Noam Chomsky
Global discontents
Chomsky and David barsamian
Penguin books
Where to start with Chomsky? Bad religion introduced me to him with their new world order 7”. Manufacturing consent then came out and for a while I tried to read all I could from him. It helped that maximum rock and roll and even Razorcake were quoting from him but as dissent got more popular in the literary world I moved on to Naomi Klein, Paul mason and even George monbiot. This book is a transcription of 10 interviews over the course of 5 years between Chomsky and barsamian. Refelections on life and global politics. I would loved to have been the fly on the wall during these conversations but we have the written word to keep the flame lit.
But like Vincent Browne, Chomsky is still trying to educate, to speak of injustice and point out, along with pilger, the madness of the world. “Roughly the bottom 70% of the population in income level have no influence on policy…You go up the scale and people have more influence…you get to the real top, the one tenth of one percent, they’re basically designing the policies….” now that’s startling.
He speaks of hope and how change can come about through solidarity and cooperation. “If anything is going to happen, it is going to be through mutual aid, solidarity, community, and a collective commitment to really making changes “
My favorite quote in here comes when talking about change. I’ve spent most of my life seeking change. Those wheels have turned very slowly and gone in many different directions. At times I feel like we haven’t progressed but stop and look at the totality and maybe, just maybe, there’s been some progressive moves. So what happens when it all becomes too much? “If cynicism leads to passivity we walk off the cliff. The choices are stark: either you give up and help ensure that the worst happens or you become engaged and maybe you will make things better”. Sorted so.
