Official Pynchon List Quote Of The Year 2000

[Dave Monroe]

... Jurgen Habermas' Theory of Communicative Action is not exactly my
idea of lively reading, either, kai, but did think it rather in the
spirit of Paul's claim that "We live in an age, or in a society, in
which simple rational ideas can be simply expressed. No one needs to
talk in allegories and metaphors."  In retropsect, though, Paul, kai,
whoever, should have gone instead with

Habermas, Jurgen.  The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere:
    An Inquiry of a Category of Bourgeois Society.  Trans. Thomas Burger

    and Frederick Lawrence.  Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1987 [1962].

Which, while I think of it, might nicely be complemented by

Sennett, Richard.  The Fall of Public Man: On the Social Psychology of
    Captalism.  New York: Knopf, 1977.

Not that I'm much the Habermasian, as might be obvious, but ... but,
hey, thought Paul might be interested in some authors, texts, that seem
to share his sentiments, is all.  But has anybody read

Purdy, Jedediah.  For Common Things: Irony, Trust and Commitment
    in America Today.  New York: Knopf, 1999.

The kind of thing that would normally provoke something to the effect of
"is this guy serious?" from me, except I've no doubt that he is.
Question then, perhaps, is, "how can he be serious?"  My answer being,
"'cos he's naive, idealistic, and hopelessly out of touch with teh world
at large," but ... but I'd expected this one to make a Closing of the
American Mind-style splash ...

Anyway, loooks like you all are onto something I'd normally have a
little something to say about, but ...