Laura Wood on the Principle of Non-Decoration

From EgaliCare to Egalitarian Chic, from the Principle of Non-Discrimination to the Principle of Non-Decoration, modern liberal society is ruled at the top by a single, deadening idea. At The Thinking Housewife, Laura Wood and Kidist Paulos Asrat, an artist and textile designer, share their thoughts about the dreary, monotone look that dominates the decorative arts today. Laura writes:

Possibly when people get more instant gratification, especially in sex and popular culture, they don’t care as much about their surroundings. When desire is sublimated, it creates more beauty in life, more craftsmanship and studied effects. Women are highly sexualized today, but less sensual in their approach to home.

The remark goes to the heart of the traditionalist critique of liberalism. Liberalism gives people what it thinks they want, which is unimpeded satisfaction of their desires and impulses. But in doing so, it closes them off from what they really want, which is beauty, truth, and goodness, and membership in an enduring human community that embodies those things.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at October 27, 2009 04:45 PM | Send