3 ms·

>It's hard to imagine highly valued (either culturally or monetarily) art without scarcity. I disagree entirely. The Mona Lisa's value is greatly expanded by i

>It's hard to imagine highly valued (either culturally or monetarily) art without scarcity. I disagree entirely. The Mona Lisa's value is greatly expanded by its free availability -- the one-off image on my wall is scarce, but it will never be a cultural icon, that is antithetical to scarcity. A value of art is reflection (the mental process), but this is magnified enormously if society can reflect on the work, reference it, abstract from it, view it and develop freely from it. Great pop songs are great because everyone has heard them and we have shared experiences around them. There is no such thing as a scarce pop song. (This is one of the great crimes that arise from copyright terms being great than a couple of decades, society doesn't get to riff on the important icons of its recent past.)

ethbr1 3y ago
Is the Mona Lisa print on your wall distinct from the original? I.e. Was her face shape changed in your print to a version you prefer? Arguments against against scarcity that point to copies of a singular work seem circuitous. There are innumerable copies because the single, canonical version is so valued. Similarly, great pop songs are valued because everyone knows them, which is why individual song value peaked during the dawn of mass distribution (CD, then early digital) but before the market was flooded with volume. The scarcity in the pop sense is the limited number of songs that everyone knows. (Largely through sophisticated media campaigns and forced radio/channel placement, but I digress)
- pbhjpbhj 3y ago
  If the Mona Lisa didn't exist we'd elevate some other work more. If not Bo'Rap then Stairway to Heaven, etc. >Arguments against against scarcity that point to copies of a singular work seem circuitous. It's a good point, but I think it misses something. It is experiences of the effect of an artistic work that matter, not the work per se. Experiences of the work are 10-a-penny -- tens of millions have probably seen one of the 'originals', billions have probably experienced the effect of the artwork (which I will deftly avoid defining ;o)) through photos, copies, videos, imitations, and emulations.

ethbr1 3y ago

Is the Mona Lisa print on your wall distinct from the original? I.e. Was her face shape changed in your print to a version you prefer? Arguments against against scarcity that point to copies of a singular work seem circuitous. There are innumerable copies because the single, canonical version is so valued. Similarly, great pop songs are valued because everyone knows them, which is why individual song value peaked during the dawn of mass distribution (CD, then early digital) but before the market was flooded with volume. The scarcity in the pop sense is the limited number of songs that everyone knows. (Largely through sophisticated media campaigns and forced radio/channel placement, but I digress)

pbhjpbhj 3y ago
If the Mona Lisa didn't exist we'd elevate some other work more. If not Bo'Rap then Stairway to Heaven, etc. >Arguments against against scarcity that point to copies of a singular work seem circuitous. It's a good point, but I think it misses something. It is experiences of the effect of an artistic work that matter, not the work per se. Experiences of the work are 10-a-penny -- tens of millions have probably seen one of the 'originals', billions have probably experienced the effect of the artwork (which I will deftly avoid defining ;o)) through photos, copies, videos, imitations, and emulations.