Thank you for this well considered piece. I have been thinking on similar lines, in fact; especially with regards to the destruction of particularity, which seems to be (most certainly is!) a core feature of modernity. As you indicate, the free market is not the problem in itself, but the implicit theory of man as nothing but a bundle of appetites to be manipulated or appeased. Needless to say, this is profoundly reductionist and nihilistic, and surely relates back to the Western world's relegation of God to the realm of merely private sensibility; a mode of being which, besides being utterly depressing, leads ultimately to our cultural, and maybe literal, extinction - what CS Lewis called 'the Abolition of Man'.
At the same time, I do think that the dance between art and commerce - in so far as it is even allowed - can be a creative one. I'm thinking, for example, of the thriving art scene that the thriving commercial scene of The Netherlands formerly enabled. Few would say that the art of this period suffered from an excessive focus on audience taste and preference. On the contrary, it continues to inspire us to this day.
By contrast, the artist that gives no thought to the saleability of his work is apt to fall into the trap of irrelevance and self-obsession, with his work failing to communicate beyond a narrow and narrowing sphere. I do think this is exactly what has happened to the modern art world, in which work that is highly obscure - and often brutish besides - is only allowed to persist due to the vulgar tastes, and corporate sensibilities, of hyper-rich patrons. Whereas public opinion overwhelmingly prefers the artistic outputs of previous centuries, when the patrons had values much closer to their own.
What is different now, of course, is the question of scale that you rightly highlight. Modern 'techique' has many liberating qualities, but it can all too easily become a tool of oppression and even extinction. Unless we learn to contain it, and fast, those nuances and particularities that make life worth living will certainly be drowned in the tsunami of human 'progress'.
Thank you for this well considered piece. I have been thinking on similar lines, in fact; especially with regards to the destruction of particularity, which seems to be (most certainly is!) a core feature of modernity. As you indicate, the free market is not the problem in itself, but the implicit theory of man as nothing but a bundle of appetites to be manipulated or appeased. Needless to say, this is profoundly reductionist and nihilistic, and surely relates back to the Western world's relegation of God to the realm of merely private sensibility; a mode of being which, besides being utterly depressing, leads ultimately to our cultural, and maybe literal, extinction - what CS Lewis called 'the Abolition of Man'.
At the same time, I do think that the dance between art and commerce - in so far as it is even allowed - can be a creative one. I'm thinking, for example, of the thriving art scene that the thriving commercial scene of The Netherlands formerly enabled. Few would say that the art of this period suffered from an excessive focus on audience taste and preference. On the contrary, it continues to inspire us to this day.
By contrast, the artist that gives no thought to the saleability of his work is apt to fall into the trap of irrelevance and self-obsession, with his work failing to communicate beyond a narrow and narrowing sphere. I do think this is exactly what has happened to the modern art world, in which work that is highly obscure - and often brutish besides - is only allowed to persist due to the vulgar tastes, and corporate sensibilities, of hyper-rich patrons. Whereas public opinion overwhelmingly prefers the artistic outputs of previous centuries, when the patrons had values much closer to their own.
What is different now, of course, is the question of scale that you rightly highlight. Modern 'techique' has many liberating qualities, but it can all too easily become a tool of oppression and even extinction. Unless we learn to contain it, and fast, those nuances and particularities that make life worth living will certainly be drowned in the tsunami of human 'progress'.
On the money.