The artisan class is a leisure class

[Conquer or Die]

They can exist solely to generate non-human needs fulfilling work. Are such artists inherently counter revolutionary? Are they made to be so?

Assuming people are still interested in art, games, and other things after takeover, what becomes the impetus other than a market mechanism that will drive these things to progress and/or be shared?

Are we suggesting that the artisan class motivation is inherent? That need fulfilling work is done by the artist? How will art be distributed?

[RGacky3]

Its up to the artist, since when has the profit motive been been nessesary, or even a positive factor for art? I know many people that make music, paintings or whatever just out of the love of doing it and watching people enjoy it. Whats the question? That does'nt mean that art is ALL the artist would do, chances are he'd also be heavily involved in other things in the community.

Art, in itself, is not class based at all, its human nature, aesthetics, Capitalism has turned it into a marketing tool, the same way it has done with sex, the same way it has done with many things, that does'nt mean that marketing created art, or sex or any of the things that capitalism exploits.

[Che a chara]

I actually think this is a decent question.

The creator will still 'profit' from popularity and enhance his/her influence and standing in their field and affect how it maybe run in society. Seeing others like and enjoy your creation should be motivation enough.

And why should the artist be heavily involved in other things in the community ? He/she would have influence in decision making in other aspects under direct democracy. He/she can be involved in other work if they want, but why should they be ?

[Jimmie Higgins]

If you are talking about specialized craft production - a lot of it would no longer be needed in my opinion. Much of the contemporary fascination with handcrafted versions of massed produced things comes out of a desire for some rich people to set themselves apart (like elite designer clothes) or (but often connected) a dissatisfaction with poor quality mass-produced items.

Without the profit motive, I think mass production could be used to more efficiently and easily produce most things at the level of quality that people want and so I think most hand-crafted items would loose their special value in a non-capitalist society.

Other arts and crafts that express more of a individual vision would be motivated by the individual's desire to create a song, painting, quilt, clothing, etc. I think people would probably form communities and networks for shared interests like this.

Since probably one of the first and most immediate effects of a revolution would be increased free-time, I think more people would be interested in doing these sorts of things. Also as a democratically run system developed with the end of capitalism, access to things like education and expensive production equipment would be open to more people so aspiring musicians could schedule time in a nice recording studio and not have to pay $100s for each hour they are there.

So I think the elimination of the profit-system would create an explosion of people's ability for personal expression and developing their skills based on their own interests. So many people today are told from an early age to forget about doing the things they like because there is no future in it. If not that, they get caught up just trying to survive: working AND going to school, or just putting in extra hours at work to make more money or to try and move up and get better wages.

It should also be noted that self-sustaining craft-making (in the US anyway) is largely a myth for most people. Most craft-people are people who either work a day-job, are stay-at-home parents, have some other source of income like a trust, or live in poverty. Most people would like to be their own boss and so since we are not currently in a revolutionary situation, the most direct path (at least what people think is the path, but it's still a long-shot) to that right now is by doing a craft or starting your own business.

[Conquer or Die]

Should Communards support Torrent websites that deprive profit from artisans?