作者的論點，設立在全球化脈絡裡互為主體的情感的跨太平洋的流通之上。作者先批判理性選擇理論及美國實用主義皆奉行自我利益及排他性的邏輯。在這樣的脈絡裡，文學的角色與功能是什麼？在今天，文學是否可能生產出具倫理性的情感，以對抗全球經濟及媒體的非人性化的力量？日裔美籍作家尾關的後現代小說《食肉之年》保留住殘留的現代性，為資訊提供了倫理的脈絡，並想像可能的、另類的社群。

Framing his argument on transpacific circulation of intersubjective affect in the context of globalization, the author first critiques rational choice theory and American pragmatism as holding up the logic of self-interest and exclusivity. What is the role and function of literature in such a context? Can literature function today as the site of production of ethical affect against the dehumanizing forces of the global economy and media? Ruth Ozeki’s postmodern novel, My Year of Meats, is shown here to have retained the residual modern in its ability to lend information an ethical context and to imagine possible alternative communities.