If you are on Gab you know that the front page more often than not consists of memes and slogans, with a couple thought-provoking posts thrown in between. One of the memes spread around today went along the lines that the society is collapsing because "they" made the art ugly (among other things). Now I've seen the variations of this theme going around for ages.
Who are "they" you will ask. Well, it could be anyone. "Deep State", "Special people", "Liberals," "Communists", "Demonrats", "Bankers" and sometimes, "elites" in general.
Here is something I have been thinking about recently. The idea behind this type of posts is always that the elites are doing it on purpose, for some nefarious reasons, which is, possibly, at least, partly true. There is, however, an aspect of the problem which nobody seems to consider. Any society, how progressive and liberal it is in theory, has social classes. In traditional Western class system we have upper class, middle class and lower class. Upper class are ruling elites, middle class are free property owners and craftsmen, while lower class is rather heterogenic.
Traditionally it would consist out of the descendants of medieval serfs, landless peasants (and in general people too poor to own any kind of property), various vagabonds and antisocial/criminal elements.
European class system has never been very rigid, and there was both upward and downward mobility, however, the upper class still largely consists of those who are called "old blood/money". I read about some Swiss/Italian families which are 1000 years old and all this time have been in top 10% of the income bracket. In UK and Germany there are families who own property such as historical castles for more than a thousand years. Well, you get my point.
Upper class people, whether good or evil, generally have a higher IQ which, together with clannishness and ambition/lust for power is one of the factors which allows them to keep their dominant position in society. It is those people who throughout the centuries have had time to create high culture, works of art, music and literature. Their youngest sons became clergymen and studied theology. They have shaped European culture for more than a thousand years.
It was European nobility who first converted to Christianity, made it the official religion, and sometimes forced it on the peasants, who had kept their old pagan folks-beliefs well into Late Middle Ages. It was upper and upper middle class in Great Britain who created Victorian culture we admire so much.
Lower classes? Well, they did enjoy stuff like gladiator fights, public executions, traveling circus, and fairs where cripples were showing their handicaps for money. In the 19th century, there was an enormous effort by the elites to "enlighten" poor folks and to improve their living conditions. It worked! Even factory workers were reading novels like those of Dickens in Victorian England and visiting opera.
And then, what happened then? Somewhere in the mid-19th century Western elites lost their faith. They put their trust in science and "killed God". Some stayed "Christian in name only", others turned openly atheist. Ironically enough, it was lower middle/lower class who kept to their faith the longest, but now in Europe they chiefly lost it, too. In the USA, many people still identify as Christian, but for far too many of them, their religion is more like belonging to a social/entertainment club. My husband calls it "circus churches".
Once Western elites stopped being Christian they simply lost their ability to create transcendental works of art. The last one of this kind in English language was probably Lord Of The Rings. Recently I read the preface to a Game of Thrones novel which stated that it is more morally complex than LOTR. The very first page I opened had a sentence that ran approximately like this: She f888ed her father. And later "she needs a good f888" Well, that is modern moral complexity on a display right here. I'm fairly certain that Tolkien could not have written it.
Western elites are currently atheistic nihilists (some think they are downright satanic) or (like some American politicians) use religion cynically to appeal to their voters and manipulate them into obeying the government (how many churches have adopted the alphabet agenda?) Elite sons are not choosing careers in the church which is one of the reasons of the theological stagnation and church having lower status in general.
Art and culture produced by these elites naturally reflect their essence. "They" probably aren't even doing it on purpose, to corrupt the masses. They simply can't behave otherwise. Modern art and culture simply reflects their core values, on the one hand, while on the other hand, it appeals to the lowest common denominator because it sells better. You know, the types who used to enjoy gladiator's fights and public hangings.
Until "they" become Christian again, there will be no change for the better.
