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CLASS WAR: The Attack on Working People

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Chomsky also shows the hypocrisy and cruelty behind Conservative "liberal-bashing." The section of the book where he describes the true nature of Republican "privatization" is gripping. He describes how "privatization" will essentially hand over more political power to large corporations, who have no regard for our health or well-being. That portion alone makes the book worth the money. This book is good for thawing out Conservatives, and an engaging introduction for those uninterested in politics. As always, Chomsky shows the human face of politics with more honesty and compassion than perhaps any 20th Century American.

Noam is easily THE most intelligent and well-spoken man on the left in this country. As a proud socialist I spent the entire time this cd was in my player riveted. Noam breaks down the steady anihilation of unions by government and business in this country, in a speech that has the passion of Jello Biafra and the fact content of Howard Zinn.

This is a very good lecture by Mr. Chomsky but he has done better on the same subject. If you are to buy only one of these lectures check out "Free Market Fantasies: Capitalism in the Real World" by Chomsky. It is clearer and more eye opening than this.

This is a very good lecture and delivers nice points but "Free Market Fantasies: Capitalism in the Real World" brings up more issues and realities that the average Joe never gets through the media.

Using the premise "Government is the shadow cast by business on society" (a quotation from John Dewey), Chomsky describes how the corporate class operates almost invisibly behind the veneer of government to instantiate the political and economic conditions that bring it untold prosperity at mounting personal and social costs to the American public. As always, Chomsky backs his claims with abundant evidence, often citing publications that cater directly to the corporate class (e.g. Business Week).

We learn how since the 1970s wages have decreased in real terms even as worker productivity, overtime, and corporate profits have increased significantly. Chomsky then shows how the increasing exploitation of the American workers parallels the decline in union membership and the failure of the USA government to enforce its own laws against employers firing workers that try to organize employees into unions.

Chomsky is best when he shows relationships between his subject matter and other phenomena that seem unrelated. For example, Chomsky traces the "angry American" phenomenon to the felt, but not consciously understood, decline in his standard of living. Instead, the angry American is encouraged to direct his anger at a whole host of illusory devils (e.g. immigration policy) that are not the real source of his grievance. The real source is corporate power manipulating the economic policies of the United States to benefit itself at the cost of the American worker.

Chomsky also shows how the "anti-politics" animus in the USA is an attempt to direct worker frustration at the shadow (government) and not at the source of the shadow (corporate power). American workers are encouraged to distrust government because government is potentially amenable to democratic processes and, therefore, can change (can, in effect, give substance to the shadow that can result in some measure of equity). Whereas, corporations (the source of the problem) cannot be changed democratically because they are, by their very nature, "unaccountable tyrannies."

I have only sketched a small sample of the range of insights and understanding that Chomsky offers in this talk. If you are interested in the condition and history of the American worker, then this CD is a must.

Noam Chomsky is one of those oddities among the very priveleged and educated who actually attempts to address real people. Many times he covers topics in which he speaks for people who can't speak, either because they are powerless or dead.The most constant complaint i hear about him is that he treats people like automotons or he never blames the apathy of people alongside the agression of corporations. But, as he points out,individually you are an atom.The solution: Organize.Admittedly, you probably shouldn't put this cd on while you're dancing, and it may seem a little dated, since he devotes time to the Oklamhoma City Bombing, but it's only to point out the unhealthy results of denying people some meaningful and constructive part in their society and it's decision making. I feel that he could have a genuine effect and maybe even be a prime candidate for assassination if he could get away from the periphery, but, alas, i've yet to see any reviews in mainstream publications.At this point i supspect people in power regard chomsky as a nuisance, at best.Hopefully, more people will start to listen to a man who has no trouble formulating thoughts for himself, or even better they'll start to think for themselves.

This lecture was recorded in 1995, so here and there are some dated comments; but this CD still contains many invaluable insights. He exposes the massive deception of so-called "free markets" and reveals how much of the U.S. economy works through massive public subsidy in reseach and development (computers, electronics, aeronautics, etc.). Much of the basic research for all sorts of future products comes from our publicly funded universities, then industries get nurtured though tax credits and government purchases, and much else. So, when the captains of industry lecture us about the wealth they allegedly created, we need to remember our investment and the investment of our parents and grandparents that actually created the wealth. Bill Gates' father, Bill Sr., wrote an honest book about this reality in Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes.

Chomsky also makes important points about the way elite "perception managers" are waging a info war to sow confusion and pacify people who may otherwise be resisting various injustices of corporate globalization. He notes that in the 1950s the U.S. had a thriving labor press that reached millions of people, but it was destroyed by media consolidation and the dominance of concentrated wealth to provide news and views The Political Economy of Media: Enduring Issues, Emerging Dilemmas. Also, many people who are angry and desperate have become easy prey for right-wing theologians who provide a version of Christianity that rulers like Emperor Constantine or King George would appreciate Liars For Jesus: The Religious Right's Alternate Version of American History Vol. 1. Similarly, the term "conservative" has been co-opted as well. It has come to mean a person who wants to give Big Business free reign, combined with war-mongering and war-profiteering Why We Fight. Yet the history of coservatism is quite different from what it is defined as today Ain't My America: The Long, Noble History of Antiwar Conservatism and Middle-American Anti-Imperialism.

There are good reasons why Chomsky is referred to as a modern-day Socrates. A person will pick up insight from any of his recordings or books. I find his interviews to be most interesting, What We Say Goes: Conversations on U.S. Power in a Changing World, Perilous Power: The Middle East & U.S. Foreign Policy: Dialogues on Terror, Democracy, War, and Justice and Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky. The way he exposes the elites' agenda has predictably generated a massive campaign to dismiss and defame his work; but as the biography The Chomsky Effect: A Radical Works Beyond the Ivory Tower shows, there's no stopping this train of radical thought.

This speech was recorded live at MIT back in 1995. I had to put this recording aside for a few years because it made me so angry to listen to it. I wasn't mad at Chomsky or his views- I was mad at the infuriating truths that he reveals and documents. Having spent most of my life in industry on either the shop floor or the engineering office I knew that I was hearing truth. Having also put in my time in grad school I had little trust or like for academics, but Prof. Chomsky is the exception that proves the rule. These aren't sound bites, they are documented truths expressed in honest language. By the way, Chomsky isn't in any way calling for "class war" here, he is just describing the reality what has been going on for several decades now.

There is truth here that you never hear anywhere else. Even wild-eyed radicals seldom deliver hard, unpleasant facts this well. Let's face it, human rights have always been subordinant to business rights in this country. But things have gotten outrageously worse in modern times. We are a corporate tyranny far surpassing any level of totalitarianism found in the rest of the developed world. And it really started with outright criminal behavior under the "great" Ronald Reagan. I know- I saw it happen.

Perhaps the most frightening thing about this speech is its talk of "anti-politics." Briefly, this is the organised campaign to blame everything on the government- even when big business is really in control. They want the people to hate and fear the government, because democratic government has a dangerous flaw- it actually has the slight chance of becoming truly democratic. You see, corporations are perfect- perfect tyrannies. The average worker, the average citizen, is never going to be able to change or control them. The government is the only thing the average citizen has the potential to control. Therefore the average citizen must be taught to hate, fear, or simply dismiss organised political action. What you get is "anti-politics" where people are totally atomised, fearful and hateful of nearly everything- and totally blind to the real problems.

Even though this was recorded over a decade ago, there is nothing in it that is dated. If anything, it accurately predicts the present.

I agree that Chomsky is the conscience of the nation- and I rank him with Thoreau and Emerson. Even if no one else is listening to the truth these days- God is...

Chomsky has the data from credible sources to back up his positions and he does not make assumptions.

This speech was recorded live at MIT back in 1995. I had to put this recording aside for a few years because it made me so angry to listen to it. I wasn't mad at Chomsky or his views- I was mad at the infuriating truths that he reveals and documents. Having spent most of my life in industry on either the shop floor or the engineering office I knew that I was hearing truth. Having also put in my time in grad school I had little trust or like for academics, but Prof. Chomsky is the exception that proves the rule. These aren't sound bites, they are documented truths expressed in honest language. By the way, Chomsky isn't in any way calling for "class war" here, he is just describing the reality what has been going on for several decades now.

There is truth here that you never hear anywhere else. Even wild-eyed radicals seldom deliver hard, unpleasant facts this well. Let's face it, human rights have always been subordinant to business rights in this country. But things have gotten outrageously worse in modern times. We are a corporate tyranny far surpassing any level of totalitarianism found in the rest of the developed world. And it really started with outright criminal behavior under the "great" Ronald Reagan. I know- I saw it happen.

Perhaps the most frightening thing about this speach is its talk of "anti-politics." Briefly, this is the organised campaign to blame everything on the government- even when big business is really in control. They want the people to hate and fear the government, because democratic government has a dangerous flaw- it actually has the slight chance of becoming truly democratic. You see, corporations are perfect- perfect tyrannies. The average worker, the average citizen, is never going to be able to change or control them. The government is the only thing the average citizen has the potential to control. Therefore the average citizen must be taught to hate, fear, or simply dismiss organised political action. What you get is "anti-politics" where people are totally atomised, fearful and hateful of nearly everything- and totally blind to the real problems.

Even though this was recorded over a decade ago, there is nothing in it that is dated. If anything, it accurately predicts the present.

I agree that Chomsky is the conscience of the nation- and I rank him with Thoreau and Emerson. Even if no one else is listening to the truth these days- God is...

If you are new to Noam Chomsky, then let me start with this: he has the unique distinction of being on the ultimate list, that is, of the top ten most quoted in the world while still being alive. Right up there with the Bible and Shakespeare. In this audio speech given in 1995 he outlines who started the class war, against who, and for how long it has being going on and shows us why they did it. If you don't mind being challenge to question why you believe what you do, then you will find this most enlightening and refreshing. And now more than ever you maybe motivated to get involve in changing the way things work for the sake of your children and their children and the worlds future.