2026-05-10T19:50:08Z

Composition gold

Creator

Passenger Pigeon Press

Abstract Or Scope

"This issue of Martha's Quarterly, Issue 20, Summer 2021, Composition Gold, brings together an essay by classicist Tae-Yeoun Keum and photographs by artist Rodrigo Valenzuela to explore questions of nobility and class, labor and imagination, and fate and agency. I was inspired when I listened to someone talk about the noble lie, a kind of myth often told by the elite or ruling class of a society that is meant to maintain social harmony. In monarchies and caste system societies, the noble lie is essential to keeping people spread across different classes, in their place and seldom questioning their situation. Today, many democratic societies also use a noble lie that many accept: "meritocracy," i.e. the idea that one is rewarded and can move between classes as a result of one's hard work and talent." -- publisher's website, viewed August 11, 2022.