I largely agree with Jim. There are times when it is important to understand a person's politics; other times, you can do just as well to take what they have to offer.
Chomsky is a perfect example for me. I don't agree with all of his politics or all of his analysis. But the vast majority of what he says has a wonderful influence. I wish that I could do as much good in the world. I sometimes listen to RadioNation with Marc Cooper. He was a horrible influence in the Pacifica wars in my opinion, yet sometimes he has interesting guests and even has some worthwhile things to say. I think of Marx. He could say positive things about, say, Malthus when he found something of value -- for example, when Malthus attributed greater productivity in England to a longer working day. He could also say negative things about allies when they were wrong. On Wed, Jun 12, 2002 at 01:34:15PM -0700, Devine, James wrote: > Like Max, I really don't care how "left" someone is. It's not like there's a > way of measuring such things along some hard-and-fast and objective > spectrum. Besides, what's "left" changes over time. Back in the 1940s, > supporting the state of Israel was quite a "leftist" thing to do. Now it > isn't. > > Recently, I heard on pen-l that Noam Chomsky isn't as leftist as people > think. He also can't walk on water. > > Similarly, I heard on pen-l that Alan Sokal was a "social democrat." Who > cares? Does his status as a social democrat imply that he's worse than some > creep who runs a small sect of five people which claims to have the "correct > line (or program)"? should we shun Sokal and reject everything he says out > of hand? > > Just as Michael Perelman says we shouldn't characterize each others' > politics, we should down-play the characterization of the politics of those > outside the list. The content of their politics is more important than the > label. > > Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Max Sawicky [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > > Sent: Wednesday, June 12, 2002 1:10 PM > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Subject: [PEN-L:26774] RE: RE: RE: tompaine.com > > > > > > Kuttner, tompaine.com, and Moyers are political > > comrades. How much more 'left' one is than the > > other is a trivial question. How left they all are > > compared to your ideal, or to what you think > > is defensible, is more to the point. > > > > By the way, Paul Starr, TAP co-editor, is notably less liberal > > than Kuttner. > > > > mbs > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Devine, James > > Sent: Wednesday, June 12, 2002 3:44 PM > > To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' > > Subject: [PEN-L:26772] RE: RE: tompaine.com > > > > > > also, is it true that Kuttner is pretending to be leftist by being > > associated with tompaine.com? or is he a tompaine.com-type > > leftist who is > > pretending to be more "moderate" in THE AMERICAN PROSPECT? or > > is he trying > > to build a coalition with the lefists? > > in any event, I don't think it's useful to attach a label to > > Kuttner and > > reject him. He says some interesting things, even though I > > don't like his > > focus on the wonderful[*] Democratic Party. The key is he a > > logical thinker > > who bases his conclusions on fact and doesn't leave important > > things (such > > as class relations) out? or does he provide an incomplete > > picture that can > > complement others' incomplete pictures to allow us to develop a more > > complete understanding and a guide for political practice? > > [*] irony intended. > > Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine > > -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
