You are never more free than your availability to offend other people. Everything else is anti-stoic posturing to retain tangible and social stature.
Adam Curtis on the dangers of self-expression (2017)
121–130 of 188 posts
Re: Adam Curtis on the dangers of self-expression (2017)
#122I follow the contemporary art world pretty closely, and a feeling I often get is that it's merely a giant collection of individuals expressing themselves in a way that fits into the market system of galleries, museums, auctions, etc. There are of course artists focused on political causes, but for the most part it is entirely devoid of any centralized ethos or ideal. While this situation is freeing for the individual…
The “art world” is wildly divorced from the tastes of the majority of people in society - one could uncharitably but not inaccurately characterise the modern art world as a means to arrange for low cost materials to be purchased for vast sums in tax advantageous ways. If we look at an art form where there is a lot of validation by the majority of people, tv and films, we see people “painting the same thing” all the t…
The tastes of the majority of people in society are for things they have already seen. It does not follow that we should only produce things that are similar to what has gone before.
Re: Adam Curtis on the dangers of self-expression (2017)
#123Re: Adam Curtis on the dangers of self-expression (2017)
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
How does it work? And what’s the evidence that this is true? People love to say this but I’ve never seen anyone go beyond the surface on the took. The impression I get is it’s mostly people who don’t know what they’re talking about repeating a pleasing idea.
For starters, you can purchase and store art in an airport storage area where it never goes through any customs. [0] Presumably, this is art that will accrue in value, but is (rarely) ever viewed, so is purely a financial vehicle for maintaining and transferring ownership of wealth outside any taxation jurisdiction. Another game is the ultra rich and famous getting richer. Art is valued not just for its objective aes…
physical NFTs
Re: Adam Curtis on the dangers of self-expression (2017)
#125I follow the contemporary art world pretty closely, and a feeling I often get is that it's merely a giant collection of individuals expressing themselves in a way that fits into the market system of galleries, museums, auctions, etc. There are of course artists focused on political causes, but for the most part it is entirely devoid of any centralized ethos or ideal. While this situation is freeing for the individual…
The “art world” is wildly divorced from the tastes of the majority of people in society - one could uncharitably but not inaccurately characterise the modern art world as a means to arrange for low cost materials to be purchased for vast sums in tax advantageous ways. If we look at an art form where there is a lot of validation by the majority of people, tv and films, we see people “painting the same thing” all the t…
[deleted]
Re: Adam Curtis on the dangers of self-expression (2017)
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is one of the main reasons that wealth taxes are bad policy. There are many assets that could have significant value, but the value is highly subjective. Since an accurate valuation is impossible and the range of plausible valuations is wide, it inherently becomes a system for arbitrage and distorts investment into whatever assets minimize the tax. Overestimating the value of hard-to-price assets is massively de…
There's an easy fix for that. You tell the government how much it is worth for tax purposes. If the government thinks you have underestimated it they reserve the right to buy it at that price. It would make tax evasion risky and expensive.
clever. how’d you come up with that?
Re: Adam Curtis on the dangers of self-expression (2017)
#127I want to disagree with him and I want to agree with him in almost equal measure, I think that is ambivalence. My cynicism says that people like him, people who create psychologically dense pieces for the BBC, are actually on the side of conformity. I've felt since I was young that we are being sold our revolutions. They've firmly commoditized the opposition. I'm tired of the politicization of everything. Even in thi…
I shared a similar impression. I think there's a Tim Keller talk somewhere that mentions "being skeptical but not being skeptical enough". You put to words quite well a frustration I had with Curtis' take, though I enjoyed it as well.
Re: Adam Curtis on the dangers of self-expression (2017)
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's an easy fix for that. You tell the government how much it is worth for tax purposes. If the government thinks you have underestimated it they reserve the right to buy it at that price. It would make tax evasion risky and expensive.
clever. how’d you come up with that?
It's called a harberger tax: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harberger_Tax
Re: Adam Curtis on the dangers of self-expression (2017)
#129I follow the contemporary art world pretty closely, and a feeling I often get is that it's merely a giant collection of individuals expressing themselves in a way that fits into the market system of galleries, museums, auctions, etc. There are of course artists focused on political causes, but for the most part it is entirely devoid of any centralized ethos or ideal. While this situation is freeing for the individual…
The “art world” is wildly divorced from the tastes of the majority of people in society - one could uncharitably but not inaccurately characterise the modern art world as a means to arrange for low cost materials to be purchased for vast sums in tax advantageous ways. If we look at an art form where there is a lot of validation by the majority of people, tv and films, we see people “painting the same thing” all the t…
>The “art world” is wildly divorced from the tastes of the majority of people in society
Is this supposed to be a bad thing? Because, if that's what you're saying, then what is your idea of "art"? Something that you can buy, have promptly delivered and hanged on a wall to decorate a space and get compliments from passers-by?
Would you like if all music was something designed to be played on the radio or in malls to decorate musically the environment?
Re: Adam Curtis on the dangers of self-expression (2017)
#130> There is another definition of freedom which simply says, “In whose service is perfect freedom.” By giving yourself up to the Lord, you free yourself of the narrow cage of your own desires and your own selfishness. ...and that's where they lost me.
It doesn't have to be "the Lord", that's just an example, albeit a poor one. Replace that with running and it reflects a quote from the greatest marathon runner of all time Eliud Kipchoge - "Only the disciplined ones in life are free. If you are undisciplined, you are a slave to your moods and your passions."
It wasn't just "the Lord", it was that combined with the Doublethink of the wording.
But that quote from Kipchoge does put it in a more comprehensible framing. Thanks.