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This stolen valor mindset becomes absurd if Bach anonymously open-sources the formula he discovered and dies before releasing any music himself.

Whatever music that follows, however hard fought for - even if 1:1 Bach output that he kept in a drawer, isn't beautiful? Just string plucking? That's not music appreciation, that's love of reputation you can easily grasp and associate with.

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I think Nozick's example is meant to make us re-think whether there is a strict separation between music (or other artistic) reputation and love of reputation.

In Anarchy, State and Utopia, he tackles some utopian theorists' claim that, if equality prevails, everyone will rise up to the level of the greatest writers and artists. Would people be content then? Or will they still want to vie for "eyeballs"? If the latter, should we just admit that there is just a deep-seated human desire to compete for dominance?

For what it is worth, I've written up my reflections on skimming Anarchy, State and Utopia here: https://books-blog.3willows.xyz/posts/2024-10-26-anarchy-sta...

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