Quote:
Originally Posted by stonetools
I guess I'm looking at things from a more public policy , "wholistic" viewpoint. I believe that an educated and knowledgeable citizenry is essential to a free state (even more essential than whats safeguarded in the Second Amendment of the US Constitution ) so I think that the book industry should be encouraged ( by government action if necessary ) to produce quality non fiction.
I think the publishing industry needs no incentive whatsoever to turn out genre fiction, which takes it place beside celebrity tell-alls on the best seller lists . Whats the publishing industry needs is to turn out the kind of nonfiction that educates the public against swallowing whole the pronouncements of say, the current crop of folks running for presidency of the most militarily powerful nation on Earth.
Frankly, a lot of the genre fiction published by a publisher beloved on this forum (Baen) espouses notions ("peace" through " firepower" ) that would bear criticism through the publication of just kind of historical non fiction that I would like the publishing industry to produce, but we are probably moving OT. I just want to show what the stakes are if we move to a situation where publishing industry churns out ONLY whats popular. |
It seems to me that instead of "peace" through "firepower", you're recommending "freedom" through "corecion". When any government starts pushing the production of writing, the result is propagenda, not enlightenment. If you agree with what the government is pushing, it won't seem like propaganda to you, but to the mythical "man from Mars" it would certainly seem to be.