“The Art of Mickey Mouse”
by Wayne Theibaud

“Self”
by Brandon Luhring

Introducing Capitalist Art

In a capitalist economy, save for the lucky or super talented few, those who do artistic work do it for corporations, usually selling things via ads, or via their design, or jingles, etc. Again, save for a relative few, it is hard to make a living, and very hard to have stability. And those few, earn so much that it is hard to retain a sensibility suited to artistic creation.

And the context of art is so weighted by competition for acceptance or funding that, again, the struggle to retain a mindset able to perceive and produce artistically is rarely carried through successfully.

Introducing ParEcon Art

In a parecon, art work is like all other work. It occurs in workplaces with co-workers (other painters, composers, performers, movie makers, etc. etc.) Those doing it as part of their work do, overall, a balanced job complex of tasks, like everyone else. To be remunerated work must be socially beneficial, including art. Then the remuneration is for duration, intensity, and onerousness when relevant. To be hired, a worker must be competent in the eyes of the council he or she applies to, as with being hired for any job.

Making a living as someone with artistic talents of one sort or another is neither harder nor easier than making a living based on any other personal inclinations, save that one has to be competent, of course. Innovating in art is like innovating in any field — acceptable if one’s workmates agree on its merits and if the participatory plan find the workplace as a whole to be socially valuable.

Evaluating Capitalist Art

If you like the idea of artistic talents being perverted to serve the interests of profits in the overwhelming majority of cases of their use — and then often reflecting the impact of having done so, capitalist art is a delight for you to behold.

If you think that people doing art, like all others, should contribute to the community and be supported for their labors, and that their endeavors should arise from their termperments and tastes, not imposition by elites, capitalist art is a horror to your vision.

Evaluating ParEcon Art

If you think that there is something called art which entitles something called an artist to live a life free of responsibility to the community, free of responsibility to co-workers, and remunerated at a rate above and beyond others, then parecon art will be a horror to your vision.

If you think that people doing art, like all other people, should contribute to the community and be supported for their socially valued labors, and that their endeavors should arise from their termperments and tastes, not from imposition by elites, parecon art will be a delight for you to behold.