The human being is in the most literal sense a political animal not merely a gregarious animal but an animal which can individuate itself only in the midst of society.
I'm very gregarious but I love being in the hills on my own.
I'm the most gregarious of men and love good company but never less alone when alone.
That is why the analogy of stealing does not work. With a thief we want to know how much money he stole and from whom. With the artist it is not how much he took and from whom but what he did with it.