David Foster Wallace and the Mysterious World of Tax Law

Arthur J. Cockfield, Queen's University Faculty of Law, has published David Foster Wallace on Tax Policy, How to Be an Adult, and Other Mysteries of the Universe at 12 Pittsburgh Tax Review Faculty of Law 89 (2015). Here is the abstract.

As one of the most highly acclaimed fiction writers of his generation, David Foster Wallace had many things to say on a seemingly endless variety of topics. In his last work, the unfinished novel The Pale King, he chose to elaborate on, of all things, tax policy and tax administration. Wallace directed tax topics at one of the novel’s main themes: true adulthood often involves overcoming boredom in the workplace to derive a sense of community and care for others. In a sense, the book serves as a guide on how to become a reasonably happy and fulfilled adult. This Article integrates archival research conducted by the author within the Collected Works of David Foster Wallace at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

Download the article from SSRN at the link.