Historically famous critics

Dwight Macdonald

1906-1982 · American · 20th century

Cultural critic and editor who attacked mass culture and middlebrow taste

Macdonald gave the modern debate over popular culture much of its vocabulary, drawing sharp lines between genuine art, Masscult, and the more insidious Midcult that flatters audiences while lowering standards. As editor of the journal politics and a combative essayist, he moved across Trotskyism, anarchism, and pacifism while attacking totalitarian politics and cultural mediocrity with equal force. His argument that mass production degrades culture remains a touchstone for critics of commercialized media.