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Discussion on: Can we separate the artist from their art? Should we?

 
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Andrew (he/him)

I would say so, yes. Others may disagree with me, of course, including yourself.

Do you not think so?

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🦄N B🛡 • Edited

// , Assuming you're asking this in good, or good enough faith, I suspect that I disagree in part with this conclusion, yes. I disagree more with the question.

More important, I think, is our disagreement on the side effect of moral hazard¹ implicit in this approach. It's a thought process I've found common in those who, out of a sense of honor and shared humanity (I hope) search for some way to advocate for the less fortunate.

I recall, in the past, some other "idea embargoes" in the Midwest. One extreme example stands out, when some family friends were surprised and dismayed that I had got myself a copy of the Quran, out of some misguided idea that this meant I supported Wahabbism or something, rather than just out of curiosity. Ask people who work for Ford what their coworkers would think of them buying a Nissan.

Purchasing does give us some power, but I smell a sulfuric whiff of narcissism in the idea that I should somehow improve society by throwing out all of my copies of stuff made by people whose behavior I find objectionable. And it gets stronger the closer I come to judging the character of others based on the character of the artists who make the work they like.

I've definitely let to whom and where my money is going inform my buying decisions. But I kind of take issue with the title of this post, the thought process that lead to asking this question, and some of the distasteful implications it has for how we relate to and share one another's tastes.

De gustibus non est disputandum.

¹Moral hazard is a situation in which one party gets involved in a risky event knowing that it is protected against the risk and the other party will incur the cost. It arises when both the parties have incomplete information about each other.