When an elite feels threatened, it promotes order. When it feels secure, it can afford to promote disorder. A class that believes its position unassailable no longer needs art to uphold its authority; it uses art to erase the notion of authority. That’s why the postwar West abandoned beauty in favor of irony, worship in favor of mockery, and heroism in favor of cynicism. Cultural Ground Zero wasn’t an accident; it was the victory lap of a ruling class that had consolidated total control over politics and culture.

[...]

Always remember that we are going to win. And when we do, leaders who actually share our values will, at long last, not just level the cultural playing field, but tip it decisively in our favor. So keep creating. Don’t wait for permission from institutions that no longer believe in their own mission. Because when this decrepit cultural order finally collapses, we’ll need new books, new songs, and new stories ready to take its place. Empires may commission art, but art outlasts all empires. And when this one falls, the creators who kept their craft alive will inherit the ground on which the next civilization will be built.

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