Because We Say So

by Noam Chomsky, Henry A. Giroux (Foreword by)

Overview

Concise, forceful commentaries on US politics and global crisis, from cyberwar and surveillance to the increasing urgency of climate change.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780872866607
Publisher:	City Lights Books
Publication date:	08/17/2015
Series:	City Lights Open Media
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	200
File size:	658 KB

About the Author

Noam Chomsky is known throughout the world for his groundbreaking work in linguistics and for his relentless advocacy for democracy, freedom and self-determination. He is author of dozens of books, many of which have become international best sellers. He is Institute Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston. A member of the American Academy of Science, he has published widely in both linguistics and current affairs, and writes a monthly column for The New York Times Syndicate which is the basis for a series of books published in the Open Media Series by City Lights books: Interventions, Making the Future, and Because We Say So.

Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction (TK)

1. Marching off the Cliff
December 5, 2011

2. Recognizing the “Unpeople”
January 5, 2012

3. Anniversaries from “Unhistory”
February 4, 2012

4. What Are Iran’s Intentions?
March 3, 2012

5. The Assault on Public Education
April 3, 2012

6. Cartegena: Beyond the Secret Service Scandal
May 1, 2012

7. Somebody Else’s Atrocities
June 1, 2012

8. The Great Charter: Its Fate, Our Fate
July 3, 2012

9. In Hiroshima’s Shadow
August 1, 2012

10. When Travesty Borders on Tragedy
August 30, 2012

11. Issues that Obama and Romney Avoid
October 4, 2012

12. Gaza, the World’s Largest Open-Air Prison
November 7, 2012

13. Gaza Under Assault
December 1, 2012

14. The Gravest Threat to World Peace
January 3, 2013

15. Who Owns the World?
February 5, 2013

16. Can Civilization Survive Capitalism?
March 4, 2013

17. In Palestine, Dignity and Violence
April 1, 2013

18. Boston and Beyond
May 1, 2013

19. Guilty in Guatamala
June 3, 2013

20. Who Owns the Earth?
July 4, 2013

21. Is Edward J. Snowden Aboard this Plane?
July 31, 2013

22. The “Honest Broker” Is Crooked
August 30, 2013

23. The Obama Doctrine
October 4, 2013

24. De-Americanizing the World
November 4, 2013

25. The “Axis of Evil” Revisited
December 3, 2013

26. What Is the Common Good?
January 1, 2014

27. Prerogatives of Power
February 4, 2014

28. Security and State Policy
March 3, 2014

29. The Prospects for Survival
March 31, 2014

Notes

Index

About Noam Chomsky

Editorial Reviews

"The essays are scathing and Chomsky brilliant, as a public intellectual engaged in a concerted and committed campaign to break the ‘big lie’ of an increasingly consolidated authoritarian state that has embarked on global military destruction in the name of humanitarian undertakings."—Shelley Walia, The Hindu

From the Publisher

James Cronin brings to life 87-year-old Noam Chomsky's dry wit and scathing commentary on U.S. foreign policy. It's essential to hear these 34 pieces because most American newspapers ignore him. These were published outside the country. Cronin's conversational style captures the political dissident at his best. In "Assault on Public Education," listeners will learn that once those in power concluded that education benefits those who receive it and NOT society, it was decided that each individual must pay for it. Cronin's Chomsky notes in "Boston and Beyond" that the Marathon bombing resulted in disturbing, unexamined, and unregulated governmental power. Other important topics such as Israel/Palestine, Edward Snowden, the Axis of Evil, and many more are included. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

AUGUST 2016 - AudioFile

2015-05-20
Chomsky's (Making the Future, 2012, etc.) latest collection of brief essays, written between 2011 and 2015, proves that he hasn't lost his talent for screaming at Americans to wake up. Essentially, the author examines what makes a real democracy, how it comes into being, and, more importantly, what subverts it. As we complain about big business running our country, Chomsky reminds us that, while framing our Constitution, James Madison followed Aristotle's lead in worrying that the poor would use their votes to undermine property-owning aristocrats. Thus, today's libertarians struggle to dismantle the aristocratic guardianship of the 1 percent; elsewhere, Chomsky notes how "crazy is the new norm among Tea Party members and a host of others beyond the mainstream." In addition to concerns about the coming climate disaster, Chomsky also explores the United States' rejection of multilateral agreements. As a world power, what we do and say is always legitimate "because we say so." One of the more frightening essays deals with public education, showing how it discourages independent thought and trains our children to obedience while enslaving them to the enormous debt incurred to achieve that education. At the same time, the public-relations firms running our elections create uninformed voters who continue to make irrational choices. The author saves his sharpest barbs for Israeli treatment of the Palestinians. The world condemns settlements and demands a nuclear-free zone and human rights for the Palestinians, to no avail. As a Jew, only he can attack the state of Israel safely because anyone else would be accused of anti-Semitism. Most importantly, the author shows us the feelings of the rest of the world, those who see the greatest enemies of Middle East peace as Israel and the United States. These writings will cause anger and outrage. However, though Chomsky raises our hackles, he doesn't really tell us what to do.

Kirkus Reviews