From pdm1@cornell.edu Tue Aug 2 09:07:44 MDT 1994 >From pdm1@cornell.edu Tue Aug 2 09:07:43 1994 Return-Path: pdm1@cornell.edu Received: from postoffice.mail.cornell.edu (POSTOFFICE.MAIL.CORNELL.EDU [132.236.56.7]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with ESMTP id JAA28218 for ; Tue, 2 Aug 1994 09:07:42 -0600 Received: from [132.236.102.77] (CU-DIALUP-0063.CIT.CORNELL.EDU [132.236.102.77]) by postoffice.mail.cornell.edu (8.6.5/8.6.5) with SMTP id LAA08604 for ; Tue, 2 Aug 1994 11:07:29 -0400 Date: Tue, 2 Aug 1994 11:07:29 -0400 Message-Id: <199408021507.LAA08604@postoffice.mail.cornell.edu> X-Sender: pdm1@postoffice.mail.cornell.edu (Unverified) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To: WSN@csf.colorado.edu From: pdm1@cornell.edu (Philip McMichael) Subject: PEWS party ASA MEETINGS BULLETIN: Please note that the Political Economy of the World-System section will hold its annual party at the ASA meetings in Los Angeles on the evening of Monday, August 8th at 8.30pm. The party will be in a Suite (not a room), under the name of Philip McMichael, at the Westin Bonaventure hotel. There will be food, drink, and global company. Enjoy. From: Philip McMichael Department of Rural Sociology Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853-7801. Ph: 607-255-5495 Fax: 607-255-9984 email: pdm1@cornell.edu From CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Wed Aug 3 13:38:38 MDT 1994 >From CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Wed Aug 3 13:38:37 1994 Return-Path: CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Received: from JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (jhuvm.hcf.jhu.edu [128.220.2.2]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id NAA19258 for ; Wed, 3 Aug 1994 13:38:35 -0600 Message-Id: <199408031938.NAA19258@csf.Colorado.EDU> Received: from JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU by JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 9573; Wed, 03 Aug 94 15:38:00 EDT Received: from JHUVM (NJE origin CHRISCD@JHUVM) by JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 9572; Wed, 3 Aug 1994 14:58:48 -0400 Date: Wed, 03 Aug 94 14:58:34 EDT From: CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU To: wsn@CSF.COLORADO.EDU A group of seven sociologists met at the 13th World Congress of Sociology in Bielefeld Germany on Wednesday, July 20 to discuss the idea of a world party. It was presumed that the world-systems perspective provides a scientifically valid and useful theoretical basis for understanding and acting on the world stage in order to bring about a more humane global society. W. Warren Wagar's A Short History of the Future was summarized for those who had not read it, and then the discussion considered what a world party would do, how it would be organized, who would be the organizers, who would be the consituencies. Regarding the term "party" some participants were uncomfortable because of the history of Leninism. it was agreed that "network" might be a better term to describe the activities under consideration. Several constituencies were mentioned: NGO cadres, progressive employees of international organizations, academics and leftists. It was agreed that world-system activists should help to communicate the world-systems perspective to a wider audience by writing textbooks and educational materials, and by speaking to groups outside of academic circles. It was also agreed that the topic of world-system praxis should be engaged among academics who share the world-systems perspective. It was planned to try to get activities scheduled for the ASA meetings in Washington DC in 1995 to focus on world-system praxis. From CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Wed Aug 3 13:38:51 MDT 1994 >From CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Wed Aug 3 13:38:50 1994 Return-Path: CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Received: from JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (jhuvm.hcf.jhu.edu [128.220.2.2]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id NAA19282 for ; Wed, 3 Aug 1994 13:38:47 -0600 Message-Id: <199408031938.NAA19282@csf.Colorado.EDU> Received: from JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU by JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 9823; Wed, 03 Aug 94 15:38:15 EDT Received: from JHUVM (NJE origin CHRISCD@JHUVM) by JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 9822; Wed, 3 Aug 1994 15:02:54 -0400 Date: Wed, 03 Aug 94 14:59:26 EDT From: chris chase-dunn Subject: world party (network) To: systemites Terry Boswell and I would like to invite anyone who is interested to join us in a discussion of the idea of a world party at the ASA meetings in Los Angeles. It would be desireable if those attending had read W. Warren Wagar's _A Short History of the Future_ (Chicago, 1992). The meeting will be held on Monday, August 8 at 5pm. We will gather near the message board and then move to a better location for discussion. chris chase-dunn chriscd@jhuvm.hcf.jhu.edu From CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Wed Aug 3 19:42:44 MDT 1994 >From CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Wed Aug 3 19:42:43 1994 Return-Path: CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Received: from JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (jhuvm.hcf.jhu.edu [128.220.2.2]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id TAA24549 for ; Wed, 3 Aug 1994 19:42:41 -0600 Message-Id: <199408040142.TAA24549@csf.Colorado.EDU> Received: from JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU by JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 5499; Wed, 03 Aug 94 21:42:11 EDT Received: from JHUVM (NJE origin CHRISCD@JHUVM) by JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 5495; Wed, 3 Aug 1994 21:42:10 -0400 Date: Wed, 03 Aug 94 21:41:56 EDT From: CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU To: WSN@CSF.COLORADO.EDU Utopian Visions of the New World-system: A review of W. Warren Wagar's _A Short History of the Future_ (University of Chicago Press, 1992). Terry Boswell, Department of Sociology, Emory University soctb@EMUVM1 Utopian visions of possible new world orders proliferate every 50- 60 years with the long stagnation of the Kondraetieff economic cycle, according to the research of Kiser and Drass (1987). They found that the publication of utopian novels as a percentage of all novels published clusters in the downturn phase of the Kondraetieff wave, peaking during the period when economic conditions turn for the better after a long crisis. Hegemonic decline amplyfies the cultural response to the economy. Kiser and Drass use the publication of utopian novels, as something of a temperature gauge of the prevailing cultural weather. The relationship between ideological and economic conditions is turbulent at best. But over [Page 1] the long term, the cultural atmosphere surrounding economic conditions shifts with the seasonal pattern of economic stagnation and expansion, and hegemonic stability and decline. One such novel of particular importance for conceiving the future of the world- system is W. Warren Wagar's, A Short History of the Future. Wagar, a historian at SUNY Binghamton and colleague of Wallerstein, has written a utopian vision from a deliberately world-systemic point-of-view. As a novel, it reads rather like a historian's extrapolation based on an explicit theory. It is full of long treatises on changing world conditions, with only occasional epistolary interludes to add human characters to what is otherwise all plot. While it lacks the literary quality of the H.G. Wells it attempts to emulate, it is nevertheless readable and enjoyable simply as the written imagination of a learned and intelligent author. Viewing a utopian novel simply as a novel misses the whole point. [Page 2] Utopian novels pose new answers to the ideological question of "what is possible?" (Kiser and Drass 1987). Along with answers to "what exists?" and "what is good?," conceiving "what is possible?" forms the basis for any world view. Goran Therborn's (1980) classic work on ideology explains that defining "what is possible" is the last defense of the status quo. While one may empirically demonstrate that exploitation exists and even that it is unfair, for instance, one cannot prove empirically that a better alternative is possible when that system does not yet exist. Conceiving "what is possible" is an act of extrapolation from what exists. When the world economy has unmistakenly failed to grow at appeasing rates for nearly a generation, people become convinced that the existing forms of organization must be discarded and experiment with new ones to put in their place. Utopian visions, at that time, have a new resonance. They take advantage of the pliable economic conditions to stretch our conception of the possible. [Page 3] Wagar's novel comes at what is, hopefully, the tail of a long stagnation, and at the middle of America's descent from hegemony. As a utopian vision of possible futures, a vision based on world- system theory, Wagar offers scenarios that begin to offer what we must have in order for the theory to offer more than analysis of what exists. Since the end of the Soviet Union in 1990, socialist visions of the future appear to many to be trapped by futility. Despite the long ago recognition by most Western leftists that the Soviet model was undemocratic and oppressive, its utter collapse brought a surprising recognition that the entire system had long been unreformable. Democratization by Gorbachevs or Trotskys or other would be true democratic socialists could not reverse the failings of the command economy (Boswell and Peters 1990). This recognition is what leaves Marxists in a crisis of purpose, not the trumpeting of Soviet oppression or even of its failures, which were recognizable from applying Marxist theory. This is not to say that Wagar offers a viable alternative model or that his vision is even a prediction of what will happen (the first edition still even had a Soviet Union).The purpose of a utopian novel is not to [Page 4] predict the future but to offer what Wagar calls an "array of possibilities" (p.x). His particular array is not highly probable as an extrapolation. But it does offer a vision of a world socialism that is not constrained by the now suddenly obvious impossibilities of extending a "reformed" Soviet model. Wagar's vision is feasible within known parameters of the world-system and while an unlikely event to occur by accident, something like it could be made to happen by concerted action. It thus extends the possibility that concerted action would be worthwhile. Wagar actually offers two utopias and one dystopia. Each follow from and require the previous one to create the conditions for its subsumption. The novel is organized into three "books," 'Earth Inc.,' 'Red Earth,' and 'House of Earth,' which chronicle the history of the world form 1995 to 2100. Wagar (p.xiii) modeled his three "books" on the Christian eschatology of "Armageddon, Millennium, and New Jerusalem." The dystopia must come first. It is an extrapolation from existing transnational corporate capitalism to include a corporate world polity, the GTC (Global [Page 5] Trade Consortium). The GTC functions as world hegemon, enforcing a corporate world order through economic boycott rather than military dominance. Initially the GTC is an enlightened despot, maintaining world peace and ushering in a renewed global prosperity at the small price of undemocratic rule, uniform cultural commodification, growing inequality, environmental degradation, and individual subservience. But global capitalist expansion leads inevitably to overproduction and recession. Wagar plays out the next century with dates from the one now ending. Global recession in 2032 lasts until world war breaks out in the 2040s. But in this scenario, the world war is a nuclear holocaust. From the ashes of the war, the states in the southern Hemisphere (which are now the core) coalesce to form a new world polity based on the principles of the World Party. The World Party is the most interesting and perhaps most important part of the book, which we will return to shortly. This new world state seems to be a democratic version of the GTC, which as a global democracy is driven to redress the problems of inequality and environmental degradation while also managing to restore peace and prosperity. [Page 6] It succeeds a bit too easily, but Wagar does remind us that even in a democratic socialist utopia, resistance will occur against the tyranny of the majority. This resistance takes the form of the Small Party, an anarchist congregation seeking individual and cultural autonomy through community self-sufficiency. In the final and most entertaining "book," a victorious Small Party simply dissolves the world government. The final utopia is a world of self-governing communities small enough to practice direct democracy and enabled by fantastic technology to be both self- sufficient and fully prosperous. Any hierarchy is rejected, or falls away, and the material determination of the spirit is finally reversed. The World Party While the particular scenarios that Wagar presents are built upon an increasing number of "what ifs," the World Party is based on a set of principles that are applicable in a wide array of scenarios. [Page 7] Those principles deserve discussion, regardless of the merits of the scenarios. The Party principles, as I interpret them from various points in the text, are as follows: 1. A World Socialist Commonwealth, including a world state with a military monopoly and public ownership of the megacorporations 2. Global Democracy with direct elections by department for all offices, global and local 3. Legal and programmatic provision for equal opportunity, including a worldwide assault on racism and sexism; and state provision of basic needs, including education, health care, child care, and retirement 4. Incomes based on need, with no more than a 3:1 ratio among individuals for those employed (half share for those unwilling to work) and no more than 2:1 across departments [Page 8] 5. "Declaration of Human Sovereignty," in which the world state abolishes national sovereignty and eschews national or ethnic identities 6. "Integral humanism," a philosophical order of public affairs based on rationality, including a secular state and official tolerance for individual beliefs (i.e., no legal enforcement of religious, national, ethnic, or other traditions), and a disdain for commodity fetishism 7. A global plan for ecological restoration, renewable sources of supply, and population control 8. A critique of world capitalism as the source of world wars and as oppressive and illegal as a world order (although petty bourgeois capital and markets can operate within departments) 9. A critique of Stalinist style state socialism as oppressive and illegal, with guarantees for democracy and [Page 9] individual liberty 10. A vanguard party strategy for mundialization, including revolution, elections, coops, and even conquest of laggards until all states join the world commonwealth The World Party is modeled on the German Green Party, with a heavy dose of the original Second International and the added twist of being based on world-system rather than Marxist or Keynesian theory. It carries a "New Left" imprint of being socialist and democratic, anti-capitalist and anti-totalitarian, class and individually based. As Arrighi, Hopkins and Wallerstein (1987) point out, since the world revolution of 1968, such "New Left" conceptions have redefined progressive politics. There are many points that deserve critique, rejection, or revision. We can start with those offered by Wagar himself, by enunciating the principles of the Small Party. It carries an imprint from the other major offspring of 1968 revolution, the "New [Page 10] Age" conceptions that redefined identity and spirituality. To many, "New Age" means hippie wannabes wearing crystals, sleeping under pyramids, and listening to whales sing. It is that, but it is also an umbrella term for a wide variety of lifestyle issues that share a concern for personal autonomy and self-awareness. The most prominent are feminist (and ethnic) conceptions of identity, which for instance, overlap but still contrast with leftist definitions of feminism as equality in the workplace. Given the anarchistic and spiritual character of the Small Party, its principles are deliberately vague. Perhaps only the following two principles are necessary and shared: elimination of the state or other central authority above the community; and complete autonomy and self-reliance of small communities. Self- reliance is premised on utopian technology that provides for abundant prosperity with little effort. Wagar suggests that most such communities would be governed by town hall style direct democracy, although religious and other traditional orders may also proliferate. He assumes that abundance would guarantee a general [Page 11] equality and eliminate any desire for hierarchy or conquest. A missing assumption, which we can add, is that the technology have a diminishing return to scale, and perhaps even to hierarchy, which would make small egalitarian communities the optimal form. But this makes the technological form, and thus the Small Party option, even more fantastical, eviscerating the critique. Perhaps the "New Age" critique of "scientific socialism" is better understood as an alternative set of goals rather than an alternative organizational form that must be premised on utopian technology. Let me below offer a series of contrasts, interpreted from the text, with the Small Party goals listed first: spiritual vs. rational; early Marx vs. late Marx; spontaneous vs. planned; feminine vs. masculine; identity vs. humanity; community vs. individual; individual vs. family; autonomy vs. centralized; self- sufficient vs. interdependent; negotiation vs. law; variety vs. standard; freedom vs. equality; relativist vs. universal; folk vs. classical; play vs. work; and, anarchy vs. state. [Page 12] Not all goals contradict and instead are only a different priority or emphasis. Nevertheless, the contrast is often striking and many do contradict. Wagar offers a stage theory wherein rational scientific world socialism produces the abundance that enables a communal spiritual world. Working class technocrats turn into communal hippies. A strength of Wagar's array of possibilities is that they take account of the slow movement of global time. He lets about 50 years pass, a full Kondraetieff, before one world order slips into the next. Each set of social relations that characterize a period is predicated on the developments that preceded it --the autonomous community utopia required the equality and prosperity of a world socialism, which in turn was built on charred framework of a capitalist world polity. But are these stages necessary? Wagar's stage conception justifies sacrificing spirituality, spontaneity, femininity, identity, and perhaps even freedom, in the short run in order to achieve the same in the abundant future. I doubt that by sacrificing these goals one creates the conditions for their achievement, or even if it might, that many would risk [Page 13] the sacrifice. These are not investments, where a sacrifice reaps a greater reward, but are alternatives. Some may even be complimentary. Yet must we accept either the premise of fantastic technology or that the achievement of goals must occur in stages? Is not a synthesis of goals, requiring only foreseeable technology, a possible option? I not only think the answer is yes, but also think that the world party and world socialism is only worthwhile if the answer is yes. What that synthesis can and should be cannot be answered here. Or what is the same thing, all or at least most of the goals should be included. How can "New Left and New Age" be reconciled or synthesized?, is the first of two questions that advocates of a world party and world socialism need to reach an agreed upon answer. The second is question is, how do we begin? Historically, attempts to organize international parties have succeeded only up to the point of exercising real power. Power is located in states, which have a societal constituency and [Page 14] a physical border that frequently contradicts global concerns. The nationalistic division of the Second International over WWI is the classic example. Yet, ironically, as the national interests in western Europe coalesced after WWII, the Second International revived as a common forum for designing and coordinating (moderately) progressive policies. Could such a forum exist at the world level? Certainly global organizations exist and have been proliferating at a phenomenal rate since WWII. In analyzing data on the establishment of International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) since 1875, John Boli (1994) finds a linear increase interrupted only by war and depression, that after WWII, increased geometrically (3 times as many in 1990 as 1960). These organizations, along with other global actors and events, constitute and reflect the world polity (despite the absence of a world state). Yet international political parties and labor unions have not been among the organizations on the rise. Most have been industry and trade organizations, that is in class terms, [Page 15] organizations of international capital rather than labor. Capital is laying the foundation for organizing labor globally, as it previously did industrially. If the foundation is there, then question of how to begin becomes one of deciding where to start, what part of the foundation to build upon first. A utopian perspective is ill-equipped to determine what we should do; it offers only scenarios of what we could do. Wagar offers an alternative scenario to traditional party organizing. He has the World Party evolving out of study groups, salons, and other nonhierarchical interactions. The most important are discussion networks on the internet, not unlike this one. References Arrighi, Giovanni, Terence K. Hopkins, and Immanuel Wallerstein. 1987. "1968: The Great Rehearsal." Pps. 19-32 in _Revolution in the World-System_, edited by Terry Boswell. New York: Greenwood. Boli, John. 1994. "World Polity Dramatization via Global Events," forthcoming in Religion and Global Order: The Contemporary Circumstance, edited by Roland Robertson and William Garrett. [Page 16] Boswell, Terry and Ralph Peters. 1990. "State Socialism and the Industrial Divide in the Wrold-Economy: A comparative Essay on the Rebellions in Poland and China," Critical Sociology. 3-34. Kiser, Edgar and Kriss A. Drass. 1987. "Changes in the Core of the Wrold-System and the Production of utopian literature in Great Britain and the United States, 1883-1975." American Sociological Review. 52, April:286-293. Therborn, Goran. 1980. The Power of Ideology and the Ideology of Power. London: Verso. From I.R.Douglas@newcastle.ac.uk Thu Aug 4 21:57:30 MDT 1994 >From I.R.Douglas@newcastle.ac.uk Thu Aug 4 21:57:29 1994 Return-Path: I.R.Douglas@newcastle.ac.uk Received: from cheviot.ncl.ac.uk (cheviot.ncl.ac.uk [128.240.2.10]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id VAA11242 for ; Thu, 4 Aug 1994 21:57:25 -0600 Received: from scales.ncl.ac.uk by cheviot.ncl.ac.uk id (5.65cVUW/NCL-CMA.1.35 for ) with SMTP; Fri, 5 Aug 1994 04:57:20 +0100 Received: From PEAK/WORKQUEUE by scales.ncl.ac.uk via Charon-4.0A-VROOM with IPX id 100.940805045705.352; 05 Aug 94 04:57:21 -0100 Message-Id: From: "I.R.DOUGLAS" To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu Date: Fri, 5 Aug 1994 04:56:53 GMT0BST Subject: Myth and Globalisation Cc: I.R.Douglas@ncl.ac.uk X-Pmrqc: 1 Priority: normal X-Mailer: Pegasus Mail/Windows v1.11 Dear wsn NET, I am researching a paper entitled 'The Myth of Globalisation'. I address issues concerning ideology, the social structures of accumulation, myth and the construction of knowledge and discourse, (as well as IPE treatment of the concept of globalisation). I have already a selection of leads, including Cassirer's 'Philosophy of Symbolic Forms', 'The Problem of Knowledge' and 'Myth of the State', Marcuse's 'One Dimensional Man' ..Foucault's 'Archaeology of Knowledge & Discourse of Language', of course Mannheim 'The Sociology of Knowledge' and 'The Sociology of Culture' .. Habermas, Micheal Mann, Harvey's 'Limits to Capital' .. also der Derian, Shapiro, R.B.J. Walker and Richard Ashley on discouse analysis .. Critical Theory, Linklater .. concepts of ideology (Hamilton, Ricoeur and Therborn's 'The Power of Ideology and the Ideology of Power') .. Is anyone interested?, and can anyone suggest any excellant articles with which I may be unfamiliar? (I realise that the field is immense!) I would especially appreciate suggestions on the 'Sociology/History of knowledge' aspect. I am also interested in the debate surrounding 'globalisation' and technology and long cycles of the world economy/world politcal economy/world system. Is globalisation a new phase of capitalist development, or merely the extension of techniques and myths long in operation? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Ian Robert Douglas Department of Politics, University of Newcastle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK email: I.R.Douglas@ncl.ac.uk tel: (091) 222 6000 home: (091) 265 8490 From cassell@gibbs.oit.unc.edu Fri Aug 5 04:48:33 MDT 1994 >From cassell@gibbs.oit.unc.edu Fri Aug 5 04:48:31 1994 Return-Path: cassell@gibbs.oit.unc.edu Received: from gibbs.oit.unc.edu (gibbs.oit.unc.edu [152.2.25.2]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with ESMTP id EAA12944; Fri, 5 Aug 1994 04:48:30 -0600 Received: from localhost by gibbs.oit.unc.edu (8.6.4.3/10.1) id GAA14542; Fri, 5 Aug 1994 06:48:30 -0400 Date: Fri, 5 Aug 1994 06:48:29 -0400 (EDT) From: James Cassell Subject: NEW: WORLDGOV (fwd) To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu, International Political Economy Discussion Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Some of you might be interested in this new mailing list. Best, Jim ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Jim Cassell jwcassell@UNC.EDU Institute for Research in Social Science Phone: 919-962-0782 University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Fax: 919-962-4777 Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3355 USA ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 4 Aug 1994 17:20:09 CDT From: Robert Reinhardt To: Multiple recipients of list NEW-LIST Subject: NEW: WORLDGOV WORLDGOV on worldgov-request@tomahawk.welch.jhu.edu The main topic of discussion of WORLDGOV will be world government. The scope of the discussion should be framed by the DRAFT treatise on world government (you can get a copy via ftp as described below). This list will be unmoderated, but don't forget that you are a guest on the list and any people who abuse the freedom of speech with torrents of inflammatory remarks will be removed from the list. The overall goal is of course, to have a constructive and thoughtful discussion on world government; and comments/critique of the treatise should serve as a good start. To join the discussion list (email listserver), please do the following: (this is an automated listserver, the address "worldgov-request" automatically handles administrative requests such as subscribe/unsubscribe). For the complete discussion group "worldgov": Send a message to "worldgov-request@tomahawk.welch.jhu.edu" In the text include a line subscribe your-email-name After you have joined; To send new mail or replys/followup to the discussion group, address your mail to: "worldgov@tomahawk.welch.jhu.edu" You must "subscribe" to the list before submitting articles. If you are not on the subscription list, submissions will be automatically rejected. For the digest version of the discussion group "worldgov-d": Send a message to "worldgov-d-request@tomahawk.welch.jhu.edu" In the text include a line subscribe your-email-name Note: If you join the digest form of the list, please make sure that you send any comments/reply/followup to the complete list at "worldgov@tomahawk.welch.jhu.edu"; the digest should automatically pick it up--however, the complete list won't see traffic generated in the digest "worldgov-d" (it basically should serve as just a summary of the "worldgov" list). I plan for the digest to be sent about every 3 days. (I personally recommend the complete discussion group and not the digest, since this is the first time I've ran a digest--who knows how it will work). At any time, you can unsubscribe by sending an equivalent message, but change the keyword 'subscribe' to unsubscribe'. If you get stuck, just send a message directly to me, address is below. Hint: If you are absolutely against the thought of world government, freedom and unity for all; then this list is not for you. If you are not sure what you think and have an open mind about it, maybe it is.... In addition, we also have an Anonymous FTP archive to use. To download the original file containing the treatise (un2-post.txt) _ or other info that may appear their down the road...ftp to tomahawk.welch.jhu.edu, login as anonymous, give your full internet name@address as a password. worldgov files are located in ~pub/politics/worldgov, to submit items to be archived, put them in ~incoming; and send me a message to let me know about it. Owner: Bob Reinhardt breinhar@tomahawk.welch.jhu.edu From KIM@UWYO.EDU Fri Aug 5 21:07:05 MDT 1994 >From KIM@UWYO.EDU Fri Aug 5 21:07:04 1994 Return-Path: KIM@UWYO.EDU Received: from roper.uwyo.edu (roper.uwyo.edu [129.72.10.8]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with ESMTP id VAA24543 for ; Fri, 5 Aug 1994 21:06:17 -0600 From: KIM@UWYO.EDU Received: from Bandit.UWyo.Edu by ROPER.UWYO.EDU (PMDF V4.3-7 #5576) id <01HFKBJRNFC00018NO@ROPER.UWYO.EDU>; Fri, 5 Aug 1994 21:06:10 MDT Received: from BANDIT/MAILQUEUE by Bandit.UWyo.Edu (Mercury 1.12); Fri, 5 Aug 94 21:06:23 GMT+7 Received: from MAILQUEUE by BANDIT (Mercury 1.12); Fri, 5 Aug 94 20:01:15 GMT+7 Date: Fri, 05 Aug 1994 20:01:09 -0700 (MST) Subject: Re: Myth and Globalisation To: I.R.Douglas@newcastle.ac.uk, wsn@csf.colorado.edu Message-id: <1D67C2240@Bandit.UWyo.Edu> X-Mailer: Pegasus Mail v3.1 (R1a) Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Priority: normal Missing from your list, I notice, are the works of Immanuel Wallerstein and Fernand Braudel, among others. I hear that Prof. Anthony Giddens of the Cambridge University regularly offers a seminar on "Globalization." You should be able to obtain a reading list from his office. Quee-Young Kim, Kim@uwyo.edu From jadr@oce.nl Sat Aug 6 07:09:07 MDT 1994 >From jadr@oce.nl Sat Aug 6 07:09:05 1994 Return-Path: jadr@oce.nl Received: from sun4nl.NL.net (sun4nl.NL.net [193.78.240.1]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id HAA26841 for ; Sat, 6 Aug 1994 07:09:04 -0600 Received: from venlo.oce.nl by sun4nl.NL.net with SMTP id AA15587 (5.65b/CWI-3.3); Sat, 6 Aug 1994 15:08:56 +0200 Received: by venlo.oce.nl (4.1/OCE) id AA00313; Sat, 6 Aug 94 15:08:17 +0200 Received: from pc1-jadr by oce-rd1.oce.nl; Fri, 5 Aug 1994 09:57:57 +0200 Message-Id: <199408050757.AA21611@oce-rd1.oce.nl> X-Sender: jadr@pophost Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Fri, 05 Aug 1994 09:56:09 +0200 To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu From: jadr@oce.nl (J. Adriaanse) Subject: Re: Myth and Globalisation X-Mailer: Ian Robert Douglas wrote: >I am researching a paper entitled 'The Myth of Globalisation'. >I address issues concerning ideology, the social structures of >accumulation, myth and the construction of knowledge and discourse, >(as well as IPE treatment of the concept of globalisation). > Dear Ian, the title of your paper suggests that you already have formed some opinion on the subject of globalisation. Can you give a short overview please? >Is globalisation a new phase of >capitalist development, or merely the extension of techniques and >myths long in operation? What is the difference? I think new techniques make a new phase possible. To speak anthropomorphically: maybe capitalist development has been waiting silently for ages for new techniques to come along, and is now taking the next 'giant step': globalisation. (I am Dutch, so I am supposed to know what happens when you make a hole in a dike :-) ) Greetings, Sjaak Groeten, Sjaak Sjaak Adriaanse (R-PI) jadr, 3B09, tst. 3621 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "In the information economy everything is plentiful, except our attention" Bruce Sterling -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ########################################################### # This note does not necessarily represent the position # # of Oce-Nederland B.V. Therefore no liability or # # responsibility for whatever will be accepted. # ########################################################### From I.R.Douglas@newcastle.ac.uk Sun Aug 7 18:28:31 MDT 1994 >From I.R.Douglas@newcastle.ac.uk Sun Aug 7 18:28:25 1994 Return-Path: I.R.Douglas@newcastle.ac.uk Received: from cheviot.ncl.ac.uk (cheviot.ncl.ac.uk [128.240.2.10]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id SAA06403 for ; Sun, 7 Aug 1994 18:28:19 -0600 Received: from scales.ncl.ac.uk by cheviot.ncl.ac.uk id (5.65cVUW/NCL-CMA.1.35 for ) with SMTP; Mon, 8 Aug 1994 01:28:13 +0100 Received: From PEAK/WORKQUEUE by scales.ncl.ac.uk via Charon-4.0A-VROOM with IPX id 100.940808012758.448; 08 Aug 94 01:28:14 -0100 Message-Id: From: "I.R.DOUGLAS" To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu Date: Mon, 8 Aug 1994 01:27:52 GMT0BST Subject: Re: Myth and Globalisation Cc: I.R.Douglas@ncl.ac.uk X-Pmrqc: 1 Priority: normal X-Mailer: Pegasus Mail/Windows v1.11 On Fri 05 Aug, Quee-Young wrote: >Missing from your list, I notice, are the works of Immanuel >Wallerstein and Fernand Braudel, among others. >I hear that Prof. Anthony Giddens of the Cambridge University >regularly offers a seminar on "Globalization." You should be able to >obtain a reading list from his office. Re: You noticed! I do have Wallerstein and Braudel in my bibliography .. I thought that was a prerequisite of subscription to WSN?! Thanks for the suggestion for Cambridge. Best regards, Ian Robert Douglas Department of Politics, University of Newcastle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK email: I.R.Douglas@ncl.ac.uk tel: (091) 222 6000 home: (091) 265 8490 From I.R.Douglas@newcastle.ac.uk Mon Aug 8 00:44:25 MDT 1994 >From I.R.Douglas@newcastle.ac.uk Mon Aug 8 00:44:24 1994 Return-Path: I.R.Douglas@newcastle.ac.uk Received: from cheviot.ncl.ac.uk (cheviot.ncl.ac.uk [128.240.2.10]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id AAA09992 for ; Mon, 8 Aug 1994 00:44:19 -0600 Received: from scales.ncl.ac.uk by cheviot.ncl.ac.uk id (5.65cVUW/NCL-CMA.1.35 for ) with SMTP; Mon, 8 Aug 1994 07:44:12 +0100 Received: From PEAK/WORKQUEUE by scales.ncl.ac.uk via Charon-4.0A-VROOM with IPX id 100.940808074356.256; 08 Aug 94 07:44:14 -0100 Message-Id: From: "I.R.DOUGLAS" To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu Date: Mon, 8 Aug 1994 07:43:49 GMT0BST Subject: Re: The Myth of Globalisation Cc: I.R.Douglas@ncl.ac.uk X-Pmrqc: 1 Priority: normal X-Mailer: Pegasus Mail/Windows v1.11 On Sat 06 August Sjaak Adriaanse wrote: >"the title of your paper suggests that you already have formed some >opinion on the subject of globalisation. Can you give a short overview >please?" **Is globalisation a new phase of **capitalist development, or merely the extension of techniques and **myths long in operation? >"What is the difference? I think new techniques make a new phase >possible. To speak anthropomorphically: maybe capitalist development has been >waiting silently for ages for new techniques to come along, and is now >taking the next 'giant step': globalisation." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- RE: Hi Sjaak, To address your specific point first: you write of my initial question: >"What is the difference? I think new techniques make a new phase >possible. To speak anthropomorphically: maybe capitalist development >has been waiting silently for ages for new techniques to come along, >and is now taking the next 'giant step': globalisation." RE: I'm not entirely sure that there are similarites! My question is very much addressed to the IR theory community: specifically the ongoing debate between world systems theory and the 'regulation school' (for a recent attempt to manage the creative tension see Palan and Gills, 'Transcending the State-Global Divide: The Neostructuralist Agenda in International Relations', Boulder, 1993). Much depends on what is referred to as a 'new phase', and how one periodises the development of the 'capitalist mode of production itself'! If I understand your point correctly, then yes, the idea of a 'new phase' of capitalist development is rather misleading .. how useful is it to refer a 'new phase' within what is an ongoing, adaptive entity? At the heart of the argument is the question of whether one accepts or not the proposition that 'new techniques' fundamentally alter the form and function of accumulation itself (hence 'stages', or 'phases' of capital, regimes of accumulation etc), or whether, on the other hand, 'accumulation is accumulation is accumulation' .. whatever the mode of production .. (a debate reflected in the Sweezy-Dobb and Wallerstein-Brenner exchanges, and recently revived, at least tangentally, in Frank and Gills 'The World System: 500 years or 5000?', Routledge, 1993) ... What are we talking about when we refer to new techniques anyway? Technological change and development has always been a structural feature of the world political economy .. what is the qualitative difference (apart from the obvious), if you place technological development within its historical context, between the development of the military lookout-post, or gunpowder, or the assault tank and the development of ICBM's? The difference is 'speed'. Yet speed is relative to its temporal setting. In the 15thC the idea that a ordinary citizen could travel from London to Paris in less than one week would have seemed ridiculous. Now it can be done in one hour. What is the difference? What seemed fast in the 17thC WAS fast (for them). What seemed beyond imagination WAS beyond imagination. Unless we suspend our imaginations and argue that technology has reached its limits: machines cannot be smaller; the military cannot be faster, we cannot say that technological developments in the 20thC -21st are in principle (not 'form'), any different to technological developments in the 9th, 10th, 15th, or 16th centuries ... You ask for an overview .. I'll try to be brief: *********************************************************************** In my paper I challenge the conventional treatment of 'globalisation' in two ways: first, in terms of an empirical and theoretical challenge to the notion of 'global' integration/homogenisation (the globalisation thesis); and second, in terms of an examination of 'globalisation as discourse', drawing upon theorists such as Mannheim, Cassirer and Foucault, to examine 'globalisation' in the light of debates over the construction of knowledge and ideational constructs. Globalisation then is both 'real' and 'unreal' (or alternatively, as I argue: 'myth' and 'falacy'). On one level, 'globalisation' is a powerful (re)structuring catalyst (a self-generating 'myth'), and yet, on another level globalisation is an empirical falacy. It is of interest and importance that the term 'globalisation' is so persistent when the teleological endpoint ['globality'] has not been, nor is likely to be acheived in any political or economic sector. We do not, I argue, live in a 'global political economy', but an historically specific, spatially defined, 'World Political Economy' (WPE). Convergence WITHIN this historical social structure IS a real (but certainly not new) tendency. Contra conventional 'globalisation theory' however, this convergence is SOCIETALLY (rather than structurally) specific, and not 'globalisation' but 'transnationalisation'. My argument is that 'globalisation' is the construct of a specific historical structure (the capitalist world political economy), and acts as its 'organising principle' (the 'myth of globalisation). The myth of globalisation acts as a magnet to the politico-economic entities that constitute the rest of the 'globe' (or planet). Some are attracted and incorporated, while others are repelled and marginalised. The notion that globalisation is an homogenisig tendency, is challenged directly. If 'globalisation' (as commonly imagined) were homogenising, one might refer to it as 'ideology'. 'Homogenisation', however, should be distinguished from 'convergence'. Where the former implies 'subsumption' the latter implies 'allignment'. It is a matter of empirical and theoretical argument as to which is the dominant tendency. The case I make is for the latter. Thus I regard globalisation as 'myth' rather than 'ideology', principally because national social formations are themselves 'catalysts' for transformation of themselves and the wider WPE (in the extreme through war, more frequently through appropriation and adaptation of 'knowledge'). Hence wealth remains a national phenomenon, based upon differential abilities between national social formations to 'adapt' (within the context of specific WPE 'historical conjuctures') to the imperatives of world level 'organising principles' .. That national social formations are of central importance is illustrated in the motivation of 'speed'. Technological development, based upon the pursuit of greater comparative speed, is predicated on the assumption that national advantage is to be gained. The incentive to develop 'strategic industries' be they nuclear warheads, salt or silicon is illustrative of the falacy of globalisation: cultural particularism. How then do we explain the persistence of globalisation? This is where I turn to theories of knowledge construction, of the construction of 'modern myths', of 'symbol' and 'language', as a framework by which to approach the 'discourse' that underpins the 'myth of globalisation'. *********************************************************************** Any problems anyone? [!!] Best regards, Ian Robert Douglas Department of Politics, University of Newcastle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK email: I.R.Douglas@ncl.ac.uk tel: (091) 222 6000 home: (091) 265 8490 From mbhatia@arts.adelaide.edu.au Mon Aug 8 03:05:26 MDT 1994 >From mbhatia@arts.adelaide.edu.au Mon Aug 8 03:05:25 1994 Return-Path: mbhatia@arts.adelaide.edu.au Received: from chomsky.arts.adelaide.edu.au (mbhatia@chomsky.arts.adelaide.edu.au [129.127.192.1]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id DAA11133 for ; Mon, 8 Aug 1994 03:05:24 -0600 Received: by chomsky.arts.adelaide.edu.au (5.64+1.3.1+0.50+NF/UA-5.26) id AA23478; Mon, 8 Aug 1994 18:34:51 +0930 From: Manjit Bhatia Message-Id: <9408080904.AA23478@chomsky.arts.adelaide.edu.au> Subject: Literature help, please. To: ipe@csf.colorado.edu.au Date: Mon, 8 Aug 1994 18:34:50 +0930 (CST) Cc: wsn@csf.colorado.edu X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL3] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Length: 602 I would be grateful to anyone who could provide me with references to the literature on: (i) post-hegemonic world order (ii) critiques/responses to Samuel Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations". Ta! -- Manjit Bhatia Graduate Student (PhD) Politics Department University of Adelaide Adelaide 5005 Australia mbhatia@chomsky.arts.adelaide.edu.au From mbhatia@arts.adelaide.edu.au Mon Aug 8 03:09:40 MDT 1994 >From mbhatia@arts.adelaide.edu.au Mon Aug 8 03:09:39 1994 Return-Path: mbhatia@arts.adelaide.edu.au Received: from chomsky.arts.adelaide.edu.au (mbhatia@chomsky.arts.adelaide.edu.au [129.127.192.1]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id DAA11375 for ; Mon, 8 Aug 1994 03:09:36 -0600 Received: by chomsky.arts.adelaide.edu.au (5.64+1.3.1+0.50+NF/UA-5.26) id AA23741; Mon, 8 Aug 1994 18:39:02 +0930 From: Manjit Bhatia Message-Id: <9408080909.AA23741@chomsky.arts.adelaide.edu.au> Subject: Literature help, please! To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu Date: Mon, 8 Aug 1994 18:39:02 +0930 (CST) X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL3] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Length: 635 I would be enormously grateful to anyone who could provide me with good references on the following two topics: (i) post-hegemonic world order(s); (ii) critiques/responses to Samuel Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations". Ta! -- Manjit Bhatia Graduate Student (PhD) Politics Department University of Adelaide Adelaide 5005 Australia mbhatia@chomsky.arts.adelaide.edu.au From I.R.Douglas@newcastle.ac.uk Mon Aug 8 06:47:06 MDT 1994 >From I.R.Douglas@newcastle.ac.uk Mon Aug 8 06:47:04 1994 Return-Path: I.R.Douglas@newcastle.ac.uk Received: from cheviot.ncl.ac.uk (cheviot.ncl.ac.uk [128.240.2.10]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id GAA13556 for ; Mon, 8 Aug 1994 06:46:50 -0600 Received: from scales.ncl.ac.uk by cheviot.ncl.ac.uk id (5.65cVUW/NCL-CMA.1.35 for ) with SMTP; Mon, 8 Aug 1994 13:46:31 +0100 Received: From PEAK/WORKQUEUE by scales.ncl.ac.uk via Charon-4.0A-VROOM with IPX id 100.940808134615.352; 08 Aug 94 13:46:32 -0100 Message-Id: From: "I.R.DOUGLAS" To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu Date: Mon, 8 Aug 1994 13:46:07 GMT0BST Subject: Re: Literature help, please. Cc: I.R.Douglas@ncl.ac.uk X-Pmrqc: 1 Priority: normal X-Mailer: Pegasus Mail/Windows v1.11 Mon, 8 Aug 1994 Manjit Bhatia wrote: I would be grateful to anyone who could provide me with references to the literature on: (i) post-hegemonic world order (ii) critiques/responses to Samuel Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations". RE: On the first, see Robert W. Cox's chapters in Rosenau, James N. and Czempiel, Ernst-Otto (eds) Governance without Government: Order and Change in World Politics Cambridge 1992 and Gill, Stephen (ed) 'Gramsci, historical materialism and international relations' Cambridge 1993 .. check out Gill's introduction also .. also .. Philip G. Cerny (ed) 'Finance and World Politics: Markets, Regimes and States in the Post-hegemonic Era' Edward Elgar 1993 and an excellant article: Philip G. Cerny 'Plurilateralism: Structural Differentiation and Functional Conflict in the Post-Cold War World Order' Millennium: Journal of International Studies Vol22 No1 April 1993 a couple of the chapters in Palan, Ronen and Gills, Barry K. 'Transcending the State-Global Divide: The Neostructuralist Agenda in International Relations' Boulder 1993 .. may be of use I cannot think off-hand for Sam Huntington .. I expect you have checked issues of Foreign Affairs? .. regards .. Ian Robert Douglas Department of Politics, University of Newcastle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK email: I.R.Douglas@ncl.ac.uk tel: (091) 222 6000 home: (091) 265 8490 From Edward.V.Miller@um.cc.umich.edu Mon Aug 8 16:43:19 MDT 1994 >From Edward.V.Miller@um.cc.umich.edu Mon Aug 8 16:43:17 1994 Return-Path: Edward.V.Miller@um.cc.umich.edu Received: from runningman.rs.itd.umich.edu (runningman.rs.itd.umich.edu [141.211.144.15]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with ESMTP id QAA22575 for ; Mon, 8 Aug 1994 16:43:17 -0600 From: Edward.V.Miller@um.cc.umich.edu Received: from um.cc.umich.edu by runningman.rs.itd.umich.edu (8.6.9/2.25) with SMTP id SAA16793; Mon, 8 Aug 1994 18:43:15 -0400 Date: Mon, 8 Aug 94 18:41:18 EDT To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu Message-ID: <37583405@um.cc.umich.edu> X-MTS-Userid: RC9L Subject: post-hegemonic world order another work looking at is "political geography:...", 3rd ed. by peter taylor. From CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Fri Aug 12 12:38:40 MDT 1994 >From CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Fri Aug 12 12:38:39 1994 Return-Path: CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Received: from JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (jhuvm.hcf.jhu.edu [128.220.2.2]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id MAA09956 for ; Fri, 12 Aug 1994 12:38:38 -0600 Message-Id: <199408121838.MAA09956@csf.Colorado.EDU> Received: from JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU by JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 3385; Fri, 12 Aug 94 14:37:46 EDT Received: from JHUVM (NJE origin CHRISCD@JHUVM) by JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 3384; Fri, 12 Aug 1994 14:37:45 -0400 Date: Fri, 12 Aug 94 14:33:45 EDT From: chris chase-dunn Subject: mazeltov To: systemites Congratulations to John Foran for winning the 1994 PEWS Distinguished Publication Award. The committee announced its decision at the American Sociological Association meetings in Los Angeles. John's book is _Fragile Resistance: Social Transformation in Iran from 1500 to the Revolution_. It is published by Westview (1993). The committee's report will appear in the PEWS News, the newsletter of the Political Economy of the World-System section of the ASA. Chris Chase-Dunn From CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Fri Aug 12 12:42:44 MDT 1994 >From CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Fri Aug 12 12:42:43 1994 Return-Path: CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Received: from JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (jhuvm.hcf.jhu.edu [128.220.2.2]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id MAA10101 for ; Fri, 12 Aug 1994 12:42:43 -0600 Message-Id: <199408121842.MAA10101@csf.Colorado.EDU> Received: from JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU by JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 3561; Fri, 12 Aug 94 14:41:50 EDT Received: from JHUVM (NJE origin CHRISCD@JHUVM) by JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 3557; Fri, 12 Aug 1994 14:41:49 -0400 Date: Fri, 12 Aug 94 14:38:04 EDT From: chris chase-dunn To: "]" The PEWS section of the American Sociological Association needs to recruit about thirty more members. These are needed to justify the level of resources that the ASA provides to the section. Please help recruit your friends. Members of the ASA can join PEWS for $5.00 It was suggested that faculty members might offer to sponsor the memberships of studends that they know are interested in world-system studies. chris chase-dunn From CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Fri Aug 12 12:51:34 MDT 1994 >From CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Fri Aug 12 12:51:33 1994 Return-Path: CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Received: from JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (jhuvm.hcf.jhu.edu [128.220.2.2]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id MAA10350 for ; Fri, 12 Aug 1994 12:51:32 -0600 Message-Id: <199408121851.MAA10350@csf.Colorado.EDU> Received: from JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU by JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 3859; Fri, 12 Aug 94 14:50:40 EDT Received: from JHUVM (NJE origin CHRISCD@JHUVM) by JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 3858; Fri, 12 Aug 1994 14:50:40 -0400 Date: Fri, 12 Aug 94 14:42:16 EDT From: chris chase-dunn Subject: world party To: systemites A small number of colleagues met to discuss the idea of a world party at the meetings of the American Sociological Association in Los Angeles. A rumor was reported that the world party is too Stalinist. Does something have to exist before it can be too Stalinist? I suppose not. Anyway it was suggested that it may be premature to form a world party because parties contest for power and their is no world polity within which one might contest for power. This raises quite a number of issues. Terry Boswell and I have suggested that the PEWS section of the ASA might sponsor a session at the ASA meetings in Washington DC on "the Future of the World-System and Global Praxis." Perhaps it would be possible to invite Warren Wagar, the author of _A Short History of the Future_. I also suggested that this session might be co-sponsored by the environmental and marxist sections. If it is premature to consider these things perhaps we ought to think about when it will no longer be premature. and get ready for that. chris chase-dunn From timmons@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu Fri Aug 12 17:24:02 MDT 1994 >From timmons@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu Fri Aug 12 17:24:01 1994 Return-Path: timmons@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu Received: from rs5.tcs.tulane.edu (rs5.tcs.tulane.edu [129.81.224.56]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with ESMTP id RAA14793 for ; Fri, 12 Aug 1994 17:24:00 -0600 Received: (timmons@localhost) by rs5.tcs.tulane.edu (8.6.9/8.5) id SAA53544; Fri, 12 Aug 1994 18:16:43 -0500 From: "J. Timmons Roberts" Message-Id: <199408122316.SAA53544@rs5.tcs.tulane.edu> Subject: PEWS sessions at 1995 ASA?? To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu Date: Fri, 12 Aug 94 18:16:43 CDT X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.3 PL11] Was wondering from Chris' global thinking post whatever happened with the PEWS sessions for Washington ASA in 1995? With that terribly rushed business meeting, who was left to decide and when? Would they let us know? Timmons J. Timmons Roberts Assistant Professor Department of Sociology/Program in Latin American Studies Tulane University New Orleans, Louisiana 70118 USA timmons@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu From wxhst3+@pitt.edu Sat Aug 13 17:19:03 MDT 1994 >From wxhst3+@pitt.edu Sat Aug 13 17:19:02 1994 Return-Path: wxhst3+@pitt.edu Received: from pop.pitt.edu (pop.pitt.edu [136.142.185.27]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id RAA08198 for ; Sat, 13 Aug 1994 17:19:01 -0600 Received: from unixs2.cis.pitt.edu by pop.pitt.edu with SMTP id AA09944 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4.5 for ); Sat, 13 Aug 1994 19:16:30 -0400 Date: Sat, 13 Aug 1994 18:18:59 -0400 (EDT) From: "William J. Haller" Subject: Re: world party To: chris chase-dunn Cc: Multiple recipients of list In-Reply-To: <199408121851.MAA10350@csf.Colorado.EDU> Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Concerning Chris's report on a World Party, What a shame that the mere idea of an initiative to attempt to assemble a world party could be stuck with a Stalinist label! In spite of having expressed some skepticism to Chris through a private email message about the feasibility of actually "getting what we want" out of such a project, even if we "win", I've been keen on the concept of an explicitly mixed system under a global government since reading chapter 10 of __Transnational Corporations and Underdevelopment__ 6 years ago. I'm sure that many of us engage in globally conscious praxis both in our professional activities and in our daily lives (the paradigm of Gandhian activism, I mean), however, there may be some value in associating the behavior and conduct which would stem from leading globally conscious lives with World Party membership. An explicit, official statement of principles for a World Party which outline a series of topics which need attention is hardly premature. Yet, consensus on the topics and need for pragmatism concerning the objectives of such a Party seems obvious, as does explicit limitations on the objectives and means towards those objectives. I associate a Stalinist label with groups who attempt to level social inequality by coercive means. As hard as this may be to swallow, credibility (hence "success") may hinge, among other things, on explicitly eschewing full social equality as an objective--at least until everyone's basic material needs are met--along with the use of any coercive methods (of course). I'll finish by saying that considering the stakes for those who suffer daily "we're" late rather than premature in laying the foundations for a World Party and that we need to attend to the issues of credibility and trust before we will see those foundations built. Those are my two bits on this for now. Sincerely, Bill Haller ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bill Haller | University Center for Ph.D. candidate | Social and Urban Research Department of Sociology | University of Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh | 121 University Place, 6th floor email: wxhst3+@pitt.edu.us | Pittsburgh, PA 15213-9972 ------------------------------------------------------------------- From lgonick@mach1.wlu.ca Mon Aug 15 16:25:58 MDT 1994 >From lgonick@mach1.wlu.ca Mon Aug 15 16:25:53 1994 Return-Path: lgonick@mach1.wlu.ca Received: from mach1.wlu.ca (mach1.wlu.ca [192.54.242.17]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id QAA18408; Mon, 15 Aug 1994 16:25:50 -0600 Received: by mach1.wlu.ca (5.65/1.35) id AA13659; Mon, 15 Aug 94 18:26:27 -0400 Date: Mon, 15 Aug 1994 18:26:25 -0400 (EDT) From: "Lev S. Gonick" Subject: Virtual Course in Global Political Economy To: ipe Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII This message is directed to upper level undergraduates studying global political economy _AND_ to folks involved in life long learning. Detailed below is a new course in Global Political Economy that can be taken for university credit over the internet. Faculty are welcome to join the Virtual GPE course as facilitators. Researchers and other interested parties who would like to "sit in" on the course should contact me directly. Virtual Seminar in Global Political Economy (GPE) University of Guelph Guelph, Ontario Political Studies 379 FALL 1994 Instructor: Lev S. Gonick, PhD tel/fax/e-mail: 602 998-6956/602 998-7065/ lgonick@mach1.wlu.ca 1 term semester credit course Facilitator/TA: Class meetings: _________________________________________________________ Course Description: The Virtual Seminar in Global Political Economy (GPE) is an experiment in research and education, mediated through computer networks, e-mail, and electronic archives. It seeks to create an international dialogue among students and scholars in various countries on several continents, creating for students a global forum in which they may and are expected to participate on an equal basis. In the process, discussions and an exchange of communication on the course theme and topics among recognised scholars and students from other cultures and societies will vastly enrich the learning experience. GPE will be academically rigorous. Participation will require or foster computer networking and analytical skills, and will impart an appreciation of the complexities and subtleties of the existing discourse on Global Political Economy (IPE) by both academics and practitioners. The central theme of the GPE Project for 1994 is: Popular Responses to the Neo-Liberal Economic Agenda, with a dual focus on (i) the strategies of global capital in the current world context (ii) and the various forms of resistance and struggles of popular sector groups, organisations, and classes in formulating a viable alternative to the dominant neo-liberal structural adjustment program, an alternative strategy that can be sustained in economic, social, and ecological terms. As a component of the weekly scheduled group sessions, students will be exploring the virtual topography of computer networks (or 'cyberspace'); examining the nature and content of the vast pools of information posited there; developing competence and skills in computer-mediated research and communications; and learning the praxis of building and using a particular information medium (computer networking). Summary of Course Objectives: (1) To develop an advanced understanding of international political economy through readings and dialogue with students and scholars at other institutions and in other countries; (2) To impart computer networking skills to students through the participatory, practical use of computers linked via Internet in a problem-learning environment; to enhance students' undestanding of and ability to access networked resources; to foster an academic examination of human communication within the parameters of synchronous and asynchronous networked applications; (3) To produce -- through group "class", and international dialogue and interaction -- a research paper on a key issue in international political economy. Students groups of two are encouraged to collaborate together on the research paper as long as the two students are not at the same physical location. Course Requirements and Class Format The method of course instruction is built on three tenets. First, each week of the seminar will be facilitated by at least one "expert" participant. S/he will provide the seminar with "questions for thought and consideration" in advance of the week's readings. Students should be prepared to discuss these questions over the internet. Students will be graded on the basis of the quality and thoughtfulness of their interventions (but not the quantity of their postings). Second, there will be three virtual case studies that will be used as the basis for discussions in weeks four, seven and ten (wk. 4, 7, 10). Finally, students will need to submit drafts of their term work to the GPE project electronic archive and, in addition, to comment on at least one draft of a colleague's term paper via electronic mail (with a copy to the course instructor). The nature of this course demands a high degree of responsibility from students. Because of the nature of asynchronous e-mail conferencing, much of the work will be done by students on their own time...at their leasure. However, students will need to interact as a group, so that they may learn to use the computer network as a medium for both research and communication, and to exchange ideas orally in a seminar setting. We have tried to arrange "GPE Project Coordinators" at each campus where GPE is being offered with more than 5 students. The coordinator will contact students on campus to arrange for tutorials and contact time. In those situations where fewer than 5 individuals are taking the course, all inquiries on technical support should be forwarded to the course instructor. Most of the required readings for the course will be on-line, either in complete or summary form. In addition, several texts and supplementary readings will be recommended for each seminar topic. Students are expected to actively participate in discussions of the week's readings, presentations and to provide critical contributions to other students' essay proposals and drafts. There will be one major written assignment: a researched essay of between 5000 and 8000 words. A short proposal for this paper is due Sep 27; a first draft (outline of argument and preliminary review of literature) is due Nov 1 on-line; final product due Nov 29. In addition, students are expected to prepare two short position papers (500-1000 words) on two of the three case study weeks. Method of Evaluation: Researched essay (Dec 2): 40% Research Paper proposal (Sep 23) 05% First Draft posted (Nov 4) 10% Critique of First Draft (Nov 18) 10% Short position paper(s): (Sep 30, Oct 21, Nov 11) 2 * 10 = 20% Cooperation/Colaboration and Participation - evaluated by instructors: 15% We will add addresses and send welcome notes to all who choose to join the GPE project. However, you must pay and register for this course before you will be allowed to participate in the weekly discussions. Details of the registration procedure are outlined below. At this point in the course outline we assume that you know how to log into your network computer either directly or via a remote connection. Further we assume that you know how to post a message to the internet. (If this is not so, please contact your computing services group or contact Dr. Gonick at 602 998-6956). To join then, send the following message to: listserv@csf.colorado.edu (body of message): sub GPE your name (ex. sub GPE lev gonick) Various units of GPE (discussion/reading topics) will be led and coordinated by participating scholars and leading commentators from different institutions and organizations around the world (Africa, Asia, Canada, Middle East, Russia, USA, UK). Schedule of Topics Sept 6 (1): Getting on the GPE Project. Personal Introductions Sept 13 (2): The Political Economy of Development: Alternative Approaches and Discourses Sept 20 (3) Global Capital at the End of the 20th Century Sept 27 (4) State versus Market: The Debate and Its Relevance Oct. 4 (5) The Neo-Liberal Agenda and the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP): Social Impacts and Popular Responses Experiences from Africa, Asia, and Latin America Oct. 11 (6) Women and SAPs: Economic Crisis, Poverty and Empowerment Oct. 18 (7) Global Capitalism, the Neo-Liberal Agenda and the Ecologoical Crisis Oct. 25 (8) Gender, Class and Ecology: People Fight Back.... Nov. 1 (9) Indigenous Peoples and Ethno-Development: 500 years of Struggle Nov. 8 (10) Organizing and Networking for Change: Coalition Building on the Electronic Highway:Experiences from Around the World Nov 15 (11) Points of Contradiction in the Popular Struggle with the Neo-Liberal Agenda Nov 22 (12) Future Directions, Strategies, Policy Recommendations, and Political Action Nov 29 (13) What have we Learned? What is to be done? (course evaluation) Final Term Research Papers Due December 2 Format of class registration: Most student participants in the GPE Project will be registered for course credit at the University of Guelph (Political Studies 379). Students from other institutions are welcome to register for this University of Guelph course by registering as an *unclassified student*, i.e. if you are on a Letter of Permission from another university. Other individuals who wish to take this course for credit but do not hold a Letter of Permission may register as an *Open Leaner*. To register as an *unclassified* student: For Canadian students, submit your official transcript with your application to the Distance Education Registrarial Co- ordinator, Marlene Neal, Distance Education Office, Johnston Hall, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1 (email mneal@oac.uoguelph.ca). You may fax these documents (1-519-824-1112) to ensure early registration, but the original documents must follow immediately by mail/courier along with the course fee. The registration fee for the course for Canadian unclassified students is $267.00 Canadian (including $45 electronic archival construction fee) and is payable to the University of Guelph (cheque or money order) at the time of registration. The registration fee for unclassified *non-Canadian* students is $784.75 Canadian (including $45 electronic archival construction fee) and is payable to the University of Guelph (cheque or money order) at the time of registration. To register as an *Open Learner*: Canadian and non-Canadian students may register as Open Learners by simply paying the Open Learner registration fee of $267 Canadian (this includes the electronic archival construction fee of $45). The registration fee is payable to the University of Guelph. Payment for registration by Open Learners *only, in addition to cheque or money order, may be made by credit card (VISA, Mastercard or American Express). When you are registering, in addition to the above information, please provide the following information: Registration Category: Unclassified ( ) Open Learner ( ) Name: Surname: Given Name: Address: (Street, Apt.#, City, Country, Postal/Zip Code) Date of Birth: Sex: Male ( ) Female ( ) Home Telephone: Business Telephone: Fax Number: Email address: Marital Status: single ( ) Married ( ) Other: specify *Open Learners* who are registering and making payment by credit card must provide the following information: Amex: MasterCard: Visa: Expiry Date: Card Holder's Name: Authorized Signature: Registration Deadline: For University of Guelph students and Canadian and non- Canadian *unclassified* students September 8, 1994 For *Open Learners*: September 8, 1994 Payment of the course fee as outlined previously is required before registration can be accepted/confirmed. Refund Schedule: September 16, 1994 95% of course fee September 23, 1994 80% of course fee September 30, 1994 65% of course fee October 7, 1994 50% of course fee October 14, 1994 45% of course fee October 21, 1994 20% of course fee For further information on registration: Marlene Neal, Registration Co-ordinator Distance Education/Open Learning Office Johnston Hall University of Guelph Guelph, Ontario, CANADA N1G 2W1 Fax: 1-519-824-1112 Tel: 1-519-824-4120, Ext 6050 Email: mneal@oac.uoguelph.ca For general questions contact Lev Gonick Tel: 602 998-6956 Fax: 602 998-7065 Email: lgonick@mach1.wlu.ca From appelbau@alishaw.ucsb.edu Wed Aug 17 11:37:29 MDT 1994 >From appelbau@alishaw.ucsb.edu Wed Aug 17 11:37:26 1994 Return-Path: appelbau@alishaw.ucsb.edu Received: from hub.ucsb.edu (hub.ucsb.edu [128.111.24.40]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id LAA06526 for ; Wed, 17 Aug 1994 11:37:16 -0600 Received: from alishaw.ucsb.edu by hub.ucsb.edu; id AA24183 sendmail 4.1/UCSB-2.1-sun Wed, 17 Aug 94 10:36:58 PDT for wsn@csf.colorado.edu Received: by alishaw.ucsb.edu (4.1/SMI-4.1) id AA17877; Wed, 17 Aug 94 10:36:54 PDT Date: Wed, 17 Aug 94 10:36:54 PDT From: appelbau@alishaw.ucsb.edu (Rich Appelbaum) Message-Id: <9408171736.AA17877@alishaw.ucsb.edu> To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu Subject: announcement of new journal Cc: j.henderson@fs2.mbs.ac.uk ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW JOURNAL Article submissions are now being accepted for COMPETITION AND CHANGE: THE JOURNAL OF GLOBAL POLITICAL ECONOMY, a new journal that examines the changing nature of business organization in a highly competitive global economy. The journal draws on recent scholarship in business economics, political economy, organizational sociology, economic geography, international relations and developmental studies to explore the interplay of economic, political, and social forces contributing to global integration and regional fragmentation. JOURNAL BOARD OF EDITORS Samir Amin, Forum du Tiers Monde, Bureau Africain, Dakar, Senegal Alice H. Amsden, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA Robert Boyer, CEPREMAP, France Martin Carnoy, Stanford University, USA Manuel Castells, University of California at Berkeley, USA, and Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain Edward K.Y. Chen, University of Hong Kong Peter Dicken, University of Manchester, Britain Yves Doz, INSEAD, France Gary Gereffi, Duke University, USA Anthony Giddens, University of Cambridge, UK Gary Hamilton, University of Washington, USA Domenico Mario Nuti, University of Rome (La Sapienza), Italy, and London Business School, UK Pang Eng Fong, National University of Singapore Michael E. Porter, Harvard University, USA Saskia Sassen, Columbia University, USA Allen Scott, University of California at Los Angeles, USA Kyoko Sheridan, University of Adelaide, Australia Barbara Stallings, U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Chile Ivan Szelenyi, University of California at Los Angeles, USA, and Hungarian Academy of Sciences Robert Wade, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK Richard Whitley, Manchester Business School, UK AIMS AND SCOPE - To promote an understanding of the evolving processes of global competition, and their impact on the changing organizational structure of businesses and economies. - To understand more comprehensively the interplay of globalizing and localizing forces in the world economy, as they contribute to the geographic extension of business and the intensification of uneven development. - To create an understanding of the interrelationships between the dynamics of global competition and the social, economic, political, and environmental conditions throughout the world. - To discuss matters of business strategy and its relation to political initiatives at the regional, national, and local levels. - To explore the geo-political implications of economic transformation as a global phenomenon. The journal will feature articles on such topics as commodity chains and the changing international division of labour; the emergence and impact of international regulatory frameworks; national and regional economic policy; labour conditions and standards; the local impacts of global competition; organizational and technological innovation; the role of corporate and national cultures; geo-politics of economic transformation; dynamics of economic and business organizations; the future of the manufacturing industry; globalization and the future of the nation-state. INVITATION TO CONTRIBUTE Contributions to the journal are now sought. Papers from authors based in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa should be sent to Richard Appelbaum. Those from authors based in Europe, Asia, and Australasia should be sent to Jeffrey Henderson. For full information regarding submissions, please contact either co-editor. CO-EDITORS Richard P. Appelbaum Center for Global Studies University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93103 USA tel: (805) 893-7230 fax: (805) 893-2790 email: appelbau@alishaw.ucsb.edu Jeffrey Henderson Manchester Business School Booth Street West Manchester M15 6PB UK tel: (061) 275-6470 fax: (061) 275-7732 email: j.henderson@fs2.mbs.ac.uk From dhenwood@panix.com Thu Aug 18 06:22:39 MDT 1994 >From dhenwood@panix.com Thu Aug 18 06:22:36 1994 Return-Path: dhenwood@panix.com Received: from panix.com (panix.com [198.7.0.2]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id GAA16842; Thu, 18 Aug 1994 06:22:35 -0600 Received: by panix.com id AA03756 (5.67b/IDA-1.5); Thu, 18 Aug 1994 08:22:34 -0400 Date: Thu, 18 Aug 1994 08:22:34 -0400 (EDT) From: Doug Henwood Subject: World Bank/IMF To: ipe@csf.colorado.edu, wsn@csf.colorado.edu, femisa@csf.colorado.edu Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII The 50 Years is Enough campaign, a coalition of environmental, citizens, labor, religious, and other good-doing groups, is looking for endorsers. For info, or to sign on, contact Kessely Hong at the Environmental Defense Fund, 202-387-0070, ext. 49 (phone), or 202-234-6049 (fax). Emailers can contact Mimi Kleiner at EDF, mimi@edf.org. Doug Doug Henwood [dhenwood@panix.com] Left Business Observer 212-874-4020 (voice) 212-874-3137 (fax) From SOCTB%EMUVM1.BITNET@vaxf.Colorado.EDU Thu Aug 18 21:28:03 MDT 1994 >From SOCTB@EMUVM1.CC.EMORY.EDU Thu Aug 18 21:28:02 1994 Return-Path: SOCTB@EMUVM1.CC.EMORY.EDU Received: from vaxf.Colorado.EDU (vaxf.Colorado.EDU [128.138.129.9]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id VAA00886 for ; Thu, 18 Aug 1994 21:28:01 -0600 Message-Id: <199408190328.VAA00886@csf.Colorado.EDU> Received: from EMUVM1.CC.EMORY.EDU (MAILER@EMUVM1) by VAXF.COLORADO.EDU (PMDF V4.2-12 #5062) id <01HG2GSBGVS00009J3@VAXF.COLORADO.EDU>; Thu, 18 Aug 1994 21:12:06 MDT Received: from EMUVM1.CC.EMORY.EDU (NJE origin SOCTB@EMUVM1) by EMUVM1.CC.EMORY.EDU (LMail V1.1d/1.7f) with RFC822 id 5864; Thu, 18 Aug 1994 17:31:27 -0400 Resent-date: Thu, 18 Aug 1994 17:30 -0400 (EDT) Date: 18 August 94, 15:33:00 EDT Resent-from: Terry Boswell From: Terry Boswell Resent-to: wsn To: WSN@CSF.COLORADO.EDU Resent-message-id: <01HG2HJM0T220009J3@VAXF.COLORADO.EDU> X-Envelope-to: WSN@CSF.COLORADO.EDU Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT On the World Party, Following publication of Edward Bellamy's utopian novel, _Looking Backward_in 1888, readers formed Bellamy Clubs to discuss the book and the ideas about the future that it put forward. As WSN readers know by now, the name "World Party" comes from Wagar's utopian novel, _A Short History of the Future_. We have been trying to generate an electronic version of the "Bellamy Clubs." In Wagar's novel, the World Party rescues a world that had been devastated by war by reorganizing international relations along socialist lines. Obviously, our situation is different and we do not see Wagar's vision as a blueprint for action. But he does offer a starting place for discussion. The discussion is premised on the following two points: capitalism is a world-system and systemic change will require global politics. The question then becomes, how can we conduct progressive political activity at the global level? Operating through existing global organizations is one route, cumulating local or national changes is another, as is pressuring exisitng governments and international organization. I think all these avenues should be pursued, but I have come to be convinced that they are inadequate by themselves. One lesson to draw from the collapse of the socialist bloc is that we cannot change the global system one state at a time. In order to fundamentally alter the direction of history, we need a world polity that sets global political agreements and prevents competitive undercutting and reabsorption into the old system. Such a world polity exists, not just in the UN and IMF, but in hundreds of INGOs, all of which are undemocratic. So the first principle of a world party would be global democracy. From wxhst3+@pitt.edu Fri Aug 19 12:02:41 MDT 1994 >From wxhst3+@pitt.edu Fri Aug 19 12:02:40 1994 Return-Path: wxhst3+@pitt.edu Received: from pop.pitt.edu (pop.pitt.edu [136.142.185.27]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id MAA12573 for ; Fri, 19 Aug 1994 12:02:38 -0600 Received: from unixs2.cis.pitt.edu by pop.pitt.edu with SMTP id AA15327 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4.5 for ); Fri, 19 Aug 1994 14:02:32 -0400 Date: Fri, 19 Aug 1994 12:10:34 -0400 (EDT) From: "William J. Haller" Subject: world-party To: wsn In-Reply-To: <199408190328.VAA00886@csf.Colorado.EDU> Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Predictably, perhaps, I have a few thoughts spurred by Terry Boswell's posting that I would like to develop and share. I agree wholeheartedly with Terry's argument and will take his conclusion as my point of departure. Since I was not able to make it to the ISA or ASA meetings it is possible that I'll be repeating some previous points. Terry concluded, > So the first principle of a world party would be global democracy. Democracy implies recognizing the stakes of more than one interest in whatever decision is to be reached by democratic means. Thus, if the first principle of a world party is to be global democracy then it must strike a position whereby it recognizes the stakes of the interests involved. Since we're talking about a world party the interests involved are those whose stakes are in their own current share of the global distribution of power. Periods in history when a redistribution of global power is under way are the periods during which a world party might have a voice because of the inherent instability and insecurity of the situation. But for a world party to actually emerge on the global scene and have a voice it would, as I suggested above, have to recognize the stakes of those who currently hold shares in the distribution of power (and they are, of course, typically quite 'conservative' people). One implication of this is that speaking truth to power in the old 'new left' sense is the perfect prescription for getting discredited, but that's an aside. One line of research that's been pursued (by others besides myself) in our studies of the world system addresses the means by which the redistribution of global power has been typically carried out in the past (i.e., world wars). We even have what amounts to at least a hypothesis linking that phenomenon with the long waves of the world system. I'm not as well read as I need to be on the world war/K-waves literature to continue this line of thought very well through all the connections that I feel should be made (the world war/K-waves doesn't really enter my dissertation focus). However, I believe there is a theory among anthropologists linking warfare with resource scarcity. K-waves imply variations in resource scarcity across time (so progressive redistribution to end hunger may arguably be part of the agenda). To get to the point, everyone has a stake in avoiding another instance of the worst kind of redistribution of global power. The conditions in the world-system which have lead previously to the outbreak of global conflict are a topic of study among systemites. Therefore, I'll suggest that along with democracy, a basic principle of a world party should be the preservation of peace. Furthermore, understanding the factors leading to war in a global historical context is an area where (other) students of the world system have an edge, so it really makes a lot of sense for a world party based the principles of democracy and peace (defined as particularly as the avoidance of global conflict) to emerge from among systemites. That's it for now, Bill Haller ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bill Haller | University Center for Ph.D. candidate | Social and Urban Research Department of Sociology | University of Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh | 121 University Place, 6th floor email: wxhst3+@pitt.edu.us | Pittsburgh, PA 15213-9972 ------------------------------------------------------------------- From SOCTB%EMUVM1.BITNET@vaxf.Colorado.EDU Sat Aug 20 11:07:07 MDT 1994 >From SOCTB@EMUVM1.CC.EMORY.EDU Sat Aug 20 11:07:06 1994 Return-Path: SOCTB@EMUVM1.CC.EMORY.EDU Received: from vaxf.Colorado.EDU (vaxf.Colorado.EDU [128.138.129.9]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id LAA28607 for ; Sat, 20 Aug 1994 11:07:05 -0600 Message-Id: <199408201707.LAA28607@csf.Colorado.EDU> Received: from EMUVM1.CC.EMORY.EDU (MAILER@EMUVM1) by VAXF.COLORADO.EDU (PMDF V4.2-12 #5062) id <01HG4OQX0AWG000PE1@VAXF.COLORADO.EDU>; Sat, 20 Aug 1994 10:59:37 MDT Received: from EMUVM1.CC.EMORY.EDU (NJE origin SOCTB@EMUVM1) by EMUVM1.CC.EMORY.EDU (LMail V1.1d/1.7f) with RFC822 id 1555; Sat, 20 Aug 1994 13:05:19 -0400 Resent-date: Sat, 20 Aug 1994 13:04 -0400 (EDT) Date: 20 August 94, 12:04:26 EDT Resent-from: Terry Boswell From: Terry Boswell Resent-to: wsn To: WSN@CSF.COLORADO.EDU Resent-message-id: <01HG4OQX0AWI000PE1@VAXF.COLORADO.EDU> X-Envelope-to: WSN@CSF.COLORADO.EDU Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Bill Haller has stated that after democracy, the next principle of a world party should be "peace." His premise, as I understand it, is that there is a systemic undergrid to the causes of global conflict, which will not be resolved without system-wide politics. He echoes here Chase-Dunn's premise for why a world state is the only viable long term guarantor of peace. This was also one of the originating principles of the First International and all subsequent ones. World-system theory adds a new level of analysis on the cuases of global war beyond the traditional Marxist or realist ones (which Haller has a bit confused). A couple of great overviews are Bill Thompson's _On Global War_ and Joshua Goldstein's _Long Cycles_. I have also done work in the area by demonstrating the utility of world-system theory statistically in comparison with other theories and advocating a resource theory of the size of wars. And Chase-Dunn's _Global Formation_ is perhaps best at putting the issue into the context of the overall theory. So, I agree with Haller and Chase-Dunn in prnciple, but for sake of discussion and hopefully clarification, let me disagree with their emphasis and priority. I want to make the emphasis stronger but priority lower. I want to emphasize that world-system theory gives us a unique insight into the sources of global war and (here is the difference) that insight obligates us to struggle for peace. Knowledge may or may not be power, but it does confer responsibility. How we exercise that responsibility is, well, the point of discussing a world party. Is teaching undergrads and chatting on networks enough? Is there a way to put our insights and theories into contention in global decision-making? I'll end on priorities. Our theory tells us that a global war is 20-30 years away. More pressing are the interrelated concerns of global labor-women-ecology. Chase-Dunn counters that to stop a war then, we need to start now. I do not think one can mobilize people on a presently unrecognizably contingency, but that if mobilized, a movement could turn to peace when that contingency arose. Thanks for the time, TB From leden@ccs.carleton.ca Mon Aug 22 07:59:36 MDT 1994 >From leden@ccs.carleton.ca Mon Aug 22 07:59:33 1994 Return-Path: leden@ccs.carleton.ca Received: from alfred.ccs.carleton.ca (alfred.ccs.carleton.ca [134.117.1.1]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id HAA21201; Mon, 22 Aug 1994 07:59:30 -0600 Received: from superior.ccs.carleton.ca.YP.nobel by alfred.ccs.carleton.ca (4.1/SMI-4.0) id AA21049; Mon, 22 Aug 94 09:59:24 EDT From: leden@ccs.carleton.ca (Lorraine Eden) Received: by superior.ccs.carleton.ca.YP.nobel (4.1/Sun-Client) id AA26860; Mon, 22 Aug 94 09:59:31 EDT Message-Id: <9408221359.AA26860@superior.ccs.carleton.ca.YP.nobel> Subject: Re: ISA Chicago '95 To: ipe@csf.colorado.edu, wsn@csf.colorado.edu (World Historical Systems Network) Date: Mon, 22 Aug 94 9:59:31 EDT Cc: Lorraine_Eden@ccs.carleton.ca (Lorraine Eden) In-Reply-To: <9408220323.AA23352@chomsky.arts.adelaide.edu.au>; from "Manjit Bhatia" at Aug 21, 94 9:25 pm X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.3 PL11] Manjit Bhatia writes: > > > Could someone on the Net please tell me how I may be able to > get in touch with the organisers of next year's ISA conference > in Chicago? > Is it too late to nominate giving a paper or two at this > conference? > Much appreciated, as usual. > Manjit Bhatia > Graduate Student (PhD) > Politics Department > University of Adelaide > Adelaide 5005 Australia mbhatia@chomsky.arts.adelaide.edu.au ------------------ August 22, 1994 Dear Manjit: I am the president of the IPE section of ISA and the organizer of the IPE sponsored panels at ISA for Chicago 1995, so I can answer your question. The deadline for proposals under the GENERAL THEME of the conference was June 1, 1994, so that deadline is well past. The paper and panel proposals for SECTION sponsored panels at ISA'95 were due no later than July 1, 1994, to me. I received over 32 panel proposals and over 80 paper proposals -- IPE was given 33 slots, subsequently upped to 38 slots due to the overwhelming number of submissions IPE received relative to the other sections. I put together the panels [ about three weeks work!, with help from the IPE executive, Colin Stacey [a NPSIA student], other chairs, Gerner & Schrodt, Bob Denemark [WHS] and individuals who submitted proposals [I think I touched based with almost everyone who submitted something - certainly everyone with an email address]]. Most panels ended up with 4 papers. I submitted them to the ISA co-chairs, Misty Gerner and Phil Schrodt, at the Univ of Kansas, the beginning of August, as did all the other section chairs. Since then, Gerner and Schrodt have been putting the program together. The final decisions are made at the APSA meeting [New York, before Labour Day] and the announcements of accepted panels and papers go out in late Sepetmber. Paper proposals have continued to trickle in to me since the July 1st deadline, mostly through email ["is it too late to submit something?"] and I have told the individuals to go straight to the ISA co-chairs Gerner and Schrodt, in case they found some space at the last minute for a good paper proposal.....it is unlikely that there would be space but the probability is not zero. If you wish to follow this route, their email address is: isaconf@ukanvm.cc.ukan.edu I suspect any paper abstract would have to be of excellent quality to be considered at this late stage of the game. On the other hand, I know they are still looking for panel chairs and discussants. Note that ISA will not provide any travel funding for chairs/discussants [there is limited funding for paper givers, especially for junior scholars and graduate students coming from outside the US]. If you are interested in this role send them a short CV and outline the areas you would be willing to be a discussant for. I put out the same call on IPEnet and WSnet about a month ago and received dozens of offers to chair/discuss the IPE panels and was able to place most of those, but not all, who emailed me. Hope this is of some help, and hope you are able to make it to Chicago! It does look like an excellent program! cheers Lorraine Eden IPE president and program chair, ISA Email leden@superior.carleton.ca From CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Mon Aug 22 13:27:55 MDT 1994 >From CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Mon Aug 22 13:27:54 1994 Return-Path: CHRISCD@JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU Received: from JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (jhuvm.hcf.jhu.edu [128.220.2.2]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id NAA28193 for ; Mon, 22 Aug 1994 13:27:53 -0600 Message-Id: <199408221927.NAA28193@csf.Colorado.EDU> Received: from JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU by JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 6409; Mon, 22 Aug 94 15:28:10 EDT Received: from JHUVM (NJE origin CHRISCD@JHUVM) by JHUVM.HCF.JHU.EDU (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 6408; Mon, 22 Aug 1994 15:28:09 -0400 Date: Mon, 22 Aug 94 15:11:56 EDT From: chris chase-dunn Subject: world party To: systemites Bill Haller and Terry Boswell have started a discussion of world party priorities. Terry says global democracy. Bill adds peace. Terry says yes but our theory tells us that global war is not likely to reoccur for another 20 years so we should mobilize around more immediate ecological and inquality goals. Meantime Al Bergesen and I have had an off-list discussion about another priorities issue -- this one a bit more abstract but nonetheless relevant for forming the philosophy of a world party. Al says that leftist theories of the past do not address the issue of human domination over other life-forms and that this needs to be addressed in the formulation of a world party philosophy. I do not disagree with this, but worry about the potential uses of green ideology for justifying the continuation of human exploitation or neglect of other humans. To all this I say, humans first but not with arrogance toward the only home we have and fellow life forms. Regarding peace and democracy, I agree with Boswell but am worried that it might be easy to forget the big picture once down in the trenches. Of course one function of the world party would be to keep the day to day struggles connected with a long term vision of a more harmonious world society. There are lots of struggles going on now, but very few visions of the kind that Wagar provides. Read Wagar. chris chase-dunn From wxhst3+@pitt.edu Mon Aug 22 15:58:40 MDT 1994 >From wxhst3+@pitt.edu Mon Aug 22 15:58:39 1994 Return-Path: wxhst3+@pitt.edu Received: from pop.pitt.edu (pop.pitt.edu [136.142.185.27]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id PAA01220 for ; Mon, 22 Aug 1994 15:58:36 -0600 Received: from unixs1.cis.pitt.edu by pop.pitt.edu with SMTP id AA19457 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4.5 for ); Mon, 22 Aug 1994 17:58:34 -0400 Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 15:24:16 -0400 (EDT) From: "William J. Haller" Subject: Re: your mail To: Terry Boswell Cc: Multiple recipients of list In-Reply-To: <199408201707.LAA28607@csf.Colorado.EDU> Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Terry Boswell made a fair general critique of my posting. However, the basic point about why democracy as a primary principle for the establishment of a world party requires that peace advocacy accompany it as a primary principle was not addressed, so I'll make another attempt at explaining it. Because democracy, by its very essence, is pluralist any party-to-be which upholds democracy as its first principle has a built-in organizational problem from the outset: how to maintain a pluralist stance with regard to the array relevant power interests while trying to build itself by mobilizing support (assuming, of course, that the committment to democracy is sincere). Ignoring the relevant power interests seems like a prescription for failure since the share of power and influence held by the organizers is simply outclassed by groups which actually hold significant shares of the current distribution of power. Thus, the identification of concerns which are common to groups with a share in the current distribution of power seems like a necessary condition for building a viable world party with democracy as a primary principle. Obviously, this is not an ideal situation for attempting to promote a progressive agenda. Does this mean a dead-end? Sell out or abandon democracy? It seems that those of us who are trying to organize this would be out of the game from the start but for the fact we also study the long-term patterns of change in the world-system, including the causes of world conflict. That gives us something both significant and unique to offer (even to those who think they have nothing to gain and possibly a good deal to lose through the development of a progressive world polity because everyone has a stake in avoiding world conflict). Of course, I do not know whether or not there actually is a "systemic undergrid to the causes of global conflict" but I am willing to entertain the notion. I feel much more uneasy about forecasting the due dates for world conflict and then trusting their accuracy. But, as Terry Boswell and doubtlessly others have noticed, the topic of global conflict and its association with long-cycles in the world-system are not my forte so I am no position to assess the evidence regarding any current risk of global conflict against the forecast risk yet a few decades off. What seems more certain to me, based on my admittedly limited knowledge in this area, is that the world has in the past five years entered a period of greater instability, hence greater mid-term risk of global conflict, due to the demise of the detente system of geopolitical power-sharing and the ensuing vacuum in political/military power. For at least the short-term, the political/military base of power is relatively unprestigious (compared to previous periods and also to the economic base of power in the current period). I hope conditions are good for keeping it as unprestigious as possible. In sum, regardless of who else argued what, where, when, and how, it seems to me that the principle of peace advocacy stems logically from acceptance of democracy as a primary principle for any world party in the making--in addition to being another issue of concern, which of course it is too even though other progressive issues may be more immediately pressing substantively and more in tune with the present ideological trends (which is also important). Furthermore, peace advocacy draws on analytical perspectives and historical knowledge which are concentrated among academics who specialize in studies of the world-system and that may actually give the organizers of a world party from this group of people a decent card to play, so to speak, though far be it from me to venture much of a guess about an optimal time to try to play it. I hope I managed to make my points more clearly this time. They're offered mainly as food for thought since any undertaking so ambitious requires generous helpings to stand the slightest chance of survival. Sincerely, Bill Haller Haller@vms.cis.pitt.edu wxhst3+@pitt.edu From U17043%UICVM.BITNET@vaxf.Colorado.EDU Mon Aug 22 18:51:26 MDT 1994 >From U17043@UICVM.CC.UIC.EDU Mon Aug 22 18:51:25 1994 Return-Path: U17043@UICVM.CC.UIC.EDU Received: from vaxf.Colorado.EDU (vaxf.Colorado.EDU [128.138.129.9]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id SAA04082 for ; Mon, 22 Aug 1994 18:51:25 -0600 Received: from UICVM.CC.UIC.EDU (MAILER@UICVM) by VAXF.COLORADO.EDU (PMDF V4.2-12 #5062) id <01HG7XJ69GNK000ZN6@VAXF.COLORADO.EDU>; Mon, 22 Aug 1994 18:43:51 MDT Received: from UICVM (NJE origin U17043@UICVM) by UICVM.CC.UIC.EDU (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 5608; Mon, 22 Aug 1994 16:32:42 -0500 Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 15:19:26 -0500 (CDT) From: "Daniel A. Foss" Subject: sociologists' party joke gaia religion will outsell world party To: General Anthropology Bulletin Board Cc: World Systems Network , lizzy Message-id: <01HG7XJ69GNM000ZN6@VAXF.COLORADO.EDU> X-Envelope-to: wsn@CSF.COLORADO.EDU Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT "There are plenty of smart people in this country desperate for something to believe in," I tell the gentleman from West Bengal, and some of them will even go so far as to resort to founding the World Party, as conceived in A Brief History of the Future, by W. Warren Wagar. The World Party has just been founded in a telephone booth at the American Sociological Association annual meetings in Los Angeles. But I met another sociologist at a party, the kind where you get intoxicated, where we founded the [New Improved] Gaia Religion guaranteed, given an equal amount, in hundreds of millions of dollars, for the startup media blitz, from well-disposed capitalists, to capture a bigger Market Share than the World Party, not to mention, sweep away capitalism like the cleanser Stronger than Dirt. The gentleman from West Bengal is in a hurry, thanks me yet again for reminding him of his grandfather, the Sanskrit scholar, this having recharged his Hindu spirituality, which is of course indispensable for pursuit of the PhD in microbiology. I am silently greatful that there is another human being on Earth as noncommunicative as myself. The other sociologist drove me to the party friday night; he may yet switch to Anthro, since anthropologists are more fun people than sociologists. He's finishing an overdue paper for Classical Theory on "George Herbert Mead and Virtual Culture." I say, "To make the Classical Theory Syllabus, you hafta be a Dead White Male for over three generations. For Contemporary Theory, you can be just a Dead White Male or Anthony Giddens, who has fooled many people into thinking him still alive, but hard to tell from his last few books...." Now, down to business. "Any two sociologists, even drunk or, preferably, Drugged, can improve on the World Party, just founded by the World Systems subcult, I mean, Section, of the ASA, by using a little sociological ingenuity. We start with Name Recognition Advantage, specifically, the Gaia Religion, because lizzy does not have enough income to pay for the legal work required to own the legal rights to herself. We both know lizzy, the former mousy, shy, speech-impedimented Elizabeth N. Hubbard, who from Mainframing, Hardest Core Computer Abuse Disorder, mutated into the notorious Doctress Neutopia, infamous Netpest, Nuisance to thousands. Everyone at the party we are going to, whereof the other sociologist is one of the hosts, knows lizzy, and the "founding-type person" of list not merely will send e-mail to lizzy, he will actually get a prompt answer. I'd been working on the design for weeks, and laid it out: "Anyone who founds an even faintly Marxistoid political party in this day and age is *clueless*," I say. What will work, if anything, is a new Universal Religion, but one which has the following properties: It is a faith which flies up its own nose, precluding faith in itself, proclaiming contradiction, that is to say, Universal Mutual Disagreement, in combination with universal mutual love, as Holy, but where you have got to be sincerely committed to disavowal of Inequality to get converted. With a simple, one- sentence-ish Profession Of Faith, on the order of the Muslim's "There is no God but God and Muhammad is the Prophet of God," except that anyone Converted is eligible for Prophet. "We want, that is, a revolutionary religion which *cures* both religion and Inequality, and is at the same time a valid universal creed. Necessarily related, as Christianity, Buddhism, Islam all started out as cures for Inequality, neglecting however, to provide for cures for themselves. This is extremely difficult; you can use religion to cure Substance Abuse, but you can't cure the religion you substitute for it, which can lead to much worse abuse, has even been a leading contributory cause throughout history of violent crime and starvation. "This 'lovolution' and 'massgasm' that lizzy babbles about, but never spells out, would take the form of everyone Converted arguing on streetcorners, which is simultaneously an expression of mutual love, you see. The culmination of the Principle of Semic Stomp. But, first things first. Meaning, the Conversion Ceremony, lizzy's got no sense of Religious Experience. I, at least, from eight years of Hebrew School, know the feeling about Holy Things, still feel *terrible* about dropping a book on the floor because it *might* contain a mention of the nonexistent God, and to this day, as I was taught, *never* write in one, that's Sinful, Sin, as you know, is what uses God as a crutch. "The Convert swears a modified version of the Aragon Oath, from the twelfth century. For any religion, you need something Old, something New, something Borrowed, something Blue. Later, we'll think up something Blue. The Aragon Oath reads: 'We, who are as good as you, swear to you, who is no better than us, that if you respect our rights and privileges, we will be your good and loyal vassals; and if not, not.' Modified to read, 'I, who am as good as you, swear to you, who are no better than me, that so long as you fulfill your moral obligation to disagree with everything I say, I shall love, you as you disagree with everything I say, and love me; and if not, not.' "The recitation of the Profession of Faith follows: "'Begin Transmission: 'Lo, I am the Gaia Messiah, and wheresoever two or three of you be gathered in My Name, let no two of you agree with one another or with Me; forasmuchas we are all the Same, we are all Free to be Different; go ye and be Free. 'End Transmission.'" Why the Transmission is, of course, that nobody in this society can function religiously without a smidgeon of Alienation. This is good for five minutes, maybe as much as ten minutes, of laughs at the party. Nobody likes 'Gaia Religion,' not even me. "We can call it [Withheld]ism, after [Withheld]'s living room floor. On which, Tuesday night, we watched a video from a Chicago Channel 9 two-part broadcast, 'with 50 minutes of footage never before shown,' of a horrible movie, Dune, made from a tedious cult novel, also called Dune, by a semitalented semiliterate, Frank Herbert, based loosely on the careers of Muhammad ibn Abd-Allah (570-632); al-Hakim (b. 985, Fatimid Caliph, 996-1021) who disappeared into the desert, "No trace of him was ever found," whose Second Coming is awaited by the Druze Religion; and ibn al-Wahhab (1770-1808). The latter two nobody present had ever heard of; nor has Frank Herbert, of course. The people at the party still won't listen to the story of al-Hakim, which is no surprise; but it turned out that two of them worked for Amoco; some of the others use gasoline and heating oil; and the story of ibn al-Wahhab and the original Sa'ud was of some relevance to the fragile basis of the armenian way of life, contingent as it is upon the Official Creed of Sa'di Arabia reamaining the "purified" Wahhabi variant of Sunni Islam; and it was not wholly boring that the original Muhammad Ali, whom Cassius Marcellus Clay renamed himself after, was the Albanian general who snuffed ibn al-Wahhab and the first Sa'ud in 1808. Miraculously enough, one of the people present was from Amherst NY, one of the four places in North America named after Lord Jeffrey Amherst, inventor of biological warfare duting the Seven Years War, 1756-1763. (The Miraculous, like Alienation, simply cannot be dispensed without for proper religious functioning.) So, lizzy, should I ever come up to Amherst MA again, being reminded both that the blankets on your couch look kinda old, and what was in the blankets Lord Jeffrey Amherst distributed to the Native Americans, specifically, The Small Pox, The French Pox, The Plague, and The Flu, I'll bring my own. Otherwise, lizzy, now you belong to the ages, right up there with W. Warren Wagar. Daniel A. Foss From pericles@astro.ocis.temple.edu Mon Aug 29 11:21:38 MDT 1994 >From pericles@astro.ocis.temple.edu Mon Aug 29 11:21:37 1994 Return-Path: pericles@astro.ocis.temple.edu Received: from astro.ocis.temple.edu (astro.ocis.temple.edu [155.247.165.100]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.9/8.6.9/CNS-3.5) with SMTP id LAA01023 for ; Mon, 29 Aug 1994 11:21:18 -0600 Received: by astro.ocis.temple.edu (5.61/25) id AA06083; Mon, 29 Aug 94 13:22:12 -0400 Date: Mon, 29 Aug 1994 13:14:10 -0400 (EDT) From: "Daniel P. Tompkins" Subject: riots To: wsn Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII E.P. Thompson writing on food riots in 18th c. England and Natalie Zemon Davis on 16th c French religious riots are cited in an article by Suzanne Desan (in Lynn Hunt, ed., The New Cultural History--a book I cannot dig out right now). Thompson and Davis understand the riots as "acts of collective self-definition," rather than just random outbreaks of violence. The ancient historian Josiah Ober (Princeton) uses this notion productively in analyzing a crucial riot in Athens in 508 BC. I'm writing this list because I thought folks on it might know if the Thompson-Davis position has received any substantive criticism, and if so where I might find it. Dan Tompkins