Customer Reviews

Chomsky's Politics

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Given Chomsky's non-engagement with contemporary understandings of power and democratic culture at variance with his own, which he claims not to understand, a "critical introduction to the string of books and articles which have followed Chomsky's decision to become engaged" (p. 18) in political activity would be a valuable contribution. This is the precisely the characterization that independent peace researcher Milan Rai gives in the Introduction to Chomsky's Politics, with, however, an odd disclaimer: "nothing that follows should be taken, or is intended, as a summary or an assessment of Chomsky's political work as a whole" (p. 18). Rai does address and even summarize Chomsky's political work in its entirety, but, as noted, without, assessing it. Consequently, it is unclear how it is critical. Rai's treatment of Chomsky ranges only from apology to beatification. Chomsky's Politics does little to address criticisms, other than those resulting from simple misunderstanding, and works best as a sympathetic introduction to its subject. However, Rai's ability to clarify Chomsky's views is sharply limited by his failure to contrast them to alternative understandings of modern democratic power. Rai insists that Chomsky is a cultural critic, all the while giving the impression that he is fundamentally a theorist of powerful hierarchal institutions, albeit a thoughtful and committed one.