Deterring Democracy

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Thus, in a curious irony, the end of the Cold War threatened to expose to America that they had been misled about that war by their media that had acted in collusion with big business's management of 'their' government. In effect, Americans had been given an opportunity to discover that they had been manipulated by a pervasive and expansive propaganda into giving to their corporate masters their manufactured consent to propagate American hegemony disguised as defending freedom. It would have most likely been bad for business if the truth of American hegemony actually made it into prime time news.

What could the manufacturers do to avoid such a catastrophe and how were America's hegemons going to be able to take advantage of their new freedom and expand in scale and scope their overt and covert invasions; and continue their practices of disrupting fledgling democracies without a solid enemy to justify the military spending in a time of peace?

Thus was born, for example, the war on drugs, the farce of Grenada, Nicaragua, and Panama as serious threats to American sovereignty and safety. The media hypocrisy and outright lying around these wars, and the comparison Chomsky makes to Britain forcing China to buy opium, is chilling. He provides numbers to back up his argument, and citations from business leaders and NSC documents that, if they had been spoken by German SS officers in WWII, would have earned them post war convictions for crimes against humanity.

Speaking of war crimes, it would appear that the USA was one of the biggest war criminals on the planet in the eighties, frequently using their UN veto power to overturn condemnation for their frequent invasions and unprovoked attacks on other countries for the explicit purpose of enriching big American business.

News of these votes rarely made it into the news. Or, if they did, it was with complete fabrication as to the vote and what it really meant. Interestingly enough, this kind of behaviour was not new in the media's history of misrepresenting American foreign practices. For example, the non-reporting of the role America played in their support for and re-establishment into positions of capitalist influence many of the pre-war German industrialists that included convicted war criminals.

DD is well written, and Chomsky's anger is tempered with a wry kind of humour at just how deluded and delusional the press is about their role in paving the way for American military brutality and unrelenting violation of the UN and the most basic tenets of respect for the rights of others.

Deterring Democracy

As always, the footnoting to the references is extensive. For me, the detailed and somewhat organic way Chomsky writes solidifies the connections between the way the American military functions as the arm of Big Business, and Big Business's function as the manager of the controlled understanding of America's 'generous' role as planetary policeman.

That perhaps the planet's greatest violator of the basic tenets of human rights and democracy is lauded by its corporate media as the singular champion of those ideals is nothing short of an astonishing proof that delusion knows no bounds. The level of hypocrisy that the media relays or creates with a straight face cannot be described in a review without the reviewer being seen as a complete idiot.

While reading this, there arose a pair of strange synchronicity events I like o call fushgis. Loosely, I understand fushigi as a synchronicity-like thing — click on the link to read my understanding of what it means.

Deterring Democracy

If you are curious, you can read the citations by following the link, Finally, you can read Deterring Democracy on-line by clicking on the link. This book is just under 30 years old and it's incredible how little has changed in the world. Eye opening and depressing in equal measure.

Justified or not, the constant stream of sarcasm does start to grate by the time you get through half of it. Noam's condemnation of Singapore's leader as a pseudo-fascist tyrant has been proven wrong by history but apart from that it's really just a savoury bit of global criticism Apr 28, Brett rated it liked it Shelves: A good starter for people that don't know much about America's foreign policy such as myself.

Even if you don't agree with his politics or interpretations, he at least gives you plenty of reference points for further research I have dogeared far too many pages in this book that you aren't likely to find in most accounts of American history. The book can get a bit repetitive in its message and Chomsky's writing isn't exactly thrilling read, but this is definitely worth a look.

Nov 02, Kevin A.

This is the first Chomsky book and it's one of the most influential things I ever read. It's what really got me started reading about radical critiques of imperialism and U. Jun 11, sologdin rated it liked it Shelves: If one must read only one, this is probably the Chomsky text to read regarding general perspectives on US conduct, with numerous examples. Not a catalog in the manner of Blum's Killing Hope , say, but probably the most thorough single Chomsky book at the time--he may have issued more comprehensive updated versions since this was written.

Aug 07, David Soucie rated it really liked it. What can be said about Mr. Chomsky, is he is very thorough in his research such that every chapter is followed with bibliography. He aptly unveils U. Governments desire to thwart all democratic policies of many countries. As well as document, and describe how main stream media is actively complicit in promoting the United States foreign policy. Jan 07, Matteo rated it really liked it Shelves: The beginning of an honest history of the 'cold war', in its international and domestic aspects.

It is also the book where i first began to understand the relationship that the US had with right-wing power in italy. Mar 17, Kevin rated it it was amazing. This was the first Noam Chomsky book i ever read. I was 18 or 19 and it was pretty life-changing.

Dec 21, Gemma Williams rated it really liked it. I have been reading a lot of Chomsky lately and it has had a big effect, especially on my reading of the media. Currently feeling impotent rage, but am glad he is here to open my eyes. Chomsky met zijn libertair-socialistische gedachten poneert enkel in het laatste hoofdstuk 'Macht en Mening' een aantal interessante stellingen. Aug 11, Patricia rated it it was amazing.

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Apr 15, Shriram Jayaraman rated it it was amazing. The more you read, the more you want to read.

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Jul 16, Erik rated it really liked it. If it wasn't for this book, I'd probably be trading stocks, working a government job, drinking Coca Cola every day, and living comfortably right now. Matt rated it liked it Apr 05, Ashok Prabhu rated it liked it Oct 30, Lea Hansen rated it really liked it Feb 10, Jeff Drake rated it it was amazing Dec 19, Oliver rated it it was amazing Jan 26, Jerry Monaco rated it it was amazing Nov 29, RB rated it really liked it Aug 04, Bit of a mess - merge required? Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, political activist, author, and lecturer.

He is an Institute Professor and professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chomsky is credited with the creation of the theory of generative grammar, considered to be one of the most significant contributions to the field of linguistics made in the 20th century. H Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, political activist, author, and lecturer. He also helped spark the cognitive revolution in psychology through his review of B. Skinner's Verbal Behavior , in which he challenged the behaviorist approach to the study of behavior and language dominant in the s.

His naturalistic approach to the study of language has affected the philosophy of language and mind.

He is also credited with the establishment of the Chomsky hierarchy, a classification of formal languages in terms of their generative power. Beginning with his critique of the Vietnam War in the s, Chomsky has become more widely known for his media criticism and political activism, and for his criticism of the foreign policy of the United States and other governments. The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy Was There An Alternative?

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