Alan wrote in [OPE-L:2172]:
"Mine is not a request to exclude any view but to have all views
represented. Is this so unreasonable?".
No.
My impression is that Tssers, especially Alan and Andrew, believe that
their contributions have for many years been either trated in a dimsissive
and unfair manner or -- worse still -- been ignored.
I ask that they consider the following:
(1) No conclusion in terms of the intent of others can be explained by
silence.
(2) Others most probably also feel that their contributions have not been
appreciated. For example:
* Makoto might feel, with reason, that his the labor power shortage
theory of crisis might have been reviewed unfairly as a departure
from Marx even though there are sections in Marx that support such an
interpretation.
* Mike W. and Geert might think, for instance, that they view value as
something more than a "metaphor" (am I correct, Mike W?).
* Mike L might believe that his book has been, for the most part,
ignored (am I correct Mike L?).
* Anu, Paul C. Allin, Fred, and Murray might believe that their empirical
work has not been given the attention it deserves (am I correct, guys?).
* Steve C and Bruce might feel that the Althusserian tradition has been
distorted and dismissed by many other Marxists (am I correct Steve and
Bruce?).
* Massimo might feel that the works of Harry Cleever and Antonio Negri
have been treated unjustly in much of the literature (do you believe
that, Massimo?).
Gil might feel that some have taken issue with what he has *not* said
rather than what he has (do I even need to ask, Gil?).
In short, I believe that there are many Marxists from many intellectual
traditions who have reason to believe that their work has not been given the serious
attention it merits.
Is it so unreasonable for us to expect that we treat each other with
respect and in good faith? Marxists don't really have a good track record
for this. I believe that needs to change and OPE-L is a good place where
some of those dialogues -- where we *really* listen to each other --
can take place.
This, of course, will not be easy. We will have to overcome some older
forms of debate that have not proven to be fair or beneficial. We
will also have to treat each other with *respect* and *patience*.
In OPE-L Solidarity,
Jerry