RE: [OPE] "Parasitism"

David:"I am becoming very frustrated with this argument."
{Paula} Me too. Especially with Jurriaan's unhelpful approach, eg: "the meaning of parasitism is that the parasitic agent feeds off the host organism to the detriment of the host, and that the parasite is in no sense "necessary" for the functioning of the host organism." Fine for biologists, but can political economists apply this term in a similar, though not strictly identical, sense? Or even in several different senses?
 
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Yes, that's a good point. "Parasitism" in social theory can have a different meaning (or
meanings) than it has in biology. Additionally, I find the repeated laments about
"emotionalism" to be mis-placed. I suppose it's possible hypothetically to present an
argument about parasitism which primarily appeals to emotions, but I have heard no
such argument here from those who refer to parasitism (Paul C, Dave Z, Paula, David Y,
Paul B, and myself). Although the previous group have quite differing interpretations of
parasitism, I don't think it's fair to say that _any_ of them rest on "emotional" arguments.
 
In solidarity, Jerry

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Received on Sat Jan 31 10:14:05 2009