January 16, 2004
Cheerfulness and fear
Posted by
Mark Kleiman
The ever-cheerful Virginia Postrel can't understand how someone could have read her book and been horrified at the world it portrays. No doubt that's why she's so cheerful.
Postrel's account of "style" as a marketing phenomenon seems to me largely accurate, but I think that "style" in that sense is in some ways the opposite of quality and integrity. But read The Substance of Style and Pattern Recognition and decide for yourself.
