When I think about something that the country or the state does to placate its middle and lower class, all I can think of is the faire. People always go to the faire to tire out their children with rides and shows. The parents indulge in something greasy and chat about parenthood. But if you are not a parent, child, or lover of fried oreos, where is your opiate? Well, on the college campus, we have an excellent example. Student groups use school funding to give us free food and entertainment several times a year. It's not exactly free, since we are paying tens of thousands of dollars for our educations in advance, but I suppose it's the thought that counts. Granted, even in the days of Mozart living wasn't free. So these complimentary items have always been just a way of distracting us from the money we give up in order to live. The good news is that for most of us, fake rewards are just as gratifying.
(Rethink holidays.)
Up next: Mozart and the baroque in popular culture.
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