I'm smirking at the idea of a Moldbuggian story of the uprising of 1832. Revolutionists Get What They Deserve or some-such. :)
But I don't think that story has room for the complex characters of Hugo's story, narratively speaking. There's no room at all for Valjean, and Javert becomes simply the protagonist to the evil antagonist Enjolras.
Ultimately, you asked if canon!Javert embodies Moldbug. As I suggested above, I think the answer is no. He's a tragic figure - even Hugo would admit that > 75% of the time, the king's law point toward a just outcome. But Javert was blind to the fact that the king's law contained deep flaws.
I don't know if the passage survives the standard abridgements, but Javert writes a note to his superiors listing several minor injustices in the local prison system, immediately before killing himself. Even after conversion, Javert fails to realize that he was the only person who both (1) knew about the issues, and (2) cared about the injustice. That episode, and Javert as a character, are deeply tragic in my opinion.
And I can't imagine Moldbug caring about those issues at all. Obviously, Moldbug's choices would be different - but I don't get the impression Moldbug would think the minor injustices were even worth his attention if he were in Javert's situation.
I'm smirking at the idea of a Moldbuggian story of the uprising of 1832. Revolutionists Get What They Deserve or some-such. :)
Yes, in addition to the musical!Javert quote I included, I was going to include "Crush those little schoolboys!"--but tried searching it and found I was misremembering a different line.
But I don't think that story has room for the complex characters of Hugo's story, narratively speaking. There's no room at all for Valjean, and Javert becomes simply the protagonist to the evil antagonist Enjolras.
You are certainly ri...
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