Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky

Peter R. Mitchell, John Schoeffel

The New Press, 2002 - Political Science - 416 pages

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. In 'Understanding power', Peter R. Mitchell and John Schoeffel have assembled the best of Chomsky's talks on the past, present, and future of the politics of power. In a series of enlightening and wide-ranging discussions, Chomsky radically reinterprets the events of the past three decades, covering topics from foreign policy during the Vietnam War to the decline of welfare under the Clinton administration. And as he elucidates the connection between America's imperialistic foreign policy and social inequalities at home, 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' is definitive Chomsky. Characterized by Chomsky's accessible and informative style, 'Understanding power' is the ideal book for those new to his work as well as for those who have been listening for years.

Contents

• 1: 1
• 2: 37
• 3: 70
• 4: 106
• 5: 140
• 6: 177
• 7: 224
• 8: 267
• 9: 318
• 10: 363
• Index: 403

About the author

Noam Chomsky was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 7, 1928. Son of a Russian emigrant who was a Hebrew scholar, Chomsky was exposed at a young age to the study of language and principles of grammar. During the 1940s, he began developing socialist political leanings through his encounters with the New York Jewish intellectual community. Chomsky received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied linguistics, mathematics, and philosophy. He conducted much of his research at Harvard University. In 1955, he began teaching at MIT, eventually holding the Ferrari P. Ward Chair of Modern Language and Linguistics. Today Chomsky is highly regarded as both one of America's most prominent linguists and most notorious social critics and political activists. His academic reputation began with the publication of Syntactic Structures in 1957. Within a decade, he became known as an outspoken intellectual opponent of the Vietnam War. Chomsky has written many books on the links between language, human creativity, and intelligence, including Language and Mind (1967) and Knowledge of Language: Its Nature, Origin, and Use (1985). He also has written dozens of political analyses, including Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (1988), Chronicles of Dissent (1992), and The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many (1993).

Bibliographic information

• Title: Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky
• Editors: Peter R. Mitchell, John Schoeffel
• Contributor: Noam Chomsky
• Publisher: The New Press, 2002
• ISBN: 1565847032, 9781565847033
• Length: 416 pages
• Subjects: Political Science / History & Theory; Political Science / Political Process / General; Political Science / Political Process / Leadership; Political Science / Public Policy / Social Policy