Conclusion: Paths, Portability, and Parasites

This chapter theorizes a variety of tightly coupled frames of equivalence—or modes of transformation—whereby two entities (which might include qualia, events, individuals, processes, etc.) that are otherwise differentially positioned may be connected by a kind of path, or “third.” It reviews the wide range of paths that are detailed in this monograph, namely, codes and channels, functions and algorithms, norms and laws, virtues and force fields, aesthetic compositions and material productions, identities and types, metaphors and markets, theories and habits, inter alia. And it argues that the “functioning” of such paths is best understood in terms of their capacity to fail. It focuses on the ways such paths were created, distributed, and regimented during fieldwork, as instigated by the NGO as much as by villagers.