Carrol wrote:
From Yoshie's posts on Iran I would gather (re stacking contradictions in the right order) that the principal contradiction in Iran today is that between neo-liberalism and illiberal nationalism.
One of the most unfortunate aspects of this debate that has raged across the 3 mailing lists is the utter lack of initiative taken by participants. Although I have a full-time job, responsibilities for Marxmail and writing obligations for Swans and my own blog, I tried to get up to speed by reading perhaps a dozen or so articles, an entire manuscript of an excellent book that is due to be published by Zed in December and sections of other books. As it became clear to me that nobody else had any interest in getting beneath the surface except Yoshie, who obviously was responding to some deep obsessive need equivalent to hand-washing, I began to wind down my involvement. This mailing list is geared to academics but I have seen nothing but superficial opinionizing like Carrol's. It really makes me wonder why pen-l is such a high-falutin' place with academics threatening to unsub every week or two because they can't stand unnecessary static. I have the feeling that just about every economist on the list has zero interest outside of their narrow bailiwick unlike the late Edward Said whose range was oceanic. I myself have no interest in answering Carrol because there is nothing of substance in his post. I understand that he has spent a lifetime with his nose in books and might not have any appetite for going to the library, but let's no kid ourselves that he is really speaking about Iran. He might as well be writing about Khazakstan with a President named Borat.
