“So long as the system of competition in the production and exchange of the means of life goes on, the degradation of the arts will go on”

—  William Morris

"Art Under Plutocracy" (1883).
Context: So long as the system of competition in the production and exchange of the means of life goes on, the degradation of the arts will go on; and if that system is to last for ever, then art is doomed, and will surely die; that is to say, civilization will die.

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William Morris 119
author, designer, and craftsman 1834–1896

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