it sees. “The world is too much with us; late and soon. / Getting and
spending, we lay waste our powers.” The true artist always begins
in some version of protest. What is before us is not good enough.
The world as given is not adequate to the needs of the Soul. True
art always begins in rebellion against what is, in behalf of what might
be. True art is what Matthew Arnold said it was: a criticism of life.
But to us now, such a vision of art is not acceptable. The world
as given is a marvel— particularly in its technological attainments.
There is really nothing like it. We have computers; we have an In-
ternet; we have consumer goods at our disposal unlike any the world
has seen. Anyone who suggests that this is not the very best of times
to be alive is a fool. He has fallen victim to nostalgia. Granted there
are problems. Some people are not as rich as they should be. Some
people are alarmingly overweight and unhealthy. But still: this is a
fi ne and even a fabulous world. To suggest, as Blake surely would
have, that the Self, also known as Satan, rules, and that greed, self-
ishness, and self- seeking are rampant, is beyond the pale. No one
can say such things without being jeered.
And surely the artist’s next strong move— the creation of a para-
dise for the mind and heart— cannot be allowed. We do not need
that. All we need is a larger quotient of resources so that everyone
can be as greedy and happy as we are. The poet who seeks through
love to penetrate beyond the illusory world of Self is not to be borne.
He could make us hate ourselves— and that would be far from
agreeable.
Still, there must be artists. A culture without art is a morally de-
praved culture. We all know this. So what is the solution? We will
make everyone an artist, or at least everyone who half- wishes to be.
Anyone who chants an agreeable song that is in tune with the overall
music of Self may now be considered to have joined what Keats
called “the immortal freemasonry of intellect.” Thug rappers who
chant about power, pride, and acquisition are artists; a man with a
In the Culture of the Counterfeit 253