If you need proof of the politicisation of everyday life, look no further than Melbourne’s public transport. Political propaganda parading as art adorns the sides of trains, trams, and buses across the metropolitan network.

The most recent example is the Victorian government’s Rising exhibition, a partnership with Melbourne Trams to deliver ‘moving artwork’ featuring ‘vivid visions of Blak Futurism’, all funded by the Victorian taxpayer.

Despite the perilous state of Victoria’s finances, Rising has been the beneficiary of significant public largesse.

Gone are the days when commuters could travel to work without being bombarded at every turn with political messaging. Thanks to second-wave feminists, ‘The personal has become political.’ And as the political sphere grows, the private sphere shrinks. The relentless expansion of big government, facilitated by technological progress, has led to its unprecedented reach in surveillance and communications.

Melbourne’s Art Trams are a constant reminder of this 21st-century reality and the proliferation of virtue signaling around niche political issues of class, race, and climate.

The Rising website is so politically correct it verges on satire. Viewers are asked whether they have ever, ‘dared to dream’ and are urged to reflect on the ‘impact of colonisation’. They are told to ‘disconnect from expectations’ and lectured on ‘indigenous perspectives’. They are asked, ‘How can we own our future?’ and told to ‘Look our past and present in the eye’.

But this is not a joke. As the referendum for the Voice approaches, indigenous politics is becoming increasingly important and divisive. Push-polling questions like, ‘How do we reclaim space? How can we own our future? How do you envision a Blak tomorrow?’ appeal to the emotions, but they provide no detail as to the nature of the problem or any viable solution.

Its racial credentials established, one might wonder about Rising’s stance on sustainability or gender equity. Fortunately, ‘LGBTQIA+’ and ‘climate change’ are both listed as ‘themes that could be explored’ on the exhibition’s website.

On top of this, Melbourne trams are supposedly 100 per cent offset by renewable energy thanks to two Victorian solar farms. This is a fact no one is allowed to ignore, being emblazoned on those trams not covered in ‘Blak Futurism’ artwork.

When it comes to virtue signaling, Melbourne trams are hard to fault. When it comes to delivering a timely, clean, and safe service, however, there is room for improvement. Political propaganda is prominently displayed on tram walls, but it’s hard to ignore the sticky floors, litter, and noxious odours.

The Rising exhibition raises important questions about the politicisation of modern life and modern art. Art must transcend the ordinary. It must be timeless, objective, knowable. For Plato and Aristotle, the cosmic values of truth, goodness, and beauty were objective in nature and recognisable. They spoke to the human condition and bestowed genuine meaning and purpose on an often-chaotic world. As the English philosopher Sir Roger Scruton observed, ‘The beautiful work of art brings consolation in sorrow and affirmation in joy. It shows human life to be worthwhile.’ One thinks of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel or Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night.

When political propaganda is paraded as art, it devalues real art in the public eye. Society is robbed of the opportunity of engaging with truth, goodness, and beauty through art. In pretending to be something it is not, it impoverishes society rather than enriching it. It is nothing more than activism masquerading as art.

Just as the expansion of the political sphere undermines art, it undermines everyday life. Political propaganda is taught in schools and universities, promoted by the media, and implemented by businesses, great and small. Activism has become institutionalised.

When politics encroaches on everyday life, race, gender, and climate are elevated at the expense of all other issues. This has the effect of narrowing rather than broadening the mind.

The appreciation of art – of the good, the true and the beautiful – is an art in itself but one which is, unfortunately, lost on the modern person. Political activism is designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator. It merely communicates a message; it does not provide meaning or purpose, and it certainly does not elevate the mind. A society that just buys the message, and renounces any appreciation of culture, history, and art, will be all the poorer for it.

Brianna McKee is a Research Fellow and National Manager for Generation Liberty at the Institute of Public Affairs