“The Arts” – A Meaningless Banal Phrase

The etymology of the phrase “the arts” is fascinating. ” ‘The arts’ has also become one of those irritating modern pieties, like ‘community’, ‘compassion’ or ‘ excellence’, which have people crossing themselves. All too often, ‘supporting the arts’ is little more than a badge of gentility. It doesn’t imply a real discriminating passion for music, painting or the theatre, let alone any sense of how they might inform your life or change society. It doesn’t even imply paying a fair price for the work of an artist. It is simply part of the cement in the thin wall that separates the respectable from the barbaric.”