******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ******************** #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. *****************************************************************
An odd review of "How the West Came to Rule:The Geopolitical Origins of Capitalism" by Alexander Anievas and Kerem Nisancioglu. It praise the work (deservedly so) but devotes an inordinate amount of space to defending Vivek Chibber whom the authors spend far less time analyzing compared to Brenner, Wood and Post. In my view, Chibber's reputation is sinking rapidly and I would advise against being his attorney. Eventually I hope to deal with his book but there are far more pressing issues.
The other criticism Ashley Smith has is over the author's ideas about the need for a new type of revolutionary organization, one in fact has much more in common with the original concept of Marx and Engels--a world party that can reflect the same kind of internationalism that their book expresses as opposed to the provincial Anglocentrism of the Political Marxists.
Finally, Smith does have a point about their use of academic language. I would strongly advise any budding scholars hoping to get published by HM, Pluto, Verso et al to refrain from using the word "ontological", especially when writing about society. If you want to write about the nature of existence, you have my permission.
http://isreview.org/issue/100/uneven-and-combined-development-world-capitalism _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
