Free Market Fantasies Capitalism in the Real World

Noam Chomsky | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 14, 1999)
• Original Release Date: December 14, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Alternative Tentacles
• ASIN: B00002JXEJ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,501 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Originally released by released by Allied Records & out of print for some time. Noam Chomsky is a long time political activist, writer & professor of Linguistics at MIT. This spoken word release focuses on changing the power structure of America. Bono of U2 called Chomsky the 'Elvis of academia'. 56 minutes/mono recording. Standard jewel case.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Find out why Capitalism isn't always good for folks, May 30, 2002

By 

George J. Kloss "George Kloss" (Butler, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Free Market Fantasies Capitalism in the Real World (Audio CD)

This is a great summation of thought on the American "ideal" of Capitalism. Mr. Chomsky says things so well and effortlessly that you drink in the information in gulps. He simplifies and exposes the political system that has used Capitalism to keep people happy and oblivious. His ideas are intense and powerful but easy to grasp and see. You actually see how things like the defense industry; unions and laws have been used to turn America's "Capitalism" into a tool of power and corruption.

This is a great introduction to the issue of how the American Government and Corporations have teamed up to use the working class of the USA and other countries. The economy does "well" which makes it possible for the "haves" to get more of what the "have-nots" don't have.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great lecture, quality issues are overplayed, December 23, 2003

By 

slain (pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Free Market Fantasies Capitalism in the Real World (Audio CD)

there are some complaints here about the quality of the recording... well, it's a lecture for crying out loud. this isn't a live recording of music where recording quality complaints would be very reasonable. is the quality good enough to hear mr. chomsky? certainly. in fact, the recording sounds like what you'd expect to hear if you attended a lecture. so it's not a soundboard recording... big deal. as for the actual content of the cd, this is chomsky at his eye opening best. it helps to have a good base in chomsky theories & recent american history, as not all is explained in detail. but overall the lecture is very accessible. surely there is something here to get anyone with an open mind thinking about capitalism & the US role in the world.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 10 yrs on, Chomsky 100% Relevant to today's Financial Collapse, November 14, 2008

By 

S. Bruce "montoya" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Free Market Fantasies: Capitalism In The Real World (MP3 Download)

When this CD was recorded (in 1997!) there was no way for Noam Chomsky to know how economist Milton Friedman's Laissez-faire ideology on financial markets (as adopted by Ronald Reagan from 1980 going forward) would fail by 2009, and lead to complete financial collapse in global markets. All of Chomsky's 1997 commentary here on so-called free markets for the masses - with a nanny "bail-out" state for the rich - is so prescient as to be uncanny. Chomsky's 'old' material is like a ten year audio road map to the present and how/why we are burdened with a failed economy today. Chomsky's eleven-year old observations on "free markets" are so precise, this material is actually far more relevant today than it was in 1997! Trying to find the right adjectives here, Noam Chomsky proves again that he is truly an astounding intellect, and one of the profound commentators of our time. Five stars.