I heard asked once, in some book, "Would Raphael still be an artistic genius if he was born without hands?" And so I began thinking about the multitudes of impoverished people, who have to work hard to even eat everyday, and a wave of loss and despair swept over me as I thought of all the people who could have been great Painters, Writers and Musicians who had to work instead of creating, all these people who have been cornered into an existence as a Raphael without hands.
So why does socialism benefit the Artist? Why is Social juxtaposed in front of Aesthetic, betraying a knot between economic equality and aesthetic perfection, a knot that has been tied so tight by the forces of capitalism that no one can separate the two? Because an Artist does not always come from the fortunate souls who have been born into a priviledged existence, and because we have promised to fight for the welfare of all Artists and the glory of Art.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
The Issues 1: Immigration
Just a couple of thoughts on immigration.
From the point of view of an Artist, is a person who comes into this country illegally to work and support a family "good" or "bad"? Or, in aesthetic terms, do they contribute to Beauty or do the only contribute ugliness?
First of all, look at their story. Their story is one of chasing a dream, and then achieving that dream. It involves the adventure of abandoning home, the excitement of a new country, and a certain noble illegality befitting of Robin Hood. Their story is, indeed, a Beautiful story. Their life is a piece of art.
Second of all, look how their culture adds to our own. In addition to a new set of words, they contribute an alternative social consciousness. This is the source of the cultural clash, of course, but having two cultural perspectives, two ways of looking at the world, is a definite plus to all Artists.
Third of all, even if they do not contribute to Art directly, a larger workforce can support a larger Artist class. So, even if you ignore the cultural contribution, the addition to the workforce is a benefit to all Artists.
Therefore, immigrants contribute to the welfare of Artists and the glory of Art.
From the point of view of an Artist, is a person who comes into this country illegally to work and support a family "good" or "bad"? Or, in aesthetic terms, do they contribute to Beauty or do the only contribute ugliness?
First of all, look at their story. Their story is one of chasing a dream, and then achieving that dream. It involves the adventure of abandoning home, the excitement of a new country, and a certain noble illegality befitting of Robin Hood. Their story is, indeed, a Beautiful story. Their life is a piece of art.
Second of all, look how their culture adds to our own. In addition to a new set of words, they contribute an alternative social consciousness. This is the source of the cultural clash, of course, but having two cultural perspectives, two ways of looking at the world, is a definite plus to all Artists.
Third of all, even if they do not contribute to Art directly, a larger workforce can support a larger Artist class. So, even if you ignore the cultural contribution, the addition to the workforce is a benefit to all Artists.
Therefore, immigrants contribute to the welfare of Artists and the glory of Art.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
The Orders of the Social Aesthetic Party
We, the Social Aesthetics of the United States of America, in order to create a more beautiful union, promote the welfare of Artists and secure the glory of Art to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish these Orders of the Social Aesthetic Party.
Order One: Membership to the Social Aesthetic Party shall be freely granted, but admission into meetings can be denied by a simple majority of the officers, if it is for the purpose of preserving the ideals of the Manifesto. Such a denial of admission can be vetoed by a simple majority of those already granted admission to the meeting. A member can also be expelled, for reasons listed in Order Nine.
Those attending a particular meeting are referred to as the meeting’s Legislature. Their duty is to vote for certain propositions and to bring up topics of discussion at the end of a meeting.
Order Two: The Social Aesthetic Party shall have five officer positions: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Parliamentarian, whose rights and duties shall be enumerated below. For an open position, the President may assign any member but, at a meeting, a simple majority of the Legislature can force an election for any position.
In such an election, candidates for such an election must first be nominated, and then must accept the nomination. A candidate wins a particular election by receiving any plurality of the votes.
Order Three: The President of the Social Aesthetic Party serves as a spokesperson and a leader for meetings. He makes the final decision about the time and place of meetings, and is also responsible for creating an agenda of topics for a meeting. He also has the right to assign people positions when they are open, but he may not replace position holders elected by the Legislature.
Order Four: The Vice President of the Social Aesthetic Party serves as an assistant to the President. He can offer suggestions about the time and place of meetings, help with the agenda, or offer suggestions as to who to assign to certain positions. Should the President resign, he automatically takes on the Presidential responsibilities, until the Legislature elects a new President.
Order Five: The Secretary of the Social Aesthetic Party is responsible for keeping record of all meetings, and organizing said records. They are also required to organize most events, along with the Treasurer. The Treasurer of the Social Aesthetic Party is responsible for handling all the financial affairs of the Social Aesthetic Party, including fundraising, banking, and purchasing.
Order Six: The Parliamentarian of the Social Aesthetic Party is to maintain order in meetings by applying Robert’s Oaths and Orders, as well as common sense and fair judgment. They determine who may speak at a given moment, and also organize all elections. Due to the immense responsibility of this position, the person elected to this position must be as fair and balanced as possible.
Order Seven: Factions, defined as small groups of like-minded people within a larger political party, are not only allowed but encouraged. However, the Social Aesthetic Party may disband a faction if said faction campaigns negatively against another member of the Social Aesthetic Party, or participates in any other corrupt activities.
Order Eight: The candidate to run in a local or state election is chosen via an election of one thousand members, selected either randomly or by most amount of participation. For a national election, a caucus in each state will vote for one candidate. Each state then gives a certain amount of points to their candidate, equal to their amount of electoral votes. The candidate with the highest amount of points will be the candidate for that particular election.
Order Nine: A member may be expelled from the party for not upholding the spirit of the Manifesto, smearing the name of the Social Aesthetic Party, or for perpetuating a disbanded faction, as determined by the entirety of the officers. For no other reasons may a member be expelled.
Order Ten: In a given chapter, officers are elected for that chapter the same way they are elected for the entire party. Ambassadors may be assigned by chapter presidents to deliver information from one chapter to another, but they are not necessary and have no votes as an officer.
Order One: Membership to the Social Aesthetic Party shall be freely granted, but admission into meetings can be denied by a simple majority of the officers, if it is for the purpose of preserving the ideals of the Manifesto. Such a denial of admission can be vetoed by a simple majority of those already granted admission to the meeting. A member can also be expelled, for reasons listed in Order Nine.
Those attending a particular meeting are referred to as the meeting’s Legislature. Their duty is to vote for certain propositions and to bring up topics of discussion at the end of a meeting.
Order Two: The Social Aesthetic Party shall have five officer positions: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Parliamentarian, whose rights and duties shall be enumerated below. For an open position, the President may assign any member but, at a meeting, a simple majority of the Legislature can force an election for any position.
In such an election, candidates for such an election must first be nominated, and then must accept the nomination. A candidate wins a particular election by receiving any plurality of the votes.
Order Three: The President of the Social Aesthetic Party serves as a spokesperson and a leader for meetings. He makes the final decision about the time and place of meetings, and is also responsible for creating an agenda of topics for a meeting. He also has the right to assign people positions when they are open, but he may not replace position holders elected by the Legislature.
Order Four: The Vice President of the Social Aesthetic Party serves as an assistant to the President. He can offer suggestions about the time and place of meetings, help with the agenda, or offer suggestions as to who to assign to certain positions. Should the President resign, he automatically takes on the Presidential responsibilities, until the Legislature elects a new President.
Order Five: The Secretary of the Social Aesthetic Party is responsible for keeping record of all meetings, and organizing said records. They are also required to organize most events, along with the Treasurer. The Treasurer of the Social Aesthetic Party is responsible for handling all the financial affairs of the Social Aesthetic Party, including fundraising, banking, and purchasing.
Order Six: The Parliamentarian of the Social Aesthetic Party is to maintain order in meetings by applying Robert’s Oaths and Orders, as well as common sense and fair judgment. They determine who may speak at a given moment, and also organize all elections. Due to the immense responsibility of this position, the person elected to this position must be as fair and balanced as possible.
Order Seven: Factions, defined as small groups of like-minded people within a larger political party, are not only allowed but encouraged. However, the Social Aesthetic Party may disband a faction if said faction campaigns negatively against another member of the Social Aesthetic Party, or participates in any other corrupt activities.
Order Eight: The candidate to run in a local or state election is chosen via an election of one thousand members, selected either randomly or by most amount of participation. For a national election, a caucus in each state will vote for one candidate. Each state then gives a certain amount of points to their candidate, equal to their amount of electoral votes. The candidate with the highest amount of points will be the candidate for that particular election.
Order Nine: A member may be expelled from the party for not upholding the spirit of the Manifesto, smearing the name of the Social Aesthetic Party, or for perpetuating a disbanded faction, as determined by the entirety of the officers. For no other reasons may a member be expelled.
Order Ten: In a given chapter, officers are elected for that chapter the same way they are elected for the entire party. Ambassadors may be assigned by chapter presidents to deliver information from one chapter to another, but they are not necessary and have no votes as an officer.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
The Manifesto of the Social Aesthetic Party
Painters, Writers, Musicians, all Artists, all Creators of Beautiful Things – for too long our individualism has been our weakness. We have always refused to surrender our independent opinion by completely conforming to any bureaucracy, and while all other castes of society were uniting to work for their benefit, while the businessmen and farmers and proletarians have formed lobbies and parties and unions, we have sat back and mourned the death of the Artist’s significance.
For fear of losing security in our distinctiveness, we have refused to unite and therefore become frozen, starving and affronted. But if we just sacrifice a bit of our self-righteous uniqueness in order to promote not only the welfare of Artists, but the glory of Art, we can regain a society compatible with our dream. Therefore I urge all Artists to join the Social Aesthetic Party and adopt this manifesto as, not necessarily a vow of complete intellectual compliance, but as a proclamation of unification.
The Social Aesthetic Party upholds three main ideals:
1. Economic Socialism
Poverty is the greatest hindrance to a Painter, Writer, or Musician. The choice of many Artists is to give up on the vocation of art and pursue it as a mere hobby, often to their detriment as an Artist, and always to the Art’s degradation as a full-time vocation, as this increases the tendency to label those struggling full-time Artists as “unemployed,” and, lacking a way to legally distinguish between the full-time Artist and the unemployed, those who employ this label cannot be disproved.
Therefore, it is in the best interest of the Artists that the State should provide sufficient government aid to all those who are legally “unemployed,” in order to allow for full-time Artists.
2. Promotion of Art
However, in addition to government aid, the State should also work to promoting Art in particular, through the federal funding of art museums, theaters, orchestras, and other such programs to reward the Artist for their work with both an economic incentive and a stage. In addition to rewarding Artists, it would help to distinguish between true Artists and those who use Art as an excuse for laziness and unemployment, thus exalting the Artist and preserving the dignity of Art.
3. Postmodern Morality
It is the official belief of the Social Aesthetic Party, in accordance with the postmodern perspective, that no set of ethics can be objectively proven to be the “right” set of ethics. The State, therefore, should not denounce any activity as “wrong,” and therefore should not deem it illegal, unless this sort of activity directly harms another individual. Laws should be aimed towards the protection of individuals from harm, and no law that merely limits the liberties of one person should be passed in order to promote a particular lifestyle.
However, since our lack of ethics is just another set of ethical beliefs, the Social Aesthetic Party will not deny membership to a fellow advocate of the rights of Artists solely for upholding a particular set of morals. The Social Aesthetic Party, as previously stated, is not an exclusive organization of dogmatic principles but an organic grouping of people who desire the welfare of Artists and the glory of Art.
Questions and Answers
1. The Democratic Party has very similar ideas about a welfare state and about not enforcing morality (e.g. gay marriage, legalization of “soft” drugs). How is the Social Aesthetic Party different from the Democratic Party?
First of all, the Democratic Party has a much more rigid set of beliefs, while the Social Aesthetic Party is much more flexible. Rather, the unifying theme of us Social Aesthetics is our mutual goal, the welfare of Artists, and the glory of Art. Thus, we are not limited by any sort of dogma, like a Democrat is. Second of all, the Democratic Party has no such priority as “Promotion of Culture,” while that is one of three of the Social Aesthetic Party’s primary ideals, and perhaps it is the most important one. For an Artist, or even an Art devotee, this distinction is a quite important one.
2. Why do the Social Aesthetics choose to work as a political party, rather than a lobby?
Because lobbies are corrupt, underhanded, and bureaucratic, which we idealistic Artists generally oppose. Working as a third political party, we can still support politicians of other political affiliations that share our ideals, without associating ourselves with the corruption of lobbies. Also, as a political party, we allow ourselves to be supported on a grander scale, for simply by being a member of the Social Aesthetic Party, one works towards spreading our ideals. If the Social Aesthetics formed a lobby, the only support that Artists could show us would be through donation of labor or money, which limits our capacity to be supported.
3. Then why not a union?
First of all, many Artists, particularly Writers, are part of other trade unions, so forming a separate union would require us to compete with these organizations, to work against these writers’ unions. Being a political party, we can instead work to support such unions. Second of all, the power of unions comes from their lobbying and striking. However, neither of those would accomplish our aim because, as previously stated, we Social Aesthetics do not wish to entangle ourselves in the web of corruption that is lobbying, and because a strike of Artists would be ineffective, as the Painters, Writers and Musicians who are struggling the most have no employer, so their cries would not be heard.
4. The “Social” in “Social Aesthetic Party” refers to Socialism, as one can tell by looking at your first ideal. Why do you support Socialism when it has done so much bad in the past?
Socialism is often equated with Communism, when there is a slight distinction. Socialism is the belief that a democratic government should be more involved in economics, while Communism is the belief that the proletariat class needs to revolt and create such a government. Furthermore, Socialism does not imply a form of government, but rather a political philosophy that can be applied in a democracy, while Communism is a form of government that cannot be applied within the boundaries of democracy.
Most of the reputation of Socialism is due to the mistakes of Communism. The Socialism that the Social Aesthetic Party advocates is not the Communism that has been used in the Soviet Union, China and Cuba, but rather the Socialism found throughout Europe and in Canada.
5. Why should a non-Artist support the Social Aesthetic Party?
What if your brother, sister, wife, child, grandchild, niece, etc., had the calling? What if they had the ability and the desire to Create Beautiful Things? By supporting the Social Aesthetic Party, one supports the goal of creating a society compatible with Painters, Writers and Musicians, in order to promote their paintings, their novels, their songs. The glory of Art is irrevocably intertwined with the welfare of Artists.
6. Does the Social Aesthetic Party aim to create a society ruled by Artists?
I suggest you ask a similar question about the aim of teachers’ unions, AARP or the pro-Israel lobby. Do they aim to create a society ruled by teachers, elderly persons, or Jews, respectively? Or do they simply want to make sure the wishes of those groups are represented adequately? Additionally, there will never be a separate class of Artists because anyone who dips a brush into paint, or puts a pen to paper, or rubs a bow against a violin, anyone who does that and knows they are doing what they were born to do, is an Artist.
Epilogue
“Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault.
“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For them there is hope.
“They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty....
“One is excused for creating a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for creating a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.
“All Art is quite useless.”
For fear of losing security in our distinctiveness, we have refused to unite and therefore become frozen, starving and affronted. But if we just sacrifice a bit of our self-righteous uniqueness in order to promote not only the welfare of Artists, but the glory of Art, we can regain a society compatible with our dream. Therefore I urge all Artists to join the Social Aesthetic Party and adopt this manifesto as, not necessarily a vow of complete intellectual compliance, but as a proclamation of unification.
The Social Aesthetic Party upholds three main ideals:
1. Economic Socialism
Poverty is the greatest hindrance to a Painter, Writer, or Musician. The choice of many Artists is to give up on the vocation of art and pursue it as a mere hobby, often to their detriment as an Artist, and always to the Art’s degradation as a full-time vocation, as this increases the tendency to label those struggling full-time Artists as “unemployed,” and, lacking a way to legally distinguish between the full-time Artist and the unemployed, those who employ this label cannot be disproved.
Therefore, it is in the best interest of the Artists that the State should provide sufficient government aid to all those who are legally “unemployed,” in order to allow for full-time Artists.
2. Promotion of Art
However, in addition to government aid, the State should also work to promoting Art in particular, through the federal funding of art museums, theaters, orchestras, and other such programs to reward the Artist for their work with both an economic incentive and a stage. In addition to rewarding Artists, it would help to distinguish between true Artists and those who use Art as an excuse for laziness and unemployment, thus exalting the Artist and preserving the dignity of Art.
3. Postmodern Morality
It is the official belief of the Social Aesthetic Party, in accordance with the postmodern perspective, that no set of ethics can be objectively proven to be the “right” set of ethics. The State, therefore, should not denounce any activity as “wrong,” and therefore should not deem it illegal, unless this sort of activity directly harms another individual. Laws should be aimed towards the protection of individuals from harm, and no law that merely limits the liberties of one person should be passed in order to promote a particular lifestyle.
However, since our lack of ethics is just another set of ethical beliefs, the Social Aesthetic Party will not deny membership to a fellow advocate of the rights of Artists solely for upholding a particular set of morals. The Social Aesthetic Party, as previously stated, is not an exclusive organization of dogmatic principles but an organic grouping of people who desire the welfare of Artists and the glory of Art.
Questions and Answers
1. The Democratic Party has very similar ideas about a welfare state and about not enforcing morality (e.g. gay marriage, legalization of “soft” drugs). How is the Social Aesthetic Party different from the Democratic Party?
First of all, the Democratic Party has a much more rigid set of beliefs, while the Social Aesthetic Party is much more flexible. Rather, the unifying theme of us Social Aesthetics is our mutual goal, the welfare of Artists, and the glory of Art. Thus, we are not limited by any sort of dogma, like a Democrat is. Second of all, the Democratic Party has no such priority as “Promotion of Culture,” while that is one of three of the Social Aesthetic Party’s primary ideals, and perhaps it is the most important one. For an Artist, or even an Art devotee, this distinction is a quite important one.
2. Why do the Social Aesthetics choose to work as a political party, rather than a lobby?
Because lobbies are corrupt, underhanded, and bureaucratic, which we idealistic Artists generally oppose. Working as a third political party, we can still support politicians of other political affiliations that share our ideals, without associating ourselves with the corruption of lobbies. Also, as a political party, we allow ourselves to be supported on a grander scale, for simply by being a member of the Social Aesthetic Party, one works towards spreading our ideals. If the Social Aesthetics formed a lobby, the only support that Artists could show us would be through donation of labor or money, which limits our capacity to be supported.
3. Then why not a union?
First of all, many Artists, particularly Writers, are part of other trade unions, so forming a separate union would require us to compete with these organizations, to work against these writers’ unions. Being a political party, we can instead work to support such unions. Second of all, the power of unions comes from their lobbying and striking. However, neither of those would accomplish our aim because, as previously stated, we Social Aesthetics do not wish to entangle ourselves in the web of corruption that is lobbying, and because a strike of Artists would be ineffective, as the Painters, Writers and Musicians who are struggling the most have no employer, so their cries would not be heard.
4. The “Social” in “Social Aesthetic Party” refers to Socialism, as one can tell by looking at your first ideal. Why do you support Socialism when it has done so much bad in the past?
Socialism is often equated with Communism, when there is a slight distinction. Socialism is the belief that a democratic government should be more involved in economics, while Communism is the belief that the proletariat class needs to revolt and create such a government. Furthermore, Socialism does not imply a form of government, but rather a political philosophy that can be applied in a democracy, while Communism is a form of government that cannot be applied within the boundaries of democracy.
Most of the reputation of Socialism is due to the mistakes of Communism. The Socialism that the Social Aesthetic Party advocates is not the Communism that has been used in the Soviet Union, China and Cuba, but rather the Socialism found throughout Europe and in Canada.
5. Why should a non-Artist support the Social Aesthetic Party?
What if your brother, sister, wife, child, grandchild, niece, etc., had the calling? What if they had the ability and the desire to Create Beautiful Things? By supporting the Social Aesthetic Party, one supports the goal of creating a society compatible with Painters, Writers and Musicians, in order to promote their paintings, their novels, their songs. The glory of Art is irrevocably intertwined with the welfare of Artists.
6. Does the Social Aesthetic Party aim to create a society ruled by Artists?
I suggest you ask a similar question about the aim of teachers’ unions, AARP or the pro-Israel lobby. Do they aim to create a society ruled by teachers, elderly persons, or Jews, respectively? Or do they simply want to make sure the wishes of those groups are represented adequately? Additionally, there will never be a separate class of Artists because anyone who dips a brush into paint, or puts a pen to paper, or rubs a bow against a violin, anyone who does that and knows they are doing what they were born to do, is an Artist.
Epilogue
“Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault.
“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For them there is hope.
“They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty....
“One is excused for creating a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for creating a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.
“All Art is quite useless.”
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