Pynchon, Rand, school reading lists

[Sean Mannion]

Why not Hayek or Nozick?

Admittedly though, you wouldn't have the joy of savoring any kind of thing 
like the combination of  feverish backpeddling and the 
kicking-out-of-the-old-bedfellows that Fukiyama seems to have immersed 
himself into recently.

Which isn't to say that I think either the above should be exempt from the 
same thing (especially Hayek, and especially after Thatcherism).

>From: Paul Mackin <paul.mackin at verizon.net>
>To: pynchon-l at waste.org
>Subject: Re: Pynchon, Rand, school reading lists
>Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 13:14:37 -0500
>
>
>On Mar 27, 2006, at 12:39 PM, jd wrote:
>
>>http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer? pagename=education_contests_atlas
>>
>>This is my only motivation to read Atlast Shrugged.  I get the feeling
>>that anything I would write on it would be so cynical about its
>>message that I wouldn't stand a chance but I haven't read it yet so
>>therefore can't state that for certain.
>
>
>A tack you might take would be a comparative study of Rand and some  other 
>prominent conservative thinker. E.g., Francis Fukuyama's  Hegelian approach 
>to the Ideal society is much in the news these days.
>
>Many interesting contrasts between them.
>
>Rand might be considered an anarchist, while FF deplores the  idea of  
>anarchy.
>
>Rand would find the excitement of the struggle to excel an end in  itself. 
>FF thinks that the end of  History constitutes a very boring  (though of 
>course ideal) existence.
>
>We probably can't surmise as to how Rand might feel about the  Iraq  war. 
>FF is against.
>
>Or similarities. Both thinkers had/have quite negative views of  religion.  
>Rand called herself a convinced atheist, but not a  militant one.