On 15/1/06 8:43 AM, "Dominic Fox" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> There was a conversation on Cybermind a few years ago about whether or
> not it was politically sinister that Pratchett manages to generate
> quite such a lot of sympathy for Vetinari.
I admit, I've often wondered that. Vetinari is is, I suppose, the ultimate
incarnation of realpolitik, utterly ruthless and utterly pragmatic. Also
austere. Though there's that conversation with Corporal Carrot where he
invites him to consider the derivation of "politician", ie, man of the city,
which even suggests a touch of sentiment.
I suppose the only alternative in Ankh-Morpork is a monarchy. Pratchett
suggests that a good king (ie Carrot) might be even worse than an
incompetent or a madman, that idealists are much more dangerous than
realists. You could make that work as a general theory, I guess, looking at
Blair and Bush....As Pratchett says in almost every novel, Ankh-Morpork
_works_.
Best
A
Alison Croggon
Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
Editor, Masthead: http://masthead.net.au
Home page: http://alisoncroggon.com
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