Today’s engaged artists draw inspiration not from the aesthetic effects of avant-garde art but its social organization. The critical thrust of contemporary socially engaged art is to counter “individualism” with “collectivism”.
Today’s engaged artists draw inspiration not from the aesthetic effects of avant-garde art but its social organization. The critical thrust of contemporary socially engaged art is to counter “individualism” with “collectivism”.
Modern society opened up the prospect of the progressive realization of human capacities, but in capitalism this development reached an impasse, leading to artificial refinement on the one hand, and a “bestial barbarization, a complete, unrefined, abstract simplicity,” on the other (Marx).
Haidt and Peterson argued that the contemporary left forces people into a choice between truth and social justice. They were right, and by framing the issue as a battle between truth and justice, they clarified why so many people feel repulsed by the left: it lies.
The idea was to promote under-represented groups and create a more inclusive community – laudable goals. However, things quickly got out of hand. What began as a praiseworthy attempt to make knitting more inclusive degenerated into an online free-for-all.