The Last Word

To the Editors:

With reference to George Lichtheim’s reply to my comments (June 23) on his treatment of Hla Myint, fairness demands two brief comments:

1. Mr. Lichtheim has again failed to check his facts before indulging himself in cattiness. It is perfectly appropriate to refer to a Professor at the London School of Economics by his legitimate title, even though for his previous post as an Oxford don such a style would not have been appropriate.

2. It was Mr. Lichtheim and not I who introduced the racist note by making a main point in his review of what I consider, and wished to point out, is an irrelevant criterion of judgment. My phrasing was intended to convey a mild sneer at this cheap reviewer’s practice, which is not what one expects of the New York Review of Books.

Harry G. Johnson

Professor of Economics

University of Chicago

Editor, Journal of Political Economy