Pynchon Quote

[Ghetta Life]

Whether Pynchon's statement is a prediction or a warning is less important 
than the question of its validity (maybe better expressed as its 
"probability").  Is the internet likely to bring about "social control on a 
scale those quaint old 20th-century tyrants with their goofy moustaches 
could only dream about"?  Personally, I think the likelyhood of this being 
true is nearly nil. The Internet is feared by totalitarian governments 
because the exact opposite is true:  The internet provides a means to 
circumvent the control of Tyrants (which is why the US wants to make 
non-US-sanctioned encryption illegal).  Pynchon is afraid of technology, and 
thus something as new as the Internet scares him without valid reason.

Ghetta

>From: "Richard Romeo" <r.romeo at atlanticphilanthropies.org>
>
>Initially reading that statement I wondered at its validity. However, I 
>think Pynchon by clearly stating "promises" lends itself to more of a 
>warning than a certainty, which I think is a pretty consistent theme 
>throughout his work
>
>"Writing an introduction to the centenary edition of Orwell's 1984, Thomas 
>Pynchon describes the Internet as "a development that promises social 
>control on a scale those quaint old 20th-century tyrants with their goofy 
>moustaches could only dream about"

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