>Frankly, I don't see how one could make a maillist post punitive even if
>one wanted to.
ahhh... the Coxian Cavort
>It doesn't cohere.
wasn't meant as an adhesive.
punishment can take diff. forms. one of which is to cast the offender out of a community for their bad behavior. when you advocate that someone's ideas not be read b/c they use the term middle class to refer to white collar workers or working class (blue collar and service workers) then you are engaging in punishment of the offender. you frequently suggest that whoever offends Cox-defined Marxist sensibilities be cast out in a similar manner. this is punishment, plain and simple. it's a loud, clear message sent to all.
as i've pointed out, people can get away with saying middle strata or manual laborer or something along those lines and you don't get bent out of shape. furthermore, what is truly sad is that your approach to this issue is not at all educative. it is plainly punitive. a young observer new to the whole discussion, unfamiliar with the debates and your reasons for using it or not using it will only learn this from your penal code: do not use the terms middle class or working class, use only working class for all workers. why? i just should. carrol sez.
of course there are reasons for why Carrol sez. but your punishment-casting out the speaker/their ideas--suggests that these aren't to be discussed, don't need to be legitimated.
kelley
>Many marxists who I respect and like
>also use the term -- and periodically I try to make them feel
>uncomfortable in its use. I have yet to see a usage of the term (even as
>an ideological term) that doesn't confuse the text in which it appears.
>The clearest use I ever saw of it was in a WSJ column terming the post
>office the last government-supported middle-class wage subsidy. In other
>words, anyone receiving a living or semi-living wage is middle class.
>Hence anyone not receiving a living wage is a low down bum and deserves
>whatever he/she gets.
>
>Carrol