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November 30, 2005

Comments

Blimpish

"Is he a self-loathing provincial who is trying to ingratiate himself into a metropolitan elite by persistently attacking the powerless?"

Myself, I'm just a provincial, persistently attacking the powerless for sport.

ivan

Is Greenpeace powerless?

Phil

"He tends to attack relatively powerless critics of governments (not just Chomsky)"

Heh. His reviewing is consistent if nothing else. You'd have thought that at least one of the works of the World's Top Public Intellectual might be worth *two* stars, but no. The list of people he raves about is telling, as well. "Read him George Orwell, explain about Niebuhr..." (Apparently it's 'Naipaul'. Pah.)

But it should be said that Kamm's attacks on the WTPI are much the best thing on his site. I'll go further: his anti-Chomsky stuff is actually worth reading. I've tried making some very similar criticisms of Chomsky myself in the past, and it's a deeply unrewarding pastime - young Ollie deserves credit for sticking at it as long as he has. It's just a shame he writes so much idiotic frothing as well.

Peter

I don't see how the evidence you've presented justified your conclusions -especially the suggestion that he is trying to suck up to the liberal elite. If that's his intention, I can't imagine a worse means than defending Blair, Bush, the Iraq War and Israel.

anonymous

"Is he a self-loathing provincial who is trying to ingratiate himself into a metropolitan elite ...?": Don't know. Are you? Isn't Kamm-bashing rapidly becomig another of those boring and petty fads that sweeps through the blogosphere now and then? In short, who cares?

Student Getting Ready For Supervisions

>>...he omits to mention that he went to school for years in Leicester, which one would imagine would be a formative experience.<<

He may have not mentioned his time in Leicester in his bio, as you wrote (i wouldn't know because i haven't read the book yet)... But i do recall Kamm mentioning his political activism and time in Leicester on his blog; and he didn't seem to meto write of the experience as something he was ashamed of - nay, he seemed to me proud of the experience. So we'll just have to find another explanation for said omission. The 'provincial loathing' argument, so far as i can tell, stands on nothing.

I love your blog, though: i think it is well-written, smart and thoughtful - the mixture of economics, philosophy and politics, without pretentiousness, works for me. But Kamm-bashing, dare i say, might just turn this place another predictable blog where everything and anything is personal and ghastly obsessive with one individual - a failing one associates with Kamm sometimes.

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