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I would also ask where the concensus for a social judgment of writing quality comes from becuase here we have, what, 5 or 6 people regularly contributing to this thread and we can't even find concensus.
I never suggested there was consensus. I think I used the phrase 'social dialogue'. The idea that distinctions between 'best' and 'favourite' are social doesn't imply that the distinction is rigid, or that everyone understands the distinction to be in the same place.
Jackie is there is a clear definition betwixt best and favorite does that then mean that the people who voted for Rowling and Pratchett are wrong?
Of course it doesn't. If there is no difference does that mean that, should those people go into a bookshop looking for the new Pratchett, they will go to a different section of the shop than if they were looking for a Jane Austen? Of course it doesn't.
Pizza or curry which tastes better?
The analogy doesn't work because they're both fast food. A better analogy might be, is the food better at your local pizza store or a fancy gourmet restaurant in the city? (For the purposes of the analogy, I am going to assume that the gourmet tucker isn't any healthier than the pizza. Okay?) Now, you will clearly find a lot of people who prefer the pizza shop - for a combination of reasons (mainly economic, but also a simple taste preference, not having the kind of educated palate that can appreciate gourmet flavours, and straight-up never having tried gourmet food).
That doesn't mean they would insist there is no real difference between pizza and foie gras, though. And most people, I think, can easily see that the difference is largely social - i.e., less a matter of the inherent qualities of the food than the baggage built up around it. |
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