Why Culture Sucks

There have been a number of recent pieces expressing ennui about the present state of culture. In the New York Times, Michelle Goldberg wrote about W. David Marx’s book “Status and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change” and why contemporary culture feels so dull: it’s because there’s no longer the same kind of intense competition for social status that birthed compelling art as its fuel.