From Patronage to Algorithm: The Loss of Sacred Support
✍️ How algorithms replaced patrons and reshaped creativity and spirituality.
From Patronage to Self-Patronage: The Loss of Balance in Art and Spirituality
In traditional societies, the roles of artist, priest, and prince were distinct yet deeply interconnected. The prince, as a patron, provided financial and material support to both artists and priests, giving them the space and time to pursue their callings. Artists and priests, in turn, offered society cultural and spiritual enrichment, fostering a sense of meaning, identity, and higher purpose. This triadic relationship formed a delicate balance: the prince wielded economic power, the priest held spiritual authority, and the artist captured the soul of the times. Together, they sustained a vision greater than any one individual.
However, in the modern capitalist world, this balance has unraveled. The roles of artist and priest have merged with that of the prince, forcing them to become their own patrons. No longer provided with time and space to devote solely to their work, they must now navigate the demands of marketing, self-promotion, and financial survival. This shift has introduced a profound conflict, detrimentally impacting the integrity of their work.
The Separation of Powers: A Lost Symbiosis
In the traditional model, the separation of powers was essential. The prince controlled wealth but relied on the priest for moral and spiritual legitimacy, while the priest, in turn, needed the prince's material support to sustain their work. The artist, free from both political and spiritual authority, acted as an intermediary, offering critique, inspiration, and reflection. Each role acted as a counterbalance, preventing any one sphere—economic, spiritual, or cultural—from dominating the others.
Today, this balance is absent. The artist and priest are left to manage all three roles—creator, entrepreneur, and moral guide—often at the expense of their deeper purpose. Instead of focusing on their art or spiritual practice, they must prioritize visibility, profitability, and relevance in an attention-driven economy. This merging of roles leads to a dilution of their essential functions and an erosion of their ability to serve society meaningfully.
The Cost of Self-Patronage
This modern system demands not only creative excellence but also entrepreneurial acumen, leaving little room for the introspection and depth that art and spirituality require. Artists and priests must engage their egos to compete in the marketplace, a necessity at odds with the self-transcendence central to their work. The result is often art and spirituality tailored to the demands of algorithms, audiences, and markets—what sells, not what heals.
Consider the phenomenon of spiritual materialism, particularly visible in Western societies. Many spiritual leaders frame their teachings around the idea of “abundance,” often conflating it with financial prosperity. While abundance is indeed a divine principle, its reduction to economic gain reflects a broader societal addiction to wealth. This “spiritual capitalism” commodifies transcendence, turning it into another product in a consumer-driven system.
Lessons from Indian Society
By contrast, Indian society offers an alternative, albeit imperfect, model. Spirituality and artistic expression are deeply embedded in its cultural fabric. Ashrams and artistic endeavors are often supported through donations and communal patronage, not because they are profitable but because they are seen as essential to the collective well-being. Here, the priest and the artist remain distinct from the prince, yet the society as a whole acts as a patron, acknowledging the inherent value of their contributions.
This stems from a worldview that values spiritual and cultural wealth over material accumulation. In India, the work of the artist and the priest is understood as foundational to societal harmony, not a luxury to be indulged only when economic conditions permit. This recognition contrasts sharply with Western societies, where art and spirituality are often dismissed as non-essential luxuries.
A Deeper Spiritual Failing
The failure of modern capitalism to honor art and spirituality reflects a deeper spiritual deficit. The concentration of wealth—where 2% of the population controls 80% of resources—is a symptom of a system that prioritizes privilege over justice. Such stark inequality betrays a lack of spiritual vision, a refusal to see others as equally divine. In this worldview, art and spirituality are valuable only if they can generate profit, reducing these profound human endeavors to commodities.
The shift from patronage to self-patronage exacerbates this problem, leaving artists and priests without the support needed to challenge, inspire, and guide society. Instead, they are forced to conform to the very systems they might otherwise critique.
Toward a New Balance
The question, then, is not merely how to restore the artist and priest to their rightful roles but how to reimagine the relationship between economic, spiritual, and cultural power. Can we create a society where wealth serves art and spirituality rather than the other way around? Can we recognize the intrinsic value of these pursuits, independent of their marketability?
Revisiting the balance of the traditional triad—prince, priest, and artist—offers a path forward. By reinstituting a separation of powers, where economic, spiritual, and cultural spheres hold each other in check, we might recover a sense of harmony. In this model, the artist and priest need not become their own princes, and the prince, humbled by the wisdom of the priest and the vision of the artist, might learn to see wealth as a means rather than an end.
In doing so, we would honor not only the artist and the priest but also the divine spark in each of us—the recognition that life’s true wealth lies not in accumulation but in creation, connection, and meaning.
I could have extended this to teachers and health care personnel....