> Ricardo, the last thing that I am interested in is a prolonged
> discussion of Pomerantz's book, but it is simply not accurate to state
> that the explanation is coal. He clearly says that the plunder of the
> New World has as much weight.
I was tempted to post this stuff on the H-World list, where
Pomeranz sometimes acts as a moderator, but I did not want to
look like I was trying to score points against him. I have said a few
things there criticizing his book but nothing systematic, and have
preferred to use other books/articles to do my "eurocentric" thing.
Pomeranz has never commented on anything I have said - probably
thinks I am just a nuisance. I met him at the WH meeting last
summer (to which I was invited at the last minute to comment on
his book, after AG Frank said he could not attend) but decided not
to participate because I felt his book merited careful, tedious
analysis. I told him he wrote an excellent book, and pressed him
on a few points during the panel discussions, but that was that.
Anyways, I know coal is only one ingredient, and would even say
that Pomeranz has given Williams's thesis a new leg to stand on,
by shifting the focus away from profits to resources, not as mere
sources to profit from, but as sources which allowed Europe to
escape the Malthusian wall...
