[PEN-L:30082] Re: Re: r.biel@ucl.ac.uk

[ravi <gadfly@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Doug Henwood wrote:
> ravi wrote:
> > Doug Henwood wrote:
> >
> > > Shiva's biggest fans are among Western NGOs. She has almost no
> > > followers in India.
> > can you back up this statement?
>
> I've heard it from people in the antiglobo movement, and from Ulhas
> Joglekar on either this list or lbo-talk.

but doug, does the antiglobo movement represent indians? how many
indian farmers (or the starving masses) consider anti-globalization
an issue?

so far, all i have heard in the criticism of shiva (in general, not
from you particularly), apart from lewontin's review of her book
which i forwarded to the list, is a form of intellectual
snobbishness - kind of the anti-primitivism, or pro-enlightenment,
or anti-liberal-bourgeosie, and other varying attitudes, seen here.

perhaps i am just reacting to a recent argument (not on this list)
with a "marxist" who felt that my concern for animal rights is
bourgeosie and silly. he may well be right, but what is constant in
this sort of argumentation is the obsession with the person rather
than the idea. it seems there are some preferred notions (in some
circles its 'marxism'), - perhaps i have missed the concrete
demonstration of its overriding superiority - and the arguments in
favour of that notion, over opposing ones, often seem to beg the
question (such as arguments of creationists: the bible says so).

if indeed shiva's thought is misguided (as lewontin argues) and she
is a crank with no following, then i would like to see the evidence
so we can move past her. lewontin makes a good case for the former,
though not to the point of dismissing all that she has to say. on
the other hand, sitting a few thousand miles away, all i can see in
shiva's work is honest effort such as mentioned in patrick bond's
response in this thread.

btw, i agree with the carrol's response to my post.

	--ravi