Londoners gathered last week at the Royal Geographic Society to hear philosopher Roger Scruton and others debate the idea that Britainers are growing indifferent to beauty (or already are).

Here is a review of Scruton’s new book, Beauty.

Here is the Guardian news piece about the debate.

Here is a Guardian editorial about the debate, with these closing lines:

“The optimists are right in their observation that trade and commerce have spread access to wonderful things wider than ever before through society. Beauty has been democratised. But the pessimists are right to point out that a by-product of that process is commodification. A consumer society knows the price of everything, but the value of nothing, which is, of course, the classic definition of a cynic.

And what is the antidote to cynicism? As the audience at the Royal Geographical Society found, it is remembering that, all around us, we never lose sight of beautiful things.”

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