UPDATE: I have removed this article at the request of the author, who sent me five, angry emails today imploring me to take it down. He was outraged that I posted his essay on this blog without having first asked his permission to do so. His emails, like his article, were boorish and full of invective.
I would have asked permission to repost the piece if it had been marked with a copyright—which, of course, is how authors indicate that they want to restrict the circulation of their writings. Since it was not, I assumed that Eiglad would not object to its publication here, although I now see that he does. I am removing it out of consideration for Eiglad (who will hopefully learn to designate his articles more carefully in the future if, in fact, he does not want them to be reposted).
But why would Eiglad care if I published his piece on this blog when it is identical to the article on his website? What difference does it make to him? Only he can really answer that question, although I suspect this is a control issue: on this blog he would be unable to curtail a critical discussion of his essay or Bookchin generally, whereas he can exclude critics at a whim on his (temporarily unavailable) Communalism forums.
Whatever his motives, Eiglad is mistaken if he thinks that he can promote Bookchin’s ideas and silence Bookchin’s critics at the same time. That is simply not possible. Whatever lessons Bookchin has to offer–and I think there are many–will emerge only in the context of a critical analysis of his life and work. Indeed, Bookchin’s contributions will either be criticized or they will be forgotten.
[Editor's note: the following article is the first of Eiglad's projected four part
response to my "Being a Bookchinite" essay. It recently appeared
in the online journal, Communalism.]
* * *
Measures of Failure and Success: Part 1 – Reflections on Chuck Morse’s “Being a Bookchinite”
By Eirik Eiglad
… this article has been removed at the author’s behest. You can read it here.
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Chuck,
I am contacting you, because we, at inclusive democracy, came across your blog of 14 August 2008 in which you describe Eirik’s Eiglad’s rant to remove his article and his attempt to shutdown dialogue or critical analysis of Communalism, Bookchin, etc.
At the same moment, we too at inclusive democracy, were having a row with him about his attempt to censor open dialogue. The entire experience can be read at:
http://www.inclusivedemocracy.org/journal/vol4/vol4_no4_sargis_communalism.htm