[OPE] Word cloud

You're welcome, Paula. Words, eh. Really I do not feel like repeating too much what Marx already said in the 19th century, although it often seems to me that in important respects society is going back morally to how it was in the 19th century. I am not too hung up about the words, but more concerned with the relationships and effects which the words try to express. Okay, parts of Marx's legacy are rather obscure, requiring clarification, and as a translator I am very aware of the ambiguities of language, and the importance of precision. But probably I should try to curb my posting on the list a bit more.

Dr Geert Reuten said to me the other day (paraphrase) "I've posted on OPE-L occasionally, but I find that when I do so I have elaborate and explain my scholarly position with a lot more posts, and so, I have to economize on that". He has to juggle a lectureship and a seat in the Dutch Senate, you see, I mean that sort of commitment takes a lot of your energy and time. I admire his dedication, I said to him as OPE-Ler "I feel proud of you doing that" and bought him a drink. He returned the favour. With a wry smile he explained (paraphrase) "you have these two things to do, and you have to try to do at least one of them well". Well that put me in my place. I said, "I hope you do really well at being a senator". The Dutch SP has this policy where parliamentarians are not just in parliament but they also talk to folks up and down the country, you're on the move a lot of the time, fronting up to people. Leftists might sort of snigger about parliamentarians, but I'm thinking about all the work that goes into it, and the responsibility of it.

Anyway you can sort of be a junkie and post things on OPE-L that seem important, but it's better for me to curb things a bit probably. Maybe you yourself ought to post some more stuff. Marxological concerns tend to be mainly a male preoccupation, but as a man you typically need a woman's input to keep things clear and sharply focused, relativise things. At least that's my experience. Recently I was reading in this book "The feminist economics of trade" which I am to review for Gary Mongiovi's journal - the female authors are actually quite happy to utilise arguments by male economists, nothing ipso facto wrong with that, but it makes me think again self-critically about my own biases, my own way of viewing the world. I am not a feminist or anything, I don't think you really can be, if you're happy being a man (though this idea is disputed by some leftists), but anyway men only hold up half the sky, and we want to see the whole sky.

Jurriaan

Only I can hear me
I'm stuck inside a cloud
Talking to myself
Crying out loud
Only I can hear me
And I'm stuck inside a cloud

- George Harrison, "Stuck inside a cloud"

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Received on Mon Nov 3 14:05:00 2008