The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many (The Real Story Series) [Paperback]

Noam Chomsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2002 | Series: The Real Story Series

These wide-ranging interviews, from 1992 and 1993, cover everything from Bosnia and Somalia to biotechnology and nonviolence, with particular attention to the "Third Worldization" of the United States.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Noam Chomsky is Institute Professor of Linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is the author of many books on U.S. foreign policy.

Product Details

• Paperback: 95 pages
• Publisher: Odonian Press; First Editiion edition (July 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878825038
• ISBN-13: 978-1878825032
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,391,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > World > 20th Century
  • #92 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > Historical Study > Reference

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Ok, March 13, 2011

By 

S. Girard (NH, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many (The Real Story Series) (Paperback)

This is not a book I would recommend to most readers. There is not much new here (conceptually) that is not explored in later works in more detail (this book is a collection of interviews.) Here it is still the early 90's, GATT was still alive, NAFTA is untried and there is no WWW. Chomsky is always brilliant and his insights into this world are even more interesting given how true they were shown to be.

I enjoyed it. It gave me an opportunity to experience events I remember from 15 years ago with a very different worldview than I had then.

9 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Getting [Exploited] On A Global Basis, September 5, 2002

By 

miles@riverside (Indio, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many (The Real Story Series) (Paperback)

A short book of interview excerpts. Chomsky argues that the purpose behind NAFTA (a new deal at the time the book was published) was to open up Mexico to American industries searching for cheap labor. Since the standard of living in Mexico is lower than in the U.S., and since the workers don't benefit from the same civil rights, NAFTA gives U.S. companies access to a virtually unlimited source of what amounts to slave-employees. Of course, Mexico isn't the only 3rd World nation to experience such U.S. incursions; we have a commercial (and military) presence in a number of nations in South America, Asia, and Africa. U.S. taxpayers categorically foot the bill for the costs of opening up the foriegn territories for U.S. interests (particulary where military invasions are involved, such as in Colombia), but the companies alone reap the benefits of the cheap labor. And any resulting layoffs here at home (part of the cost reduction) puts a drain on the unemployment fund, which also comes out of our taxes.

Chomsky also points out how U.S. and state governments routinely grant subsidies to businesses (another drain on taxes), effectively instituting welfare for corporations. He notes that the economic structure in the U.S. is slowly evolving toward the model of the 3rd World, where most of the money lies in the hands of a few individuals, the vast majority of the population consists of the working poor, and the governments invariably support the interests of the upper classes.

Chomsky's spoken word album FREE MARKET FANTASIES discusses some of these same subjects. I don't know if I agree completely with all of Chomsky's views, but it certainly makes me want to dig up more information on the subjects. Thought-provoking, engaging, and quick to read.

7 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Is there a right wing conspiracy in America? U decide!, December 26, 2001

By 

David M Hsu (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many (The Real Story Series) (Paperback)

Noam Chomsky is one of the most famous intellectuals in America today but for those of you unfamiliar with his ideas, be forewarned, he is very far on the left end of the political spectrum. With that said, I found this very short book, essentially a series of short question and answer discussions, to be a good introduction to his ideas and it left me anxious to learn more.