Date: Sat, 09 Nov 1996 04:15:18 +0000
From: Antonio Mota <antonio_mota-AT-geocities.com>
Subject: Re: M-I: Apology to Yudice and the Social Text Crowd


Louis N Proyect wrote:
> 
> 
> Now let me try to explain the nature of our difficulties. You have
> through no fault of your own wandered onto a mailing list that is
> positively hostile toward "radical democracy", "post-marxism" and all
> the other stuff that gets heavy play in Social Text and Rethinking
> Marxism.
> 

Louis, I must say you are one of the guys in this list I like to read,
and normally I tend to agree with your points of view (when they are not
too complex to my slow understanding of english), but I want to
criticise the ease of use you have in cataloguing peoples and positions.
Look at the above paragraph; 

>"radical democracy", "post-marxism" and all
> the other stuff

and then "bad-mouthing", "Trotskyites", "Maoist species"...

I think it's problematic to assert labels like this on people. Look at
my case. Althought I conseder myself a "marxist", I read with interest
works from, e.g., Baudrillard (and he makes some points to me), try to
read Deleuze-Guatary (must recognize that I don't understand the most of
it) and other thinkers (I like to cite Arthur Krocker). But I don't
follow any of then like a "bible" (to have one, I'll choose the Comunist
Manifesto and the Anti-Duhring (it's not a originall choice I know)).
OTOH, some years ago I thinked of myself as a Maoist (I've had a nice
picture of Marx-Emgels-Lenin-Stalin-Mao on my wall).

So where this leaves me in your "cataloging"? You know, I recently
called myself as being "stalinist" on M-TH and I was practically kicked
out of there just for that. I know you're going to call me, at least,
"pomo", so this list is a place for me too? (I'm not saying you're
calling the shots here).

And BTW, re Luis G "He is probably the most knowledgable Marxist in the
United States" I must say I have him and his writings in high
consideration, even if there is in here a "sentimental" aproach due to
the fact he is descendent from Portuguese people...

Regards,
Antonio Mota



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