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The New Alchemy: Economic liberalism, neoliberalism, and Thomas Pynchon's Against the Day
Resource type
Author/contributor
- Carswell, Sean (Author)
Title
The New Alchemy: Economic liberalism, neoliberalism, and Thomas Pynchon's Against the Day
Abstract
This article utilises Karl Polanyi's landmark 1944 text The Great Transformation to explicate economic liberalism as it is represented in Thomas Pynchon's Against the Day. Polanyi argues that a fundamental flaw of economic liberalism is its treatment of labour and land as commodities. This commodification leads to economic and ecological disasters. Pynchon demonstrates these disasters throughout his encyclopaedic novel. Further, using Pynchon's metaphor of bilocation – literally being in two places at the same time – this article 'bilocates' the economic liberalism represented in the novel with contemporary neoliberalism, specifically as neoliberalism is characterised by David Harvey and Wendy Brown. Ultimately, this exploration leads to a discussion of freedom within a neoliberal society, particularly as it is envisioned in Pynchon's novel.
Publication
Textual Practice
Volume
33
Issue
3
Pages
415-432
Date
April 2019
Journal Abbr
Textual Practice
Language
English
ISSN
0950236X
Short Title
The New Alchemy
Library Catalog
EBSCOhost
Citation
Carswell, Sean. 2019. “The New Alchemy: Economic Liberalism, Neoliberalism, and Thomas Pynchon’s Against the Day.” Textual Practice 33 (3): 415–32. DOI: 10.1080/0950236X.2019.1580506.
Discipline
Publication year
Keywords
- Against the Day (book)
- BROWN, Wendy
- economic liberalism
- economics
- fictitious commodities
- globalization
- HARVEY, David
- neoliberalism
- PYNCHON, Thomas, 1937-
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