How (And How Not) To Argue Against Selling Off Detroit’s Art

Terry Teachout: “It’s only a matter of time before a less pusillanimous liberal commentator [than Peter Schjeldahl] reminds us of the pithy words of Bertolt Brecht: ‘Grub first, then ethics.’ Anybody who doesn’t want Detroit to sell its art must be prepared to go up against arguments like these. What’s more, the counterarguments will have to persuade locals who know how it feels to call the cops and get a busy signal.”