Louis, there was nothing "snide" or "patronizing" about my private message to you. I don't play games. When I like what people are doing I say so; when I don't like it, I say so. Pretty straightforward, I think. It's absurd to say I'm "dissembling" about my connections to RM (I had nothing to do with the conference directly, though). PEN-L has had several long series of discussions about modernist and postmodernist Marxism in which I participated actively and openly as a post-modernist Marxist and member of the RM editorial board. Yup. I'm counting on everyone having forgotten those discussions from, what several months ago? Damn, guess it didn't work with you, Louis, and now you've exposed me. I don't understand your reference to "postmodernist/Althusserian/green regionalism trip": how does "green regionalism" fit in there? Blair >Yeah, this question of personal insults rings a bell with me. Blair sent me >some snide private mail shortly after I showed up on PEN-L giving me a >patronizing pat on the back for my AM posts, but slapping my wrist for >"boorish" behavior at the Amherst Conference. During the discussion period >following the first plenary with the ineffable Vandana Shiva, I charged >Richard Wolff with running an exclusionary panel and that in the future >such bullshit should not be allowed. > >By the way, isn't it important for Blair to identify himself as a member of >the collective that sponsored the Conference? This is highly scandalous >when people hide such information. Where's Jerry Levy when you need him? >Jerry, it's time for a crusade against Blair Sandler's dissembling before >the august body of PEN-L. The nerve of Blair to hide his connections. Oh, >perfidy. > >The problem with the Amherst school is that it has placed all of its eggs >in a rotting basket. This whole postmodernist/Althusserian/green >regionalism trip is getting very dated. We got a visitation from a group of >Teresa Morton's acolytes over on the Spoons Marxism list loaded for bear. >They were going to slay all postmodernists, including *Doug Henwood and >Ellen Meiksins Wood*. Yes, it does sound weird, but these are weird people. >A witty comrade from Portugal commented that postmodernism is dead as a >doornail and not worth the trouble of killing twice. He suggested that >Marxism's main opponent are the old-fashioned ones of pragmatism and idealism. > >I think there's something to be said for that. It's getting harder and >harder to simply make the usual allegations against "orthodox" Marxism. >(Actually, classical Marxism is a much more descriptive term and is >embraced by the new journal "Historical Materialism" that just got founded >over in Great Britain.) The reason for this is that the objective >circumstances that led to the pomo doctrine have largely disappeared. 1997 >looks a lot different than pre-crash 1987 when characters like Baudrillard >had the ability to captivate the thinking of humanities professors in America. > >Louis Proyect _____________________________________________________________________ Blair Sandler "If I had to choose a reductionist paradigm, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Classical Marxism is a damned good one." _____________________________________________________________________
