“All human effort beyond the lowest level of the struggle for animal subsistence is motivated by the need to live in style.”
That’s the incomparable Albert Murray in his 1970 book The Omni-Americans. He sets up the line with a reference to the significance of art in human behavior, then goes on to explain what he means by living “in style”:
Certainly the struggle for political and social liberty is nothing if not a quest for freedom to choose one’s own way or style of life. Moreover, it should be equally as obvious that there can be no such thing as human dignity and nobility without a consummate, definitive style, pattern, or archetypal image. Economic interpretations of history notwithstanding, what activates revolutions is not destitution (which most often leads to petty thievery and the like) but intolerable systems and methods—intolerable styles of life.
The Library of America has published a gorgeous fiftieth anniversary edition of The Omni-Americans, and it’s practically a steal at $12.
