Cultural status functions without actual engagement with the work.

Evidence

A great poet is almost as good as a great inventor or talent scout, just as long as the standing of the work protects us from having to read any of it. — Theodor W. Adorno, The Culture Industry, 110

Categorization

Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims

• CANDY: A genuinely aphoristic, tweetable Adorno line — status-as-substitute-for-reading lands well on modern canon-burnings and ‘important book’ posturing.