[lbo-talk] Harry Potter, Metritocracy, and Reward

B. docile_body at yahoo.com
Sat Aug 25 17:42:59 PDT 2007


John's observation reminds me of the arguments from the 1990s about anti-depressants. AN argument against anti-depressants went like this: Some folks, like Edgar Allan Poe, NEED to be depressed -- or else they won't give us great works of art!

Really perverse reasoning. It's like the excitement over cataclysm and catastrophe that some leftists share with Christian fundies: maybe it means "the revolution," or "Armageddon," will finally happen.

In other words, "I am owed the misery of others."

-B.

John Thornton wrote:

"The other is the argument that the Netherlands was now only producing mediocre art because the generous Dutch subsidies are too democratic and by making it too easy to become an artist somehow prevent great art from emerging. Total horseshit."



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