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- Mar 14, 2021
Did he read the prior book? Where Mr Pump explains that Moist is a murderer due to his criminal ways?I know a guy who is a "starbucks leftist" (who funny enough was a staunch conservative during the Obama years but have since change because he chases liberal pussy) argue with me that Moist von Lipwig (an by extension Pratchett himself) is a anti-capitalist if not communist because he read Making Money and "the bad guys are rich bankers while moist represents the underclass". No he didn't bring up any plot points or themes from the book, just that the bad guys are rich upper societydicks that means they represent capitalism being bad. The dude didn't even realize that Moist was a god damn con-artist despite the book OUTRIGHT TELLING YOU SO.
Holy hell dude It makes me wonder how many people actually read the damn books v.s. those that just skim a wiki or something.
Apologies for the formating, hunted the quote down online. In that regard you could argue that Pratchett is anti-capitalist since he's willing to have a character point out that hastening enough people's deaths is akin to killing them.“Do you understand what I'm saying?"
shouted Moist. "You can't just go around killing people!"
"Why Not? You Do." The golem lowered his arm.
"What?" snapped Moist. "I do not! Who told you that?"
"I Worked It Out. You Have Killed Two Point Three Three Eight People," said the golem calmly.
"I have never laid a finger on anyone in my life, Mr Pump. I may be–– all the things you know I am, but I am not a killer! I have never so much as drawn a sword!"
"No, You Have Not. But You Have Stolen, Embezzled, Defrauded And Swindled Without Discrimination, Mr Lipvig. You Have Ruined Businesses And Destroyed Jobs. When Banks Fail, It Is Seldom Bankers Who Starve. Your Actions Have Taken Money From Those Who Had Little Enough To Begin With. In A Myriad Small Ways You Have Hastened The Deaths Of Many. You Do Not Know Them. You Did Not See Them Bleed. But You Snatched Bread From Their Mouths And Tore Clothes From Their Backs. For Sport, Mr Lipvig. For Sport. For The Joy Of The Game.”
However the fact that Ankh-Morpork functioned best under Vetinari, the man, who amongst other things legalised theft but only within tightly controlled yearly maximums with receipts to be provided and only to be carried out by licensed professionals, is debatably a pro-capitalism view. As others and I said earlier there's nuance in what he writes, he rarely outright decries systems as broken but in need of aid due to the abuses of those manipulating it for their own benefit.
However if your friend thinks Making Money is anti-capitalist, the book where the "hero" invents paper money and removes the gold standard and the eventual saviours of the day are the accountants they may be confused.
Hey now don't undersell their ingenuity. Some of them stick to their iron boots and weld heels to them.Indeed! Female Dwarves in Discworld actually... still look just like men. They just wear high heeled boots and chainmail dresses under their leather armor.
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