I was struck by the following paradox, and shared it with a friend, who agreed: free market capitalism is the single worst nightmare of an artist. This is because in a world of supply and demand, there is a seemingly infinite supply of masterpieces a talented artist can create while alive, and only finite demand, so none of it has any real value. Why pay for a piece of artwork when you can simply commission the artist to make one just for you? It's only after the artist dies, when there is but a finite supply of their artwork available and no more can ever be created, that their work takes on meaningful value in the marketplace. But alas, that's too late for the artist, who has long since died penniless. To paraphrase our current president: "there is no such thing as a successful artist; only a successful businessman."
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