Is there such a thing as Museumism?

Last week I speculated as to what a museum is, but is there such a thing as museumism? By which I mean a distinctive practice, system, or philosophy. The answer should be a resounding yes, but you will struggle to find it Webster's Dictionary. In society we have a new government that follows a philosophy of conservatism. The Church of England constantly strives to combat the growth of atheism, and ignorantism is my justification for not being able to spell diarrear, dairhere, diarrhoer... the runs. Museumism occasionally surfaces in the art world, less so in the actual museum world itself yet we are already ruled by 'isms'. So, in order to get to a sense of museumism, I need to address the number of 'isms' that apply specifically to museums, or have a specific meaning within a museum context. Do you recognise any of these from your organisation?

absurdism - belief that we work in an irrational profession

academicism - doctrine that nothing of any use can be learned from an interpretation panel

catastrophism - belief in the true nature of change in the museum sector

casualism - belief that chance governs all museum decisions

existentialism - doctrine of the individual curator's responsibility for an unfathomable museum store

fatalism – belief that all objects in stores are inevitably lost for ever

idealism - belief that our experiences in the museum leave us with no idea about the outside world 

but we are comforted  by

illusionism - belief that the world external to the museum is actually not real

laxism - belief that the unlikely opinion of the museum manager may be safely followed

millenarianism - belief that the ideal museum will be produced in the near future

pejorism - severe pessimism, if we display it they will still not come 

rationalism - belief that wikipedia is the fundamental research source for your next exhibition

resistentialism - theory that inanimate museum objects display malice towards curators

voluntarism - belief that the volunteers eat all the biscuits

So where does that leave museumism itself? Can we draw together the disparate 'isms' under the heading of museumism. If our mission can be to inspire a more thoughtful society, can we develop that into an 'ism' that reflects the challenges and aspirations of the sector?

MUSEUMISM - the belief that (despite poor funding, irrational staff, lost objects and a lack of biscuits) buildings, objects and ideas can be drawn together to create an understanding of the value of the past to inspire a more thoughtful future for society.

Job done, now to write to Mr. Webster to get it in his dictionary.