WHY THE EARL GREY?
What need is there for high culture in the modern, practical world?

Literature, art and higher learning now tend to be associated with a past Gilded Age - a time when a privileged class presented a facade of culture, masking the gross poverty and want of those lower than them in the social hierarchy. This terrible inequality could not be maintained, and great steps toward its abolition have been made. One would expect that, with this effort, would come ever-greater access to the finest things in life, these noble arts and sciences that bring with them, not only an increase in quality of life, but the insight and sense of fulfillment that lets one achieve one’s greatest potential, as an individual and as a responsible member of society.

Alas, it seems this was not to be. Instead, pursuits of spirital and intellectual excellence have been discarded as the frivolities of the past elite. A new ideal has been formed - a “practical” ideal, an “efficient” ideal. We are now expected to, with the aid of modern gadgets and lifestyle accessories, maximise our ability to work, produce and serve, balancing our busy lifestyles out with light, non-threatening, quick-release “popular culture”. Dedication of time and effort to anything considered and long-term, anything not immediately practical, is seen as either snobby or ridiculously misguided.

Though access to education and high pursuits was restricted to the elite, the human ability to learn was not. Now both are available to all. And yet we do not learn. Even socialists, whose forebears promised the underprivileged the world, have lost interest in fine things - an interest in nothing but “low art” that borders on the puritannical is instead the fashion. It seems socialism now tries not to bring luxury to the proletariat, but poverty to the bourgeoisie.

And so, we are in much the same position as we were a hundred years ago, despite our relative wealth and security, only now we work and don’t play or learn not out of necessity but as a virtue. Compare this to French citizens under the Terror, still poor, still ruled over absolutely, but as part of their duty to liberty and equality. Imagine an only partly democratic system, fixed not by extending the franchise, but by abolishing democracy.

Naturally this state of affairs is not absolute, as none ever is. Here in Australia, higher education featuring edifying studies encouraging students to yearn to be a complete Renaissance individual. In contrast to past trends toward equality and universality, however, these studies are again either being reduced to the purely short-term practical, or becoming the realm of the elite. This bodes poorly for the future, and for the integrity of our governments, our journalism and our business. Time invested in the study of history and political science allows us to see how the ideas and actions that came before succeeded and failed, and so guide our own paths. Study of literature lets us see how what is being said reflects what is meant, and what is really happening. Study of art, poetry and social sciences let us better relate to our fellow human beings, and know how best to organise ourselves, for any purpose. Without these insights, we are far more at the mercy of the tides. Yet, our culture is strongly centred around the short-lived - in fashion, in the public memory and in the quality of what we produce.

Why artisanship?

There was a time when, compared to today, many to most craftspeople worked for themselves or for their family. Their wares were made skillfully, and to last. This widespread independence, before the age of mass-production, is associated now with the comparative poverty of the era - there we no mp3 players, no digital televisions, no fridge magnets. Many of the important developments in science and industry that sparked our modern prosperity came from this time, however.

In modern times, most items we use in our lives are mass-produced. The greatest part of manufacturers work for someone else, as a dispensible part of a greater industrial entity. Any one person’s role in the creation of products is limited and regimented - they have little say in the operation of the machine, and receive little reward for their efforts. Any personal or artistic stake in the act of creation has been voided. As a result, and in keeping with the fashion for the short-lived, products created so are not designed to last. When thousands upon thousands can be made, they can be replaced immediately. We find ourselves in a rut, never able to find a quality item or even hold on to what we have. Our trousers tear, our appliances break, our automobiles clearly need to be done away with for the latest model with electronic gimmickry.

Even if not for the great indignity suffered by the manufacturers, paid a pittance to create goods sold for a fortune, this system would only be truly viable were the resources necessary synthesised from thin air, which the resulting mess would return to. As it is, sustainability is largely unreachable. Is it impossible that, given the technology available, a trend toward independent artishanship would be able to create quality items for everyone, that would serve them, and their children, and their grandchildren, greatly reducing resource drain and waste’s stress upon our green Earth? Would we not then be free from this cycle of fashion, obsolesence, unnecessary work and endless consumer spending?

What can The Earl Grey do?

First and foremost, The Earl Grey is a social club. It exists to allow like-minded individuals to come together, offering rest and respite from the vagaries of the world. While doing so, The Earl Grey can also serve as a nucleus of social action. By spreading interest in the finer things in life - through a public performance of the works of Wilde, or releasing entertaining readings of worthwhile texts, for example - a movement toward spiritual and intellectual improvement can hopefully be begun. In addition, carefully-targetted political action on important and historically-informed points can achieve a desirable effect. A key goal is that the process, all along the way, be enjoyable and relaxing for those involved, in order that the primary goal of The Earl Grey be maintained and membership be encouraging to all, not merely committed campaigners.