On the role of art in an expansive anti-capitalist movement
April 1, 2020
By Gabriel Crist
Capitalism has led to grotesque inequality through the exploitation of workers and is responsible for an abundance of human suffering. Further, the greatest existential threat of our time, the climate crisis, is a crisis first and foremost of global capitalism. As radical change becomes increasingly urgent, capitalism proves over and over again to be incapable of addressing the devastating reality of climate change. Capitalism has left the United States toothless against the recent COVID-19 pandemic, failing in every way to meet the demands of this moment and leaving shocking numbers of people without employment and the care they need to combat this deadly virus. The path forward must be defined by systemic change away from capitalism and toward a system that affirms the value of human life; that places power in the hands of the majority; that is based around compassion instead of greed. And the recent exit of Bernie Sanders from the Democratic party primary has left the following reality absolutely clear: meaningful change away from capitalism can be accomplished only through widespread organization and mobilization.
In his lecture Art and Socialism, delivered on January 23rd, 1884, William Morris proclaimed:
“…the world of modern civilization in its haste to gain a very inequitably divided material prosperity has entirely suppressed popular Art: or in other words that the greater part of the people have no share in Art—which as things now are must be kept in the hands of a few rich or well-to-do people, who we may fairly say need it less and not more than the laborious workers.”
The passage is disappointingly applicable to our present moment. Unfortunately, many art forms are sustained by the ruling class and thus exist nearly exclusively within upper class society. Artistic culture seems a necessary element in building a unified movement toward political and economic change. This movement would operate against the interests of the ruling class that currently sustains art; thus, the formation of an anti-capitalist artistic culture falls entirely upon artists themselves.
Of course, there is a long history of artists engaging with socio-economic issues, and there are still many artists with explicitly anti-establishment messages. Many recent political movements have used art powerfully. The gospel song “We Shall Overcome,” popularized by singers such as Pete Seeger and Joan Baez, helped to unify and define the Civil Rights Movement. Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” played a similar role in the Black Lives Matter movement. Yet the question remains for artists, how can we best make ourselves useful in the unprecedented, broad movement against capitalism required by our time? It is a difficult question. Of course, in order to produce art, artists must sustain themselves and make a living from their labor. The only people who can pay for artistic labor in our current system are those with disposable income. Therefore, artists are almost always forced to produce art for the people and institutions that perpetuate the very injustice that must be rejected.
I have found no clear answer to the question of how to navigate through this contradiction. Even the ruling class can voyeuristically appreciate art intended to be critical of our system; thus, creating explicitly political art may be necessary, but it is far from sufficient. I believe that consciously working against the upper class’ cultural hegemony is of utmost importance for artists in our current political-economic moment. The pianist Sviatoslav Richter famously felt that concerts should be given free of charge. Of course, it would be ideal for all artistic production to be available to those who need or want it, but it is not currently feasible for artists to merely give away all of their labor for free. However, the necessity of making a living should not discourage artists from participating in movements toward political and economic change as individuals and contributing to those movements with their work. As artists, it is our obligation to navigate this unique placement within a revolutionary movement and consider carefully how we can best contribute.
I believe that artistic work can be an effective tool for galvanizing, inspiring and uniting groups of people. One of the most famous examples of successful (though deeply flawed) political art is Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, published in 1852, which played an important role in energizing the anti-slavery movement. Similarly, Sinclair’s The Jungle, published in 1906, paved the way for the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act, playing a key role in the formation of the Food and Drug Administration. The ability of fiction to place readers within a visceral reality outside of their own immediate experience makes it a powerful tool in influencing public opinion. One way in which art can support political movements is through providing people with a better understanding of political and economic issues. However, the explicit development of political positions or depiction of political issues is not the only way in which art can be a powerful tool for change.
The emotional impact of art can serve as a quick and visceral way to express ideas and unify people around those ideas. Consider Picasso’s Guernica. The work does not explicitly detail the events of the bombing of Guernica or the political context of Francoist Spain. In fact, its rhetorical impact rests upon its surreal, dramatic presentation. For me, it produces a feeling of horror—and a visceral appreciation of the brutality of war—that few other artistic works can. “We Shall Overcome” became an important anthem of the Civil Rights Movement, but its content is not explicitly political. The song’s simple message of hope and perseverance—and its poignant, elegant structure—resonated with many during that political moment. Thus, in attempting to create art to contribute to a political and economic movement towards a more equitable society, artists’ works do not need to be overtly political.
While artists’ work during a revolutionary moment need not express specific political or economic stances, I believe that artists must interface with organizations pushing for political and economic change. Organizations such as the Democratic Socialists of America are building the infrastructure for achieving mass organization and mobilization, and artists can set the cultural tone of this movement. Artists must strive to reject the structures of capitalism and try not to inadvertently replicate them within artistic communities. We must recognize the value in all sincere artistic production and approach others’ work generously, emphasizing collaboration. We must emphatically reject the commodification of art and insist that art ought to be created for those who need it most, not for those with hoards of wealth. This mindset seems necessary to collectively construct an expansive network of concerned and involved artists.
Capitalism divides us through its insistence on the value of competition. But competition, and by extension capitalism, is antithetical to art. Art has an inescapably social nature; it not only relies on sharing and collaboration, but its purpose is almost always communication. Art can help unify us by giving people the opportunity to share their unique human experiences. Solidarity forever.