ATDTDA (5): The American Corporation

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

       mikebailey:

       . . . .he obviously has the understanding to 
       appreciate the "good" side of corporations, how
       they allow great projects to be undertaken and
       how they are a superior form of enterprise...how
       stock markets allow many to participate...

       but in focusing on the untold story of the preterite, 
       yet writing in a style aimed at the elect, has he
       chosen a strategy that might be a reminder of
       the improvements that need to be made before
       capitalism can be truly proud of itself?  because
       come on, it's a darn sight better than the feudal
       system or the Roman Empire, isn't it? 

I think the author's an Anarchist, and it's possible to read Against the Day and 
come out with a paean to Anarchism. Pynchon's been close enough to centers of 
power and has a family history of having been singed by the fires of corporate 
centers of power. This leaves me with the impression that he'd rather hang out 
with the freaks. Fleetwood Vibe, our classically satirical untrustworthy narrator, 
is clearly a target of justified scorn, someone who is in the book as a 
representative of unearned inherited wealth, wealth that was stolen in the 
first place.