WELL I WENT TO SCHOOL IN OLYMPIA, AND EVERYONE’S THE SAME: Very useful comments from Krubner in re conformity. I especially liked this Chestertonian line: “To be a non-conformist in all things is to be psychotic.” I thoroughly agree. To me, it is a question of where we find our standards of value–when desires and beliefs conflict, how do we know what should trump? But yeah, absolutely–part of the point of “Desire,” really, is that nonconformity can become simply the photonegative of conformity, with its own constrictions and cliches. Anyway, Krubner is one of the best readers I’ve ever come across, and I am really looking forward to reading some of his own fiction (which I know he’s blogged in the past) so that I can return the favor. You all should visit him–he runs a site with a great mix of economic and literary commentary.