artists who are pro-NFT or on the fence will not be won over by appeals to ethics. the only thing that will work is a system that promises more and delivers. but you can’t promise more than life-changing wealth. nothing will change until we change our understanding of “more”.

the most common reply i get to my comments questioning financialization: “what is the alternative?” and i feel like, as people who ostensibly spend all our time being creative, we are suffering from a profound lack of collective imagination.

i imagine an alternate timeline where public funding for the arts, and mutual aid, are both so strong that most artists never even considered gambling their time and shilling their work.

i want a world where the barrier to entry for being an artist is not financial, but only about how difficult it is to wake up every morning and try to make something worthwhile.

i want a world where millions try their hand as artists because it is so well funded. most will give up because they realize it’s not what they want to be doing. but then a few discover that it is more fulfilling than they expected, and all our lives are enriched by their work.

i want a world where success is not a lottery or about fame. success just means everyone has the resources to continue making their art for as long as they want.

adding some context/disclaimer to this end of this thread for anyone who trudges this deep