In which I invoke the words of Karl Marx to make a point about the Detroit Institute of Arts.

[LuckyTheDog]

“The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations. It has pitilessly torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man to his ‘natural superiors,’ and has left remaining no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, than callous ‘cash payment.’” – The Communist Manifesto, by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

That passage has always struck me as an odd way to criticize capitalism. For one thing, a lot of “feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations” deserved to be “torn asunder.” And clearly, Marx went way too far when he accused capitalism of reducing human relations to mere dollars and cents.

However, those lines came to mind when I heard that the Detroit Institute of Arts’ (DIA) art collection could be auctioned off to satisfy the City of Detroit’s creditors. It seemed as if Michigan had set out to confirm some of the most pessimistic, paranoid visions of free-market society.

As the News’ Nolan Finley pointed out, Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr has no plans to sell off the art. Even if the city went into bankruptcy, it’s not clear that the any of the collection – worth maybe $2 billion – would be sold. But it was chilling to hear it mentioned out loud.

More here: http://blogs.detroitnews.com/politics/2013/05/28/save-the-dia/

[corkhead]

1. I choose to invoke the prescient words of Mr. Frank Zappa:

"The illusion of freedom [in America] will continue as long as it’s profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater."

We are about to see the back of the theater in Detroit.

[LuckyTheDog]

3. Here is the funny thing

I tried to point out that Michigan was acting just like Marx would have predicted and then said, basically "we're better than that."

But the very first reader comment was from a guy who could have been used to prove Marx's point.

[corkhead]

6. Sorry, I guess I am not as optimistic as you are.

I am also cynical enough to believe that while Orr may not be the auctioneer, he is one of the ushers. It sounds to me like he is shrugging his shoulders and saying it is out of his hands, and that the bankruptcy courts will decide.

I never imagined I would see the wide-scale deterioration of metropolitan Detroit and Flint that has taken place over the past 30 years. But it happened - while Michigan did nothing to stop it.

So, I am not so sure "we're better than that"; especially while we have this Mackinac Center Amway toady as Governor.

Didn't mean to step on your cheerleading.

[BlueToTheBone]

2. I thought it was...You need agriculture

But, you've got to have art.

[Union Scribe]

4. And to think some otherwise sane DUers were supporting this atrocity

against democracy when Orr was appointed. This is what happens when you hand over a city to an unelected servant to business. Nothing is sacred to business. No one and no thing is untouchable, except the bottom line.

And especially fuck the Detroit News, who was totally on board with Snyder's takeover of Detroit. It's easy to play shock-face after the fact.

[LuckyTheDog]

5. Well... I try to bring balance to the commentary over there

In my humble role as unpaid blogger, I try to confront their assumptions.

But, yeah, they (as well as the Detroit Free Press) were rubbing their hands with glee when the emergency manager was appointed.

[Blue_Tires]

8. +1

[Fire Walk With Me]

7. Wall Street and the Koch brothers are doing vulture capitalism as seen in the film "Wall Street".

Buy up the assets of a bankrupt company, keep some, sell the rest at profit.

This is naked disaster capitalism. "Debt is their business model" ~The 99% Illunminator

[Starry Messenger]

9. I wonder why he thought Marx went too far?

Marx is rather sarcastic, which people sometimes miss. He wasn't defending feudalism, but rather revealing that capitalism wasn't the end all be all of enlightened human relationships either.

That we are having a conversation about a major metropolis selling off a really important art collection because of "emergencies" is an excellent case in point.

The DIA was a topic of discussion at the art school I went to. This would be like selling a US landmark to settle a bar bet. You just don't do this.

Detroit should have a New Deal, with a project like the TVA, to save her. It makes me sick to read about the things that are happening in MI.

[byeya]

10. If $Billions could be spent to bring power and water to parts of the south and arid southwest,

Detroit should be higher on the list for assistance with its trained workforce and history as a major manufacturing center and major trade and cultural center.

[Starry Messenger]

11. That's the world I dream of living in.

You said it. What is going on now is a travesty on all levels.

[byeya]

12. It does not reflect well on the leadership of the USA to allow one of its major cities, and a former

net contributor to the treasury, to be allowed to disintegrate. These desert cities are only possible through massive public spending - think Hoover Dam of instance - that has never been paid back.

[Starry Messenger]

13. The leadership is a reflection of the will of the voters, unfortunately.

That's shifting a bit in some places, but there is an obscene resistance to doing that kind of large scale social project anymore. Even here on DU there is some indifference to what is happening to places like Detroit, or a sense that they brought in on themselves and must go it alone. "If I suffer, you have to suffer" is a common strain in US politics and culture.

[grok]

14. what can 2 billion dollars buy?

2 stealth bombers

4 years aids research at the CDC..

2 years food for 10 million cats/dogs

20,000 student's tuition,room and board at the best universities

feed 500,000 families for a year

hey hey, ho ho! van gogh has got to go!

just do a digital scan of each artwork and put that up. besides, the fat cat that buys it will loan it out to the public for bragging rights anyway!

get our priorities straight..

[LuckyTheDog]

15. But in this case, the $2 billion...

... would go toward paying back New York banks.

[grok]

16. so the borrowed 2 billion was misspent?

If you don't pay back, you can't borrow the two billion back.

you could probably borrow another two billion on top of that by pretending you'are honest and will pay it all back.

there is no point in anybody lending anybody anything if you can't expect to get your at least the principal back.

AND Detroit is going to have a LOT of infrastructure to rebuild.. far more than 2 billion dollars worth. only way to do that is to borrow. and not just from suckers.