Vice as lone sponsor of culture

Artists are often expected to give their all, to express themselves intensely, and to constantly break down barriers. Musicians and actors follow these directives from the managers or financiers who steer their careers—a dynamic that has driven up rates of addiction, premature or sudden death, and unhappiness within the artistic community.

Tobacco companies, distillers of spirits, traffickers of illicit substances, and other purveyors of vice: should they really stand as primary promoters of what is commonly labeled as cultural industry? A cursory glance at financial statements of these vice enterprises, when compared to those of the cultural industries, suggests that it is art that ultimately succumbs to lure of lucrative excess.

Hosting extravagant, debauched parties has become an apparent obligation of our decadent Western culture. It is no coincidence that top-performing students at American and European universities often hail from Asia, graduating with honors; they dedicate their time to study, while their popular Western peers exhaust themselves in a state of perpetual celebration.

Flaws of the new world order are not solely the fault of the major financiers who supposedly pull the strings of our lives. We ourselves, in our relentless pursuit of pleasure, contribute to decay of the old order. If we reject things that carry too many harmful side effects, and instead choose products and services that align with meaningful life ideals, we can provide inspiration to artists who seek to redirect their creativity toward more constructive ends.

Rubén Rivero