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The Impact of Capitalism and Solipsism in Colonial vs. Postcolonial…

- - - - How Does Capitalism Effect Them?
        Moses's status as a West Indian immigrant prevents him from acquiring a higher-paying job, which ultimately prevents him from getting of the "dole" and getting a more suitable place to live
        
        How Does Solipsism Set In? Does Environment Matter?
        Throughout his stay in London, Moses and the character meant to foil him, Galahad, become increasingly greedy and become Moses is constantly irritated by those who ask him for help or for money. When he picks Galahad up from Waterloo Station, he quickly tells him that he'll get him on the dole but that's all (which ends up not being true). Living in London, Moses and other immigrants from Trinidad reminisce on how close everyone was back home, and it's clear that London life has turned them jaded; kindness and sociability isn't important anymore, it's all about capital and everyone lacks it, so they spend all their time trying to make some and avoiding one another in order to do so.
- - - - How Does Capitalism Effect Them?
        Living in a neoliberal, postcolonial country, Balram constantly daydreams of a fantastical colonial India that is ruled by the British who "know" how to run a country. The neoliberal, hyper-capitalistic India he now lives in rewards high-risk entrepreneurship and corruption; this ability to adapt to this mindset is what Balram refers to as escaping the "Rooster Coop".
        
        How Does Solipsism Set In? Does Environment Matter?
        Balram almost forces himself into a solipsistic mindset en route to becoming an entrepreneur (or at least wealthy), believing that he needs to leave behind his life in "The Darkness" and dedicate himself to becoming a whole new person. This is exacerbated by his neocolonial environment, where he first-hand sees that corruption and cheating gets you higher up the ladder of class.
- - - - Laing is clearly a well-educated man who comes from a vague, but seemingly well-off background
        
        How Does Capitalism Effect Them?
        Laing, along with others in the high-rise, quickly devolve into a tribalistic way of life based on floor number, even outwardly saying that those from lower, less expensive/lower class floors are potentially dangerous; Laing's position as a doctor also puts him towards the middle-upper half of the high-rise, viewed as an advantage.
        
        How Does Solipsism Set In? Does Environment Matter?
        Laing seems eerily "naturally" solipsistic; he quickly begins to dedicate most of his time to the high-rise, but not deeply interacting with its inhabitants (really even Melville, Wilder, or his sister, his relationships aren't deep or impactful) or caring about others when chaos descends on the building. The high-rise encourages this form of behavior if one is to survive, becoming an isolating form of self-dependent that's so sure they can handle anything on their own and other people have no impact on their life.
- - - - Chalfen and his whole family are upperclass and well-educated to a fault
        
        How Does Capitalism Effect Them?
        Marcus (along with the whole Chalfen family) is sort of hyper-capitalist in that he obsesses over improvement and evolution; he is against the concept of letting faith decide the future and uses all of his resources (wealth) to control life with the FutureMouse project, similar to how those with the most wealth are able to control the lives and futures of those they oversee.
        
        How Does Solipsism Set In? Does Environment Matter?
        The "Chalfenist" philosophy is inherently solipsistic; the whole point of life is to constantly evolve, and you must continue to move forward to reach your full potential. Marcus is incredibly rational and scientific in thinking, and his advancements in his work warp his perspective into one of total knowledge, that he is the mind of the future. For Marcus, his environment of being raised in a "Chalfenist" home forms his way of thinking, along with his FutureMouse project.
        
        Unlike the postcolonial literature covered, the novels covered here are technically pieces of "colonial" literature in that they have strong colonial perspectives, whether they meant to or not. Both critique the Britons detailed in their novels for their attempts to distance themselves from community and their "looking out for #1" mindset, but these characters don't benefit from having other perspectives, like Moses from "The Lonely Londoners". They are the product of their colonial, capitalist, solipsistic (in theory) environment and they've never known anything else.