A hatred of commercialism is unconsciously optimistic. It operates from the (possibly naive) premise that—in and of themselves—things have merit, regardless of what those things are. Social sickness only emerges from how those things are presented: Art is intrinsically good, but attempts to make it palatable to those who don’t understand art make it bad. It’s cool to wear flannel, but not if someone is convinced to wear flannel as a way to be cool. Christmas is wonderful, but hearing “Jingle Bells” in a mall two weeks before Thanksgiving is perverse. The problem of commercialism is the motive,
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