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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.

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