I was invited by ATC to write a piece about Blaut's books. I
told them I
thought it would be more fruitful to address the issues more
widely, but I
agreed to say something about Blaut in the course of a more
general
discussion. I should add that Blaut and I had a brief
correspondence over
three years ago, in which we exchanged views about his ideas,
and, among
other things, he gave me a preview of his last book, to which I
replied. So he had a pretty good idea of what I thought about
his argument
and its inverted "Eurocentrism" long before that book was
published, but
he chose not to address my objections.
ATC commissioned the piece from me in the hope of sparking a
lively
debate. They intended to invite Blaut to reply, and I wrote my
piece in
the expectation that he would. After I had sent it in, the
editors wrote
back, saying that they had just learned of his death. But, they
said,
although it was unfortunate that he couldn't respond himself,
they expected
other scholars to support his position and still hoped for a
lively
dialogue. I expressed my misgivings about running the piece in
such
circumstances, when he couldn't defend his own position. But on
balance,
it still seemed the right thing to do. I'm very sorry about
Jim's death,
but, like all of us who write books, he presumably hoped that his
work, and
debates about it, would survive. I very much doubt that he would
have
appreciated attempts by "friends" to stifle discussion of his
ideas.
Anyone familiar with my own work will know that it's not my habit
to shrink
from provoking debate or to protect myself from opposition. If
anything,
I'm the proverbial fool who rushes in where angels fear to tread
(not
least, by agreeing to enter this explosive Eurocentrism debate).
I wrote
the piece in good faith, expecting to be challenged, and my
arguments, like
Blaut's, will have to stand or fall on their merits.
In comradeship,
Ellen Meiksins Wood
--
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929
Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
