Understanding Power
The Indispensible Chomsky
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4.4 • 27 Ratings
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- $22.99
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- $22.99
Publisher Description
Noam Chomsky is universally accepted as one of the preeminent public intellectuals of the modern era. Over the past thirty years, broadly diverse audiences have gathered to attend his sold-out lectures. Now, in Understanding Power, Peter Mitchell and John Schoeffel have assembled the best of Chomsky’s recent talks on the past, present, and future of the politics of power.
In a series of enlightening and wide-ranging discussions, all published here for the first time, Chomsky radically reinterprets the events of the past three decades, covering topics from foreign policy during Vietnam to the decline of welfare under the Clinton administration. And as he elucidates the connection between America’s imperialistic foreign policy and the decline of domestic social services, Chomsky also discerns the necessary steps to take toward social change. With an eye to political activism and the media’s role in popular struggle, as well as U.S. foreign and domestic policy, Understanding Power offers a sweeping critique of the world around us and is definitive Chomsky.
Characterized by Chomsky’s accessible and informative style, this is the ideal book for those new to his work as well as for those who have been listening for years.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
For the past several decades, Noam Chomsky has become more famous for his trenchant critiques of U.S. foreign policy than for his groundbreaking linguistic theories. In this collection of material from his lectures and teach-ins, public defenders Mitchell and Schoeffel put his challenging, controversial opinions on display. The discussions a format that allows Chomsky to present his views in a conversational, accessible style confirm his wide-ranging engagement with world affairs. Whether the topic is Cambodia (he all but holds the United States responsible for the mass deaths under the Khmer Rouge) or the Middle East (where he sees the peace process as analogous to South Africa's creation of apartheid), he consistently blasts the United States for what he sees as its guiding principle of maintaining its own power while claiming to fight for freedom and democracy. Chomsky, who has published more than 30 books but is best known for his contribution to Manufacturing Consent, a critique of the way public opinion is formed, often excoriates the press for what he sees as a willingness to reflect the views of the "elites" rather than challenge them. But while he maintains a gloomy view of U.S. policies, he preserves a surprising optimism about Americans, arguing that the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movements have made citizens more critical of the mass media. Some readers will appreciate the views articulated here and others will be infuriated; but for anyone with an opinion of Chomsky would be wise not to ignore this collection, which provides a useful and wide-ranging introduction to his analysis of power and media in the West.
Customer Reviews
Moral Politics
Generational brilliance of Chomsky’s kind is not only to be admired, but heeded. This collection of his talks on power is testament to how insightful and observant he has been when it comes to all things America. That style of weaving the power politics in with the lived experiences on the ground is what makes him so reachable.
This is an unrelenting attack on a government rife in criminality of epic proportions and a citizenry blind to the fact. Or at least carefully mislead into being walked down the path towards fascism and despondency. Chomsky underscores again and again the lack of a critical lens across the majority of the populace for filtering information from the government, news, and corporations.
That thread of blindness to reality is what he builds from to deliver a detailed breakdown on who has power, how they maintain it, why it matters, and what we can do about it. For all the doom and gloom of his tone, he does offer up hope and a playbook for how to fight back. A resistance rooted in an innate call to values over profit along with the paradigm shifting power of organizing at the grassroots level.
Thought proving and revelatory
As a collection of talks and Q&As, I found Understanding Power to be one of Chomsky’s most accessible books. There were plenty of moments where I was completely shocked by what he was saying and frankly in disbelief, but the most incredible thing about this book is how everything is sourced and listed at UnderstandingPower.com , a whopping 449 pages worth of sources. Truly one of the greatest intellectual minds of the last century.
great intro to Chomsky
This is an overview of many of Chomsky's ideas that would be a great intro to anyone interested in his work. It's in question/answer format and covers a very wide range of topics. The footnotes also refer to a website that has more detailed material on the topics covered.