Reading McCarthy Episode 56: The Brothers Elmore Flip a Coin with No Country for Old Men
Jan 1, 2025
Jonathan Elmore, an English professor and McCarthy scholar, and Rick Elmore, a philosopher specializing in critical theory and McCarthy studies, discuss No Country for Old Men. They talk about the book’s major characters and dual narrative. They debate Chigurh’s coin, posthuman logic, and neoliberal readings. They compare novel and film, Bell’s moral frame, and how violence and memory shape meaning.
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New Evil Or Structural Forces
- No Country for Old Men probes whether 'new' evil is a novel creature or a product of structural forces like neoliberalism and the drug trade.
- Jonathan and Rick argue the novel troubles neat moral categories by showing historical and socioeconomic structures shaping behavior.
Chigurh As Neoliberal Archetype
- Anton Chigurh embodies a post-human, economic-rational figure dominated by calculative rules rather than empathy.
- The brothers link Chigurh's logic to 1980s neoliberal shifts that normalize market rationality and competition.
Systems Hide Responsibility
- The novel critiques assigning individual blame for problems produced by invisible global systems like drug markets and corporations.
- McCarthy uses characters and an oil-company front to show how institutional actors hide systemic responsibility.
