Above is response? Gee, that clarifies things. What's up with the personalizing? I don't know Slavoj Zizek, how can I either hate him or like him? And words in all-caps (e-mail shouting), guy must have been having a bad day.
Re. Jameson, Z simply repeats what he wrote in _The Metastastes of Enjoyment_ that I cited in previous post. Ain't no flies on him! But ok, ok, been quite some time since I read FJ so maybe I'll revisit him.
And 'speaking' of revisiting, just now did so with number of Marx biographies (of varying quality) that I read over the years and not one mentions Jean Laffite. These works include: Isaiah Berlin, _Karl Marx: His Life and Environment_ John Lewis, _The Life and Teaching of Karl Marx_ Jerrold Siegel, _Marx's Fate: The Shape of a Life_ David McCllelan, _Karl Marx: His Life and Thought_ Heinrich Gemkov, _Karl Marx: A Biography_ (translated from German) Progress Publishers (multiple authors), _Karl Marx: A Biography_ (translated from Russian by Yuri Sdobnikov) Robert Payne, _Marx_ Saul Padover, _Karl Marx_ Franz Mehring, _Karl Marx: The Story of his Life_ Joel Carmichael, _Karl Marx: The Passionate Logician_ Maximilien Rubel & Margaret Manale, _Marx Without Myth_ As above is not exhaustive list, perhap lister/s could direct me to 'good' biography that includes Laffite-Marx relationship.
As for biographies ('good' or otherwise) of Lafitte, well, they're apparently bit hard to come by (I found mostly secondary source materials intended for 'young adults' and biographical novels). Most scholarly work I came across was James Ramsay, _Jean Lafitte: Prince of Pirates_ (1996). No mention of Marx in any of the books. Maybe someone could suggest reading?
There exists book entitled _The Journal of Jean Lafitte_ published in late 1950s. Purportedly, Lafitte faked his death in 1820s, changed his name, moved to new area and wrote memoirs that he requested not be released for 100 hundred years after his death (which is claimed to be 1854). But questions exist about who wrote this journal: Jean Lafitte in guise as John Lafflin, possible descendent of Lafitte named John Lafflin with access to family documents as well as fertile imagination, well-known 19th century forger John Lafflin who concocted the story (hey, this is starting to get kinda postmodern!). In any event, book's authenticity is subject of controversy.
A Jenifer (not typo, only 1 'n') Marx (what is chance! this pomo stuff is fun!) wrote book entitled _Pirates and Privateers of the Caribbean_ (1992). Book is poorly referenced, has few citations, and said citations are partial. In any event, she has couple of pages on Lafittee ostensibly based upon 'recent research' (her words), none of which she cites. She writes that Lafitte (known as Lafflin) went to Europe in 1847 where he attended some secret revolutionary meetings. He returned to states with copies of some writings by Marx & Engels, whom he had met. His father-in-law, in turn, sent copies to Abraham Lincoln, then a young congressman. Author concludes by saying that Lafitte-Lafflin may have helped finance publication of the *Communist Manifesto*, not that he did so as Slavoj Zizek claims. Her source (as well as that of Rodger Kamenetz who wrote piece at web-site Michael Perelman posted about) is probably _The Journal of Jean Lafitte_ given that it presents same story.
I looked at Marx & Engels _Collected Works_ for years from mid- 1840s to early 1850s for references to Jean Lafitte and came up empty. Both mention Jacques Lafitte (French banker and liberal politician who briefly headed government in 1830-31). And Jenny Marx (in 'Short Sketch of an Uneventful Life" from _Reminiscences of Marx_) notes attending Jacques Lafitte's 1844 Paris burial. Marx was in London for brief time at end of 1847 where he met, among others, Chartist George Julian Harney, who in 1850, published first English translation - by Helen Macfarlane - of *Communist Manifesto* in journal _Red Republican_ (in which M&E were identified for first time as CM's authors). Perhaps, if he were alive, Lafitte was in London at that time and met Marx. Of course, if Jenifer Marx is correct, then he was using name Lafflin. Would he have divulged his real identity? Meanwhile, Slavoj Zizek's Laffitte-Marx anecdote indicates that former 'retired to England', claim that neither _The Journal of Jean Lafitte_ nor Jenifer Marx makes. Did someone say something about homework... Michael Hoover