Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mercutio01" data-source="post: 4683432" data-attributes="member: 37277">I think this is the essence of where we disagree.  You do believe in a statist economical model whereby everyone is supported by a state and is paid accordingly, as opposed to a capitalist model where people are paid according to the free market based on how well they create, market, and sell their products.You are, in essence, advocating for a patronage model of the arts, but rather than it being some rich dude paying, it's the state (which means subsidized art, effectively).  I think that leads ultimately to the reduction in quality as it is the competition that drives people to reach new heights of performance.  You manage to sort of get around that by proposing contests, but contest are judged by and at the whims of only a select few people.  The free market allows for everyone everywhere (well, those within a selected market - for me, poetry readers in the metro-Boston area) to determine the value of my work and what they're willing to pay.  If my work doesn't sell I can use that to shift styles or substance, or else just take my lumps and move on.The single-payer model will result in stagnation, and not just in art.But now we risk moving into politics, so I'll stop.</blockquote>