Michael,
Thanks for forwarding that note. It clarifies quite a bit in light of some
of the nastier accusations made against Wood, which don't seem to based on
much in the way of facts. Hopefully the discussion of Wood's article will
return to Wood's article and not the person.
Steve
On Mon, 21 May 2001, Michael Perelman wrote:
>
>
> 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]
>
>
