Dear Jeyamohan,
In my view, one of the major losses to literature caused by the withdrawal of the upper classes from literary culture is the disappearance of certain kinds of knowledge and experience from literature.
At the lower level, we lose an understanding of the hidden mechanisms of power—the subtle strategies, relationships, negotiations, and games through which power operates. Those who are closely connected to centres of power often possess an intimate knowledge of these realities, but when they turn away from literature, that experience rarely finds its way into literary works.
At a higher level, what is lost is an engagement with profound philosophical questions supported by a high degree of erudition. Literature becomes poorer when it is disconnected from people who have had access to deep intellectual traditions, extensive learning, and sustained philosophical inquiry.
Thus, the absence of the upper classes from literature does not merely reduce its social diversity. It can also impoverish literature’s understanding of both power at the practical level and philosophy at the highest intellectual level.
Regards,
Rajan K. R.
