Multitrack Drifting

Multitrack Drifting: Extending the Trolley Problem into Determinism in Infinite Jest In the well defined world of Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace’s speculative America is filled with many political riddles that reach no conclusion. Alone, they stand as a critique on the consumerism and absurdity of contemporary America, yet are politically disenfranchised from foreign relations. As a part of O.N.A.N, the Organization of North American Nations, America’s largest relationship with a foreign nation is Canada, where a variation of separatist political groups viie to separate themselves from America. The most notorious and infamous of these separatists are Les Assassins en Fauteuils Rollents, or AFR, a group of assassins who are all wheelchair
Conversely, Canadians view politics as “footbridge” problem, symbolizing its population as an outside force sacrificed despite being originally uninvolved in the problem. By endangering Canadians health by exporting their hazardous waste, Americans push the theoretical “fat man” Canada onto the tracks to save its people. The American train symbolizes the inevitable harm and economic disenfranchisement faced by the Canadians because of experialist policy, which is the policy of sending American nuclear waste to Canada that is supported by president Johnny Gentle. This has lead to horrific health and environmental problems: Marathe’s wife is born without a skull, and there are bugs the size of Volkswagen Beetles. To teach Canadian youth about the political predicament America places on Canada, the AFR use a game called Le Jeu du Train
It is played by the sons of miners who work in asbestos, nickel, and zinc mines, and many players are economically disenfranchised because they are orphaned (Wallace 158-159). The game is played in groups of six boys, and thirty-six groups are required for the opening round. Players line up on both sides of an American train track and jump back and forth, and the last person to jump without disfiguring himself or dying wins; those who fail to jump are permanently disgraced from the game. But while becoming disfigured by the train signifies that player has lost, those who are mained later become the directors of the game or members of the AFR. Le Jeu du Train Prochain is a representation of the “footbridge” problem faced by Canadians, although players are the pusher and fat man at their own volition. The game is meant to teach players the futility of the “footbridge” problem in solving predicaments, and how those outside a system should not be sacrificed to save those within a system. Politically, it advocates for direct action instead of relying on diplomacy, which is why the AFR’s tactics target Americans so violently instead of politically