Cheap goods

[Larry124]

William Morris:
If you cannot learn to love real art at least learn to hate sham art.

And also:
No man is good enough to be another's master.

And,
So long as the system of competition in the production and exchange of the means of life goes on, the degradation of the arts will go on; and if that system is to last for ever, then art is doomed, and will surely die; that is to say, civilization will die.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

William Morris:
If you cannot learn to love real art at least learn to hate sham art.

Unfortunately Morris often extended the definition of "sham art" to those items "mass produced"-- as opposed to produced, one at a time, by craftsmen.

And also:
No man is good enough to be another's master.

While at university Morris became a socialist, and flirted with the anarchist movement, before rejecting that theory and embracing communisim.

And,
So long as the system of competition in the production and exchange of the means of life goes on, the degradation of the arts will go on; and if that system is to last for ever, then art is doomed, and will surely die; that is to say, civilization will die.

Morris, who was secure in his upper-middle class upbringing and who was financially comfortable in Victorian England, was friends with both Marx and Engels, as well as the other leading communists of his time. His view on capitalism destroying art, and indeed bringing down civilization, not only parrot Marx, but failed to take into consideration that capitalism is necessary to provide the funding for the arts to flourish. Artists must eat, and factory workers must be paid if they are to purchase a ticket to a concert or wish to buy a print of a painting-- provided of course that they have not been indoctrinated to hate the "sham art" of the print, and would rather stare at the bleak walls of their home, distracted only by Mr. Morris's wall paper.

[DWFII]

William Morris:
So long as the system of competition in the production and exchange of the means of life goes on, the degradation of the arts will go on; and if that system is to last for ever, then art is doomed, and will surely die; that is to say, civilization will die.

I know who William Morris was (at least I think I do), but I didn't know he was so pithy.

I particularly agree with MOR's quote...and this last one. Thinking about it I would have to say that Morris's prediction is already upon us--there is no standard of civilized behaviour that someone, somewhere...and increasingly in high-exposure circles...will not gainsay or deride.

Just as there is no standard of excellence or quality that someone, somewhere, will not gainsay or deride.


Without civilized behaviour, there is no civilization; without a standard of excellence everything is reduced to the mundane and vulgar.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Without civilized behaviour, there is no civilization; without a standard of excellence everything is reduced to the mundane and vulgar.

Precisely. The problem is in deciding who sets the standards, and what those standards are, and what, if any penalty attaches to the breach of those standards.

By my standards a man never wears a hat indoors, unless he is attending a religious observance that requires him to cover his head. He should also stand whenever a woman enters and leaves a room, unless her coming and going is a part of her employment, and he should not answer his cell phone when he is engaged in conversation with others.

The list goes on, but until such time as the penalty for breaching these standards becomes not only enforceable but truly draconian --hand me my Borchardt, Hudson, I see a man at the other table wearing a hat-- civilization will be pulled down by the vulgarians, the gum chewing mouth breathers who feel entitled to do as they please because they don't know any better. Nor do they want to learn.

And, as far as I can see, their passing would only be lamented by the makers and purveyors of the cheap and tawdry...

[DWFII]

Precisely. The problem is in deciding who sets the standards, and what those standards are, and what, if any penalty attaches to the breach of those standards.

By my standards a man never wears a hat indoors, unless he is attending a religious observance that requires him to cover his head. He should also stand whenever a woman enters and leaves a room, unless her coming and going is a part of her employment, and he should not answer his cell phone when he is engaged in conversation with others.

The list goes on, but until such time as the penalty for breaching these standards becomes not only enforceable but truly draconian --hand me my Borchardt, Hudson, I see a man at the other table wearing a hat-- civilization will be pulled down by the vulgarians, the gum chewing mouth breathers who feel entitled to do as they please because they don't know any better. Nor do they want to learn.

And, as far as I can see, their passing would only be lamented by the makers and purveyors of the cheap and tawdry...

MOR,

Spot on, as always. I have a quick and dirty gauge for deciding standards however--I think we let history and tradition set those standards, always with an eye towards the betterment of the individual and the society from which he springs.

Never, ever, let "filthy lucre" and the vulgarians even have a say.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

MOR,

Spot on, as always. I have a quick and dirty gauge for deciding standards however--I think we let history and tradition set those standards, always with an eye towards the betterment of the individual and the society from which he springs.

Never, ever, let "filthy lucre" and the vulgarians even have a say.

Well, of course, I agree. I would view your gauge as timeless and shining, especially when compared to the slimy dipstick wielded by the oafs of instant gratification. The problem is that the Vulgarians have managed to convince the Ignoratti that defining civilized behavior (and thus the concepts of civilization) should be an exercise in populist participatory democracy. In their view the highest expression of a civilized society is the ability to vote for free ice-cream and circuses-- and they do.

We have, perhaps, reached a "Homer Simpson" moment in the development of western civilization.

[Highland Logan]

civilization will be pulled down by the vulgarians, the gum chewing mouth breathers...

We used to call them oxygen thieves!

Frank