Memoirs of the turn of the previous century are filled with the family's first automobile, its first water closet and electric lights. But I have no memory of my first interaction with an invention that is still reshaping how I live--more and more, Peter and I are now ordering groceries and toiletries from Amazon.
A Libertarian is someone lectures you on self-sufficiency while being too idle to shovel his own sidewalk or buy his own groceries.
Apparently, however, on May 21st, 1998, I decided to order two books from this newfangled Amazon thingy I'd heard about. Perhaps appropriately, they were The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Miss Manners' Guide for the Turn of the Millenium.
Miss Manners, like Miss Austen, was merciless regarding good manners based on respect and consideration for others. Hmmm, perhaps it was a present.
Heinlein was authoritarian and elitist, and advocated permissive sexual morals, which I guess makes him the writer of their Gospels, and buying his books like going to church.
Incidentally, we look forward to McArdle's article on QVC. It's nice to see her playing to her strengths.
2 comments:
As a matter of fact, that Heinlein novel concerns a revolution in a Lunar penal colony -- a mashup of Australia and the American Revolution in space, organized by the working class ex-prisoners. Hardly the stuff of elitism, and the authorial stand-in character is less all-knowing than usual, compared to most of his other works of the period.
Not saying you're wrong about Heinlein in general, but your specifics are apparently off a bit.
The computer is the all-knowing one there.
I base my opnion on reading most of his books and some criticism such as this Reason article.
It's funny, Madeline L'Engle (A Wrinkle in Time) always struck me the same way. The heroes are all beautiful, gifted, super-intelligent, and so on. I hung in there when they became holy but bailed when they started to become psychic and talk to dolphins.
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