I hope that I'm not behaving like a Stalinist suppressor. I understand your sensitivity about the term, "conspiracy theorist." I don't know about other people, but I find the evidence for the truther's case unconvincing. The problem here on the list is that the discussion on the subject follows a predictable loop that degenerates into personal attacks.
One thing I think all of us can agree on is that the available information on the attack is intentionally limited and will probably never be fully made available. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [email protected] michaelperelman.wordpress.com From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Paul Zarembka Sent: Sunday, April 26, 2015 8:53 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [Pen-l] Response to Michael: "conspiracy theory" Michael, Actually, I had said nothing more after 3 p.m. Thursday, when your message came over aimed toward me. Several others have been involved afterwards. I am planning to write a paper with a title something like " 'Conspiracy theory' is a CIA concept, not a Marxist concept". The CIA consciously and vigorously promoted its use pejoratively from the late 1960s -- even if it had been used before without a negative connotation -- so as to become an anti-intellectual weapon ideologically. It's pretty effective, actually. It is now used most often as a put-down, a big put-down. It is used anti-intellectually (demand: don't consider an alternative!). Among supporters of governments, I can understand why they use the phrase over and over negatively and try to fix the phrase negatively in the public's mind (much like Nazi propaganda's efforts). But I cannot countenance its use that way among Marxists, knowing that conspiracies are part of history. See, for only one example, my article with David MacGregor discussing Marx's understanding of Louis Bonaporte in The Eighteenth Brumaire -- published in Socialism and Democracy, on-line since 2011. Relatedly, I don't understand a call to "drop a subject" seemingly because different people have different viewpoints, even if very strongly felt in any direction. If I were in error to address the concept, so is Socialism and Democracy. That journal wants to promote openness of discourse, not close it down. I am not accusing you personally of this, of course (I know you too well), but am reminded of Stalinist suppression. Paul Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2015 23:56:53 +0000 From: "Perelman, Michael" <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Pen-l] Critique of Rebekah Roth's Tea Party novel that has all 9-11 planes landing in Westover, MA Paul, I wish we could drop the subject. I suspect that the high-tech visual effects group would be able to produce and imaginary attack with sufficient number of actors to display the fictitious horror of the event, we could still have a war on terror. We live in a world in which a large number of Americans live in fear of being subject to sharia law. Rationality is very scarce commodity in our society. Michael Perelman -- ==== Research in Political Economy<http://www.emeraldinsight.com/books.htm?issn=0161-7230> (since 1977) | Editor's webpage<http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/%7Ezarembka> Sraffa and Althusser Reconsidered; Neoliberalism Advancing (2014) Contradictions: Finance, Greed, and Labor Unequally Paid (2013) Revitalizing Marxist Theory for Today's Capitalism (2011), with R.Desai The Hidden History of 9-11<http://catalog.sevenstories.com/products/hidden-history-of-911> (2nd ed., Seven Stories Press)
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