This article is from the Irish Anarchist Paper =
Workers Solidarity, No 50 Spring 1997
MANUFACTURING DISSENT
CHOMSKY'S POLITICS by Milan Rai =
(Verso, London) =A310.99
NOAM CHOMSKY is not easy to ignore. =
Perhaps the best known intellectual =
dissident of today, his books turn up in =
all the major bookshops and both RTE and =
Channel 4 have run programmes about him. =
A measure of his influence is that an =
unpublicised talk in Dublin a few years =
ago drew close to 1,000 listeners.
This book gives an overview of his =
politics and work spanning a quarter of a =
century. The sheer volume of his written =
work is as impressive as the content is =
challenging.
A professor of linguistics by trade, =
Chomsky has written extensively on the =
evils of American foreign policy, media =
censorship, and the complex issues of =
power and its manipulation by politicians =
and capitalists of all kinds, and about =
what constitutes real democracy. =
The extent and rigour of his criticism of =
modern capitalist systems is such that he =
is often dismissed as too radical even by =
those who define themselves as left-wing. =
Chomsky defines himself as a libertarian =
socialist or anarchist. He has little =
time for orthodox left wing positions, =
especially those of the Leninist =
tradition which he rightly defines as =
authoritarian and as capable of abusing =
power as any capitalists. He comments =
"to libertarian socialists, at least, =
socialism and freedom are inseparable. =
There is no socialism worthy of the name =
under a party dictatorship".
One of the difficulties for anarchists, =
according to Chomsky, is that both the =
major propaganda systems of the modern =
era colluded in distorting the meaning of =
socialism. Both Washington and Moscow =
found it convenient to identify the =
totalitarianism of the Soviet Union with =
socialism. "For the Bolsheviks, the goal =
of the farce was to extract what =
advantage they could from the moral =
prestige of Socialism, for the West, the =
purpose was to defame Socialism and =
entrench the system of ownership and =
management control over all aspects of =
economic, political and social life".
Chomsky has often expressed his =
preference for that tendency in anarchism =
which "merges, or at least inter-relates =
very closely with a variety of left-wing =
Marxism, ...radical Marxism merges with =
anarchist currents". He states that the =
ideas of libertarian socialism are =
"exactly the appropriate ideas for an =
advanced industrial society".
Chomsky has been criticised even by =
admirers of his work because he does not =
offer specific solutions to the evils and =
abuses he identifies.
He was an activist himself briefly =
against the Vietnam war but he sees his =
role mainly as a resource to activists =
struggling for justice and meaningful =
democracy throughout the world. He =
provides the analysis and the =
documentation for groups and individuals =
to act on. The following quote =
illustrates his position:
"I don't think I'm in any position to =
tell people what to do ....If you tell =
people to get seriously involved in =
dissent, they're going to change their =
lives. This is not the kind of thing you =
can dip your toe into and then walk away =
from. If you're serious about it, it is =
going to affect you. I don't feel in any =
position to tell people how to make these =
choices."
Despite this, however, he is very clear =
that intellectuals, for example, because =
of their privileged access to knowledge =
and thus power, have a moral duty to =
propagate the truth and expose lies and =
cover-ups in government actions and in =
the media. =
He advocates a range of strategies and =
tactics from protest campaigns to =
lobbying politicians judged by the =
criteria of effectiveness. Even limited =
reforms are not dismissed as short-term =
goals. He suggests that political =
activists have a duty to ensure that =
their actions do not result in further =
repression for the populations and groups =
suffering the worst oppression including =
mass murder and genocide as in East =
Timor. He dismisses much of the orthodox =
left-wing positions and writings as =
irrelevant to the real issues and =
struggles in the world. =
Chomsky's vision is a challenging and =
inspiring one. His radical libertarian =
critique of state power and media =
manipulation are powerful tools for =
activists. What is missing is a strong =
argument for the development of =
revolutionary theory and strategy which =
will help activists to resist the =
temptation of authoritarian solutions to =
problems of social change. It is curious =
that Chomsky has written so little on =
this specific subject. Despite these =
reservations, this book is well worth =
reading as an introduction to Chomsky's =
writings.
Deirdre Quinn
------------------------------------------------ This article is from the Irish Anarchist Paper =
Workers Solidarity, No 50 Spring 1997
The whole issue and previous issues can be found at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2724/anpubdx.html
-- =
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Platform-> http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/6170/ Ireland-> http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/2419/irlindx.html
Want to join a class struggle anarchist mailing list email me at dr_groove@geocities.com for details
***A-INFOS DISCLAIMER - IMPORTANT PLEASE NOTE***
A-Infos disclaims responsibility for the information in this message.
******** The A-Infos News Service ******** COMMANDS: majordomo@tao.ca REPLIES: a-infos-d@tao.ca HELP: a-infos-org@tao.ca WWW: http://www.tao.ca/ainfos/