TRTR on the hero and charisma thread

[Mark Kohut]

P.S. Pynchon writes [in GR] of 'that disease, charisma"............



----- Original Message ----
From: Paul Mackin <mackin.paul at verizon.net>
To: Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com>; pynchon-l at waste.org
Sent: Fri, June 24, 2011 5:14:55 PM
Subject: Re: TRTR on the hero and charisma thread

On 6/24/2011 3:07 PM, Mark Kohut wrote:
> Paul M. writes
> Don't recall the remarks but I suppose anti charisma would mean routinized.  
As
> societies develop, the need for charismatic authority decreases.  Heroes are
> traditionally charismatic, but protagonists less so.
> 
> Brecht's line about unhappy the land that needs heroes might also apply to
> places that still require charisma.
> 
> But in a different way.
>    I think the case can be made that as Pynchon uses charisma.....taken it 
>seems
> from a famous Weber essay----anti-charisma
> 
> means simply something like not having/using the power of 
>personality......power
> being key.........................
>  just being another regular guy/woman.............
> 
Weber is certainly The Man when it comes to the topic of charismatic authority.

Was Pynchon talking about the stage at which bureaucracies come to the fore?

In pre-war Germany, Walter Rathenau was the great industrial rationaizer--we 
meet him "on the other side" in GR.

Ike was a great organizer but not very charismatic--unlike old Blood and Guts 
and Dugout Doug.

A bureaucracy such as the world had never seen formed around Winning the War.

Roger and Pointsman side by side.

P