Andy Miller

I tweeted this the other day from, it's very short, from The Soul of Man on Socialism.

And as I tweeted it, I thought, well, this is 130 years old.

And I felt anxious tweeting it because it seemed so insolent and provocative.

But it's so great.

Stick around to the punchline.

The public has always, and in every age, been badly brought up.

Right, already you're going, oh no, oh no.

They are continually asking art to be popular, to please their want of taste.

to flatter their absurd vanity, to tell them what they have been told before, to show them what they ought to be tired of seeing, to amuse them when they feel heavy after eating too much, and to distract their thoughts when they are wearied of their own stupidity.

Now, art should never try to be popular.

The public should try to make itself artistic.

Yes.

Glorious.

I agree with that.

Totally.

I agree that's so true, but also...

That's not... Every publisher should have it pinned over their desk.

That's the opposite of late capitalism.

Yes, it is.

Yeah.