Banksy Backlash

I like the work of Street philosopher Banksy. It is usually biting and clever. He is a voice of dissent. I am reading a book called Why Societies Need Dissent by Cass Sunstein, professor of juriprudence at the University of Chicago School of Law. Here is an early comment in the book:

Conformists are often thought to be protective of social interests, keeping quiet for the sake of the group. By contrast, dissenters tend to be seen as selfish individualists, embarking on projects of their own. But in an important sense, the opposite is closer to the truth. Much of the time, dissenters benefit others, while conformists benefit themselves.

Could there be a backlash against Banksy - dissent - in the design community. This from the design blog AceJet170
Making stuff look shit etc.

"OK, perhaps it's very uncool to say this but I really hate graffiti. I know, I know; it's a youth/sub-culture thing and I'm just about as far away from that now as I could be, and I know there are some very talented people out there graffiti-ing (or whatever you'd call it), and yes, I know, everyone loves Banksy. But on the whole, the vast majority of it is just moronic and habitual daubing of "public property" with shitty looking "tags".

Unfortunately most graffiti 'artists' don't have the talent or wit that Banksy has.

On the idea of dissent - I wonder if the basis of creativity is dissent. I've said it before - Agreeing isn't thinking; it's voting. Creative people have to disagree that the n'est plus ultra has been achieved.

Here's to the malcontents.

P.S. Thanks to Brand DNA for the Banksy quote.

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