I agree with much of what you say, but I was careful not to assert a
identity between being critical and being on the political left. I
suspect, however, that in general and in practice, there is a
considerable overlap between the two.
It would be equally foolhardy and naive to assume a causal relation
between analytical and political consistency, on the one hand, and
being "uncritical", on the other.
Michael.
I suspect that many who subscribe to this forum do so mainly for the
general information about conferences, etc, and they are likely to be
very selective in reading/deleting messages.
It is reasonable to assume that subscribers see themselves as being
'critical' in the perspectives they adopt, but to make assumptions about
their political positionings is foolhardy and suggests a naïve view that
to be 'critical' (quite difficult to define precisely) is to be 'on the
left'.
My own view is that many people change political positions depending on
the issues involved, precisely because they adopt a critical
perspective, rather than assume a consistent ideological and uncritical
view of life.
Seamus Grimes
Department of Geography and Centre for Innovation and Structural Change
National University of Ireland, Galway
Galway
Ireland
www.nuigalway.ie/cisc
Ph: 353-91-512148
Fax: 353-91-512505
Dr Michael Fisher
Business School
Greenwich University
London SE10 9LS
Tel: 0208 331 9740
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