In reality, however, art is not determined by the economic system. Marx himself made the following confession in latter part of his Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy. The difficulty we are confronted with is not, however, that of understanding how Greek art and epic poetry are associated with certain forms of social development. The difficulty is that they still give us aesthetic pleasure and are in certain respects regarded as a standard and unattainable ideal. But Marx felt a difficulty because of the fact that Greek art and epic poetry, such as The Iliad and The Odyssey, not only give contemporary people joy, but have even become the models of art.
Human beings have the fundamental desire to pursue the values of trueness, goodness, and beauty.
Even though fallen, all people possess it in all periods, universally. Therefore, if the values of trueness, goodness, and beauty are expressed in a work of art, that work catches everyone's heart. The fact that Greek art has continued to be enjoyed by people even until today means that it contains eternal values of trueness, goodness, and beauty. Finally, let us consider Gorky and Tolstoy, two writers who were totally different in style, though both of them condemned the corruption of Russian society before the Revolution in the same way and in almost the same period. Gorky conformed with Communism, which sought to overthrow capitalism violently, and asserted that the mission of the artist lies in inspiring revolutions.