Whew!  Where to start? Especially, David, since you have systematically
dismissed up front anyone who disagrees with your outlook.

1) By using the work "anti-manifesto" you seem to indulging the kind of
indirect communication that you deplore coming from Joyce and his ilk.
There doesn't seem to be anything "anti-" about your manifesto.

2) Exploration of harmony and counterpoint need not be overly expensive.
Assuming that you read music you can start studying harmony with
Hindemith's harmony book, and J. J. Fux's "Gradus ad Parnassum" will
do as a beginning counterpoint book.  You can probably get both of them
at your local library or through interlibrary loan.  Note that neither
of these is necessary nor sufficient to understanding or enjoyment of
trans-tonal music (or, for that matter, of any other).  As for investing
time there is simply no way around that, although some will always be able
to learn it faster than others.

3) No one needs your permission to write.  Fortunately.  Note that we
remember fewer vituperators than we do composers.  Eduard Hanslick comes
to mind, and Mr.  Pleasants (sp?)(whose first name escapes me) is always
good for a few laughs.

4) Fortunately the human spirit has produced countervailing ideas to
unbridled economics. Good thing, since otherwise we'd all be stuck listening
to nothing but Garth Brooks and Madonna and reading nothing but Harlequin
romances.

5) Although you are likely to dismiss me as a composer promoting his
own works I would suggest my own concertos as worthwhile modern music. I
won't spend any time here dissecting the tonal and non-tonal elements of
them--they really aren't that important anyway. There are some swatches on
my web page that render them accessible to anyone with a web-browser. Their
remaining accessibility depends on your willingess to spend a few dollars
and clean the wax out of your ears. (I trust that my figurative languange
for the last step is clear.)

Aaron J. Rabushka
[log in to unmask]
http://www.cowtown.net/users/arabushk/