In 1927, G.K. Chesterton spoke in the Great Hall of University College, London. The topic: “Culture and the Coming Peril.” People probably thought he was going to talk about Bolshevism, but he didn't. The peril isn't Communism, Chesterton said, it's vulgarity: “To put it shortly, the evil I am trying to warn you of is not excessive democracy, it is not excessive ugliness, it is not excessive anarchy. It might be stated thus: It is standardization by a low standard.” That was the “chief danger confronting us on the artistic and cultural side and generally on the intellectual side at this moment.” He went on to point out that politics could only remedy the social aspects of the problem. The “deeper remedies” were theological.
