The Science of Collapse

[Mark Kohut]

One  of the nicest simple flashes of Pynchon's anarchist theme is in AtD.
When the new worker is told to pick a t--shirt out of the whole pile of
t--shirts.
Told, something like, "closest you're gonna come to genuine anarchy here,
son"


On Wed, Jan 29, 2020 at 3:57 PM David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:

> The anarchist group in AtD I found cringe-worthy.  I agree that Pynchon
> seems enamored with the concept, but I find it embarrassingly silly.  He
> was much better with his concept of the Zone in GR, a place of temporary
> refuge, but full of its own dangers.
>
> David Morris
>
> On Wed, Jan 29, 2020 at 1:48 PM Thomas Eckhardt <
> thomas.eckhardt at uni-bonn.de>
> wrote:
>
> > The "off the grid utopias" in Pynchon's novels are always in the process
> > of just now being forced into the grid by the anti-utopian forces, no?
> > But I agree with rich: If Pynchon satirizes them, he does so
> > benevolently, forgivingly.
> >
> >
> > Am 28.01.2020 um 17:58 schrieb rich:
> > > Despite my skepticism over Pynchon's later focus on off the grid
> utopias
> > in
> > > Vineland, AtD and IV, I think he isnt as cynical as you say.
> > Smaller-scale
> > > anarchism, rooted to local spaces, where vibrant ecosystems can be
> > fostered
> > > for the betterment of members as well as the local flora, fauna, etc.
> is
> > > not mentioned for satirization. The more regretful, longing (and at
> times
> > > quite beautiful) passages in the later books are quite the reflection
> of
> > > what could/should have been.
> > --
> > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
> >
> --
> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>