In Praise of Commercial Culture
- Binding: Hardcover
- Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr
- Publish date: 05/01/1998
Successful high culture usually comes out of a healthy and prosperous popular culture. Shakespeare and Mozart were highly popular in their own time. Beethoven's later, less accessible music was made possible in part by his early popularity. Today, consumer demand ensures that archival blues recordings, a wide array of past and current symphonies, and this week's Top 40 hit sit side by side in the music megastore. High and low culture indeed complement each other.
Cowen's philosophy of cultural optimism stands in opposition to the many varieties of cultural pessimism found among conservatives, neo-conservatives, the Frankfurt School, and some versions of the political correctness and multiculturalist movements, as well as historical figures, including Rousseau and Plato. He showsthat even when contemporary culture is thriving, it appears degenerate, as evidenced by the widespread acceptance of pessimism. He ends by considering the reasons why cultural pessimism has such a powerful hold on intellectuals and opinion-makers.
Seller | Condition | Comments | Price |
|
Solr Books
Good
|
$6.41
|
|
Ageless Pages
Good
|
$27.56
|
|
KeepsBooks
Very Good
|
$28.07
|
Ergodebooks
|
Good |
$34.05
|
|
GridFreed
New |
$69.46
|
|
GridFreed
New |
$72.83
|