#1 An Introduction to Criticism

            After reading the “Theory for Beginners”, I can conclude the author’s main point to be that criticism is the ability to change how the world works by changing how people think, perceive, believe, and act. Stories and words provide us with our “norms”, but criticism helps us to evolve new norms and outgrow old ones. And in order to critique and eventually change these norms, people must broaden their perspective of everyday life, past one’s own culture, knowledge, and comfort zone.

            For the most part, I agree with the author’s opinions on criticism and looking beyond one’s own lifestyle to further expand their thoughts, views, and beliefs to a perspective that is not naïve to how the world actually works and has a better understanding of others from all over the world. This perspective including Capitalism, the reality of our so-called “freedom”, and how non-individualistic our culture is due to what is “acceptable” and what is not. As US citizens, we are raised and bred to take on roles as workers in order to inherit power and wealth. These two ideas, a human fabrication of success, are what our society strives toward our entire lives. I share the opinion that this system is not right in any way, and if we opened our minds to other views of the world and distanced ourselves from our idea that “the majority works; a minority benefits” then we could find a much more equal, fair, and peaceful form of success.

            In counterpart, I do think that without any sort rules, laws, structure, etc., it would be just as damaging to the operation of the world if not worse. Without any of this, civility would crumble and chaos would break out. If we were all truly able to do whatever we pleased to its entirety, humans would regress rather than evolve. However, Michael Ryan and his ideas are ones that, within reason, if taken into consideration by more people, especially those in power, would be extremely beneficial to improving our thoughts, behaviors, beliefs, morals, and the workings of the world as a whole.