so we are told and so we wish to believe On Sat, Aug 18, 2012 at 8:49 PM, William Conger <[email protected]>wrote:
> In America there isn't supposed to be a class structure because there's no > real > aristocracy in the usual form. In America everybody is supposed to be > considered equal in their identity and basic rights while allowing for vast > differences in economic and social status. But in reality America is more > classist than many other countries because it has much cultural diversity > and so > many 'unassimilated' people. The urge to divide people into arbitrary class > distinctions seems very established. Our politicians talk all the time > about > class, as if it really was something inherent. Outside of politics as such, > various 'worlds' such as art world, academic-world, business-world are > structured on extreme notions of class. All of the worst attributes of > aristocracy flourish in those worlds. What could be more stilted in that > respect than the art-world with its many gradations of position, snobbery, > elitism, and other degrading habits? > > Artists frequently succumb to the classist views of the society at large. > They > can be worse classist snobs than one might expect. Yet they presume to be > egalitarian. > > wc > > -- S a u l O s t r o w *Critical Voices* 21STREETPROJECTS 162 West 21 St NYC, NY 10011 [email protected]
