1. I'm not sure why Richard Levin is putting all this work into proving that I have thought, written or said somewhat different things over a professional life of 30 years. I have never claimed otherwise. In fact I have changed my mind substantially on various matters, and confessed to uncertainty on others, and I regard that not just as honest, but as a sign of intellectual life.
2. The pertinent issues, the ones within our professional grasp, are: (i) that a senior scholar really doesn't care if he misquotes, misconstrues and distorts; (ii) that a serious-sounding journal (Shakespeare International Yearbook, published by the Scolar Press), refuses to print a repudiation, which it has commissioned, of misleading articles which it has commissioned and published.
3. My general political position has not changed. I am still looking for a radical transformation. How that transformation is to be brought about, and what it will look like, has been a topic of continuous analysis in Western Marxism. I have tried to contribute to those debates.
4. My particular thoughts at the present time are, first, that radical transformation has rarely been more urgent, and, second, that attempts at liberal tinkering have rarely seemed less promising. Even obviously prudent measures, for instance on international security, north/south exploitation and global warming, are refused if they are not approved by big business.
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