Forced Creativity

Without reaching a conclusion, I wondered for a long time how creativity functions in a democratic society. It might be that I became interested in the topic when I read, as a 14-year-old, a novel written by a woman who remained a narcissistic adolescent her entire life, Ayn Rand. 

I recently found some insights into this matter in writings about the  recent Supreme Court case in which two gay men sued a creative Colorado baker who refused to design and make them a special wedding cake. The decision itself is of no interest. The Court avoided all meaningful issues and slipped away. But the discussion in the aftermath was interesting. Can the government, in the name of equal rights, force someone to do something creative, in this case, to design and bake a cake?

The answer seems to be yes and no. In a business open to the public, every customer must be treated the same. That's the price of a business license. If your business is designing special cakes, you must treat all customers the same. There is no exemption for bakers who are especially creative or bigoted. This applies to a nail solon, a barbershop, a bakery or a cafe (many businesses have a creative element). If someone enters your bakery and requests you make a cake with a gay flag on top, you have to do it (unless you don't create special cakes).

But novelists, sculptors, composers, etc., seldom operate businesses open to the general public. Instead they sign contracts with individual entities. They don't have public business licenses, and they can do as they please. You can't force John Barth to write a novel that supports your religion. 

That's how it works in one country.