It is often assumed that the arts, and particularly the fine arts, create and sustain the kinds of social distinctions that are antithetical to true democracy. This is the claim advanced by Pierre Bordiue's influential Distinction where he argues that what appear to be innocent differences in aesthetic tastes are, in fact, the markers of class identity that enforce social hierarchy. However, there is a countervaling tradition, represented most famously by John Dewey, that insists that the arts are necessary to the health and longevity of democratic culture, and many contemporary artists and theorists are devoted to developing an aesthetic that participates in the development of democratic ideals.