Letter to Prospect magazine, January 2014, from Mr. Gene Schulman

“Surely, what we call art today is little more than hype promoted by the hucksters of art in the same way the banks have created housing bubbles. As a matter of fact, it is the bankers working hand in hand with the art hucksters who have created the current art bubble that pushes a Francis Bacon or a Jeff Koons to the astronomical heights of recent auction prices. Bacon is art; Koons is hype. (Gene Schulman)

A Ming dynasty pot is worth, if it is in good condition, say a million dollars. When Chinese artist Ai Weiwei puts a Coca Cola logo around it it is sold for two million dollars. Epicurus would call this “excess”, a function of the wealth of a tiny fraction of the world’s population who have more money than they know what to do with. If they all invest in the Ai Weiwei’s of the world a first-rate return on capital is a foregone conclusion, until the music stops. Then, whoever is left standing loses a ton. It is, as the writer says, a bubble, confined to the ruling class.

How much less stressful it is to have calm thoughts in a beautiful, and free, garden. Live modestly!