Principled Discoursin' (was Re: [lbo-talk] BDL on Sweezy)

[Stephen E Philion]

kelley wrote
You used ad hominem to attack de Long by maintaining that his work 
isn't nearly as  great as Sweezy's and, therefore, the implication was 
that De Long ought to 
shut up.

--nope, i said he made a cheap shot. he's free to make cheap shots, i 
didn't say he should shut up. 
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de Long and everyone else ought to ignore such criticism. They are 
meaningless. Do you, Steve, have to be as productive as De Long in 
order to criticize him, on substantive grounds?

--well, i wouldn't take a cheap shot at delong on the occasion of his 
death and leave that as the only commentary on his life's significance. 
brad actually is far more productive and accomplished than moimeme in 
academic career, i wouldn't write a commentary on his death that didn't 
acknowledge his actual contribution to his field. he's free to do that 
of course on intellectual adversaries' deaths. 
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That, btw Joanna, is what Carrol means by principled discourse. Steve's 
charge wasn't principled; it was unprincipled.

--actually delong was unprincipled in his cheap shot against Sweezy. 
EOS.

steve