Juliet Mitchell writes:

It is difficult to take issue with Quintin Hoare’s criticisms of my article. He seems to have totally misunderstood my work, largely to have misconstrued the application of Althusser’s theses, and at least partially to have failed to see the meaning of a crucial area of Marx’s thought. It is pointless for me to rebut every random charge and correct each misrepresentation of my points. It seems more worthwhile to restate my argument and then to confront the major substantial disagreement that underlines his refutation of my analysis and proposals.