As Voltaire supposedly said, “God doesn't exist, but don't tell the servants.” That seems to be the main concern of Kwame Anthony Appiah, the philosopher-toff who writes the “Ethicist” column for the New York Times. Two hundred years ago the British ruling classes parked the slow-witted sons in a bishopric; today they park them in a Philosophy department, with the same purpose:
“… to create a system that allows people to hold on to their possessions and dispose of them only when they choose to […] — a system we all have reason to value and a duty to help sustain by keeping to the rules.”1
Kwame’s been getting his lordly knickers in a knot of late, to judge by the number of columns that show his deep concern that some folks don’t believe in the Great God of Greed: staff that’s so nice they forget to bill a customer; a Starbucks manager—manager!— who puts out free magazines to compensate for the latte. Is nothing sacred?
Not even at the Museum of Modern Art. A friend of mine turned up at the admissions desk the other day, and for no particular reason, she was handed a free admission ticket: “We make these available on a random basis,” they said. Random for sure: the ticket was stamped ACTIVE MILITARY; My friend looks like Cosette on a job interview with Anna Wintour.
Now it’s true that MoMA has a long and complicated list of who gets in for free or almost free; but it’s the spontaneity I love. It’s as if someone behind the desk had decided they were tired of doing the Lord of the Manor’s bidding, and they were going to bend the rules, which is not at all uncommon in New York, or even in America, and even less rare among union members: I’ve been known to do the same myself; and I’ve been known to get a freebie here and there, because that’s what unions stand for: redistribution of wealth
So here’s an inside tip. Supposing you’re not eligible for the numerous privileged forms of admission at the Museum of Modern Art. Head for the ticket counter and ask if there’s a freebie somewhere. Be friendly. Be sociable. Wear your union button so my brothers and sisters at the United Auto Workers will know you’re one of us. Come the Revolution everybody gets free museum admissions, or what’s the point?
WOID XXIII-42
March 3, 2024