VLVL The Sisterhood: evil capitalist fascists?

[Richard Fiero]

jbor wrote:
> >> By the 1960s the kunoichi, looking for some cash flow
> >> themselves, had begun to edge into the self-improvement
> >> business (107.22-3)
> >>
> >> At the outset Pynchon highlights the capitalist ethos of this "ninjette"
> >> Sisterhood . . .
>
>on 27/10/03 1:33 PM, Richard Fiero wrote:
>
> > I'm really at a loss on how "capitalist" connects with the
> > Sisterhood. Please explain.
>
>Sure. "By the 1960s" the sisters were "looking for some cash flow", so they
>decided to become self-improvement entrepreneurs and so started up a
>"business" (107.22-3). At the end of the chapter, while "on a break", DL
>gives details about the corporate and financial structure of the
>organisation to Prairie (128.33-6).
>  . . .

"Capitalism" = any socially acceptable private sector economic 
activity that makes money.
"Ethos" = the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature 
or guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution.

I'm still puzzling over the "capitalist ethos" attribution to 
the Sisterhood in a fiction populated by an army of snitches, 
thugs and otherwise marginally employed beings who are 
routinely beaten, teased and manipulated from above by perverse 
institutions charged with their well-being and 
security.  Clearly that ethos is a very good thing in 
comparison. I've a very large respect for the Austrians 
probably not including Arnold S.
There's enough Left Right here to fill a book.

The recent paper
"Accounting and the Birth of Capitalism"
http://www.hec.fr/hec/fr/professeur_recherche/cahier/compta/CR786.pdf
sets out the argument that capitalism is just the logical 
outcome of double entry bookkeeping: quantification of costs 
and income; the firm as an independent entity; the tools to 
make capital accumulation possible.

Since the Sisterhood doesn't seem to be franchising itself, the 
"ethos" part might be a bit excessive.