Both aesthetic mood and money-possession liberate the self from resistant reality

Evidence

Aesthetic contemplation, which is possible for any object and only especially easy for the beautiful, most thoroughly closes the gap between the self and the object. It allows as easy, effortless, and harmonious formation of the image of the object as if this image were determined only by the nature of the self. Hence the sense of liberation which accompanies an aesthetic mood; it is characterized by emancipation from the stuffy dull pressure of life, and the expansion of the self with joy and freedom into the objects whose reality would otherwise violate it. Such is the psychological tone of joy in the mere possession of money. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 451

Categorization

• XREF: Directly supports the essay’s claim that the flâneur’s aestheticizing gaze is a defensive emancipation from urban pressure — the observer converts the threatening street into a purely visual, frictionless medium. — connects to: Economic value emerges through the distance exchange creates between self and object — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 250; Both nature’s mechanism and history’s determinism oppress the modern self — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 163; Prestige-priced shops reveal money as the supreme value through denial — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 458 (+10 more)

Related

• Resentment targets wealth without visible function more than oppression itself (similarity 0.85)
• Money functions as magic, making desire immediately effective (similarity 0.82)
• Economic value emerges through the distance exchange creates between self and object (similarity 0.82)
• The money economy makes social action approach pure objectivity (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Economic value emerges through the distance exchange creates between self and object #expands (0.70) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 250
• Both nature’s mechanism and history’s determinism oppress the modern self #corroborates (0.55) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 163