Customer Reviews

World Orders Old and New

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The above could summarize Chomsky's book.The end of the Cold War should have brought big changes in foreign policy, but didn't because the Cold War was a front for superpower agression(mostly the U.S.'s),not so much a Soviet threat. Chomsky is armed(as usual) to the teeth with evidence and a cutting sarcasm, which together sear in his point. By giving a fresh interpretation of U.S. foreign policy based on evidence from a true variety of sources, he manages to shed some light on real policy, and to debunk governmental/elitist propaganda. His estimation of the goals of U.S. foreign policy is:get as much(influence,business opportunities for corporations)without losing too much(military casualties, public concern/attention,dollars,etc). This book is for people who base their views on evidence and NOT on what whatever someone tells them.

Aside from virtually predicting the Colombian and Middle East conflicts the United States currently finds itself embroiled, Chomsky's World Orders Old and New offers a vast array of scholarly documentation to prove his overriding and stunningly accurate thesis: American foreign policy is embarked upon for the benefit of the transnational corporations and wealthy Wall Street investors. The State Department, Pentagon, CIA and corporate owned media are their tools and propaganda apparatus to dominate the world's land, labor and resources.

The naivete of Chomsky's critics simply astounds one. It's as if they do not want to believe or acknowledge the pink elephant that's in the room. For some it seems they simply refuse to disbelieve the ridiculous fairy tales they were taught in middle school and by rightwing radio about the well intentioned United States government and its interventions abroad.

World Orders Old and New is a fantastic work that's filled with obscure references to sensational sources along with references from mainstream sources that are often buried beneath the stories about Clinton's sex life and O.J.'s homicidal rampage. Moreover, Chomsky fills the book with quotes from our leaders that are hard to believe but impossible to ignore. Chomsky digs deep and unearths the quotes from old State Department flacks, which will leave you awed in there audacity.

In World Orders Old and New, Chomsky also touches upon the economic trends that have befallen 70% of the American domestic workforce. Primarily the fact that the Fortune 500 and unfair labor laws (dramatically favoring management) have assaulted American workers, drastically reducing their power to effectively organize strong unions. He accurately points out that wages for the typical U.S. worker have been on a steady decline since the early 1970s and that the primary cause for this has been the business world's virtual destruction of unions -- the one avenue in which working people can have a say in their livelihoods and a voice at the bargaining table.

The last chapter gives a detailed analysis of the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Actually as Chomsky demonstrates, that's somewhat of an inaccurate way to label the Mideast conflict. As World Orders Old and New so accurately points out, it should be considered the Israeli lawlessness and brutality campaign backed by billions of dollars in U.S. military and economic aid. Chomsky simply gives one the proof that Israel can get away with committing just about any human rights violation while at most the U.S. media will critize the Zionist state in the most tepid way possible.

If one has never read Noam Chomsky they should do themselves a favor and pick up World Orders Old and New, it will help them understand why much of the international community holds the U.S. in contempt. Citizens of the U.S. deserve better than what their current leaders are giving them. Chomsky's book will go a long way in helping others recognize the pink elephant sitting in the room. As an internationally revered linguistic philosopher who has dedicated himself to justice, it appears Dr. Chomsky would have it no other way.

When Chomsky came to speak in Oxford recently, several hundred people were turned away because the Sheldonian Theatre where he spoke was packed full to capacity. I have still not yet seen him in person, but fortunately he has published a wide variety of books.

Of the handful of Chomsky books that I have read, this is the one I've recommended most to other people. It contains a fascinating retelling of the history of American foreign relations since the second world war. Even for those who disagree, it is vital to come to grips with the arguments it presents.

It would be an especially helpful antidote for those who think that all truth springs from the economics textbook (you know who you are!)

Chomsky emphasises historical and political facts that we are likely to find uncomfortable. Some of things he has said have made me think, "He can't be right, can he?" But then despite my diligent searching of anti-Chomsky web pages (and, indeed, this reviews section!) I have yet to find any convincing rebuttals of his arguments. Most of the time, his detractors seem to focus on merely attacking him and misrepresenting his views, which is a good sign that there is probably a lot of truth in what he (Chomsky) is saying.

Yes, there is something of a conspiracy theorist on the surface of Chomsky. But underneath there is a surprising amount of evidence and logical argumentation. I think part of the genius of Chomsky's view of the world is that it DOESN'T actually take some far-fetched underground conspiracy, but merely the normal operation of the capitalist world system to bring about the situation we have found ourselves in.

Chomsky's analysis of "world orders" is not based on some kind of elaborate fantasy, but largely well documented recent history and political science. One doesn't have to be radical political activist to appreciate the unique perspective that Chomsky has to offer.

I think that this book is a engaging and worthwhile introduction to Chomsky's thinking from a more historical point of view.

Chomsky is a true scholar, as is evident in the way he supports his ideas and conclusions with his analyses of reports and news literature from all over the world. It takes a ruthless analytical mind to present ideas as mind-opening and--for most people outside the USA--as vindicating as his. Here Chomksy dissects the significance of prominent post-Cold War events such as the bombardment of Iraq, and casts a sharp eye on the march of economic internationalization in the 90s (GATT, NAFTA, WTO), as well as on the Palestinian predicament and how Israel continues to violate basic human rights in the Occupied Territories. Chomsky cogently argues that there is an over-arching theme in the hostile world of global politics, or about American foreign policy rather. The book can get dense for the simple reason that he presents so many reports and findings confirming the biased and elitist nature of the New York Times and other American media. The volume of the evidence he presents can make you slightly indifferent after the depression or fury it invokes, forcing you to put the book down every now and then. Nevertheless, if you are looking for concrete evidence, the three chapters and the notes are replete with them. His work is valuable because it also exposes you to media and op-eds in other countries. For example, it is shocking to read what Rabin, Peres, and other notable Israelis have had to say to Israeli newspapers and television about the Oslo Agreement, and the Palestinians in general. Because he avoids talking in a mystifying and technical way about global politics and economics, Chomskys simply cuts to the chase in his criticism of the political elites. On a lighter note, his analysis of the writings of prominent journalists and academics can put a grin on your face. I especially relish his treatment of Thomas Friedman.

Few other people have sharply analysed the history of capitalism the way Chomsky has. In this volume, he savages the New World Order, by first analysing Western hypocrisy with regard to Iraq in the Gulf slaughter, and then takes a closer look at the Cold War, (with the fanatical document NSC 68 coming under close scrutiny.) Then he analyzes and rips apart common notions regarding the political-economic system by an appeal to the facts. At the end, he sharply dissects the Middle East 'peace process' (which is a joke now), and indicates that it is nothing other than the triumph of Israel and the US over the PLO, (too true.) His book is a marvellous argument in favour of three conclusions: 'International Law is a fraud', 'The economic system is a catastrophic failure' and 'The New World Order is much like the Old' He also highlights the intellectual community's complicity in all this. Although I do not share Chomsky's view regarding the Russian Revolution and Stalin, I must nonetheless recommend this book to every free-thinking man who wishes to liberate himself from the propaganda of the bourgeois press.

When it comes to analysing how the world is really run, very people can beat Chomsky. His work is brilliant, rigorously sourced and meticulously strips away the lies and propaganda that characterises the "New World Order" and its advocates. I find it laughable that a reviewer below critiques Chomsky for not having a political science background. Well mate, I'm doing a DPhil in International Relations and I can assure you that Chomsky is very well respected. Not of course by the extreme right who defend to the hilt the United States foreign policy, or Israel's behaviour, but by thinking people who aspire to a better world. The comments about Chomsky's "defence" of Robert faurisson are way off beam - they've been comprehensively refuted not only by Chomsky himself but also by journalists such as Christopher Hitchens. I'm surprised the reviewer below is ignorant of such facts. Aside from this, buy this book - it is one of the most important works on global politics to emerge in the post-Cold War era.

World Orders, Old and New is 99% new and 1% old. Though Greece, Rome and a few other empires are made reference to in the early going, the book mainly centers on the United States and Israel. I was hoping for a more historical interpretation of World Orders, but this book is current events as seen through Professor Chomsky perspective.
It is a long story but according to Mr. Chomsky the two biggest terrorist nations in today's world are the United States and Israel. He establishes this with page after page of facts and quotes. To fact check this book would be a lifetime endeavor for any young scholar or "fact checker."
I would guess that all the facts and quotes are accurate; the questioning would be with the interpretation of the facts and quotes.
I don't at this moment know where I would go to find a more critical analysis of the U.S. role in the last century. Mr. Chomsky sticks the sword of his criticism in the body politic of the U.S.A. and doesn't stop until it comes out the other side - then he twists it several times for good measure.
Professor Chomsky credits the Cold War as beginning with the Russian Revolution in 1917.
With this I agree. On page 41 he credits a fact from a study done by Christopher Simpson that I found interesting.
"U.S. investment in Germany accelerated rapidly after Hitler came to power ... by some 48% between 1929 and 1940 while declining sharply everywhere else in continental Europe ... and barely holding steady in Britain.
"In a recent review of British records, Lloyd Gardner concludes that `for the British, the immediate problem was still Russia', not Germany, during the period of the Hitler-Stalin pact (until June 1941). Deciding that war was necessary, high British officials `centered not on German efforts at partition [of Poland], which London had already dealt with as acceptable, but on the Nazi-Soviet pact, which was not acceptable.'"
My research on who actually financed Hitler substantiates the above quote as does my reading in the history of the time.
I would be interested in the percentage of investment coming from the U.S. and going to Japan and Italy during the same period also.
Woodrow Wilson is described poorly in this work and I think justifiably.
It is pointed out that fascism was admired and supported by the Capitalist nations of the world until it proved to be disadvantageous - economically and politically to the capitalists. "The `defense' was mounted throughout the Capitalist world, taking a variety of forms, including the admirable achievements of fascism."
He then points out that history records, "Throughout the developed world conservative ruling elites had been discredited by their association with fascism." Unfortunately this fact is only known to those who read history books.
So it is established that the capitalist world was actually at war with Russia since the Russian Revolution in 1917.
This notion should be obvious to anyone who has researched this historical period - but for some reason to speak or write accordingly still receives resistance.
On page 82 the Professor makes this observation.
"A look at who is celebrating after a conflict and benefits from it, and who is left in distress and suffering, often tells something about the true victors and defeated, and indeed what the conflict was about. By that criterion, the victors of World War II include the financial and manufacturing interests that were mobilized in support of the fascists regimes and were largely reconstituted and restored to power by the official victors; the losers of World War II include leading elements of the anti-fascist resistance worldwide, ranging from radical democratic to Communist in orientation, and violently demolished or displaced and marginalized by the official victors. Not the conventional picture, but an accurate one, and one that does not lack relevance to an assessment of what was at stake."
The book goes on to discredit the U.S. role in South America, Asia and the Middle East. The professor hits hard on Viet Nam and our present position in Iraq and Afghanistan. I really do not have enough information to argue with the professor. His description of U.S. behavior is nothing less than ruthless.
His point is that America is not on the side of democratic rule anywhere. We sabotage democracy in favor of capitalist profit and progress in any way possible. And we support the establishment power structure that will work to the benefit of American capitalist objectives.
I would only make the distinction between the American "Government" and the American "people." But the professor does point out that the American people are kept unaware via a compliant or inept media and are not allowed to participate appreciably or to any consequence in their government because of the powerful propaganda of the corporate ownership of the American government.
By the professor's analysis we do not support democracy around the world and we are far from a democracy here at home. I would like to disagree but find his arguments substantive - and embarrassing.
He continues:
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are controlled by International capitalists manipulated by the U.S.A. and invariably programmed to institute policies that cripple, bankrupt, exploit and enslave the people of third world countries.
Israel is a "client" state submissive and cooperative to U.S. hegemony. It is a partner in U.S criminal behavior. They are murders and killers as is the U.S.A.
The Palestinian populations within Israel and in surrounding areas are modern day slaves. They are treated as a subclass and are kept in such a condition via laws and manipulation reminiscent of Nazi Germany and its treatment of the Jews in the 30s and 40s.
Because of necessary water sources in certain areas the Israelis will never, and have no intention of ever, submitting to a two state solution to their conflict. The Israeli Jews are attempting to exterminate the Palestinians in much the same manner as the native Indians were exterminated in the United States in its early growth years.
From the Israeli perspective peace will only come to the area when all reluctant and uncooperative Arabs are dead.
This is the situation as Professor Chomsky writes and describes it.
As for hope for the future or a possible solution, the professor states: "Much will depend on cultural conditions within the United States, the global power that dominates the region and has succeeded in imposing its will. But whatever the outcome, what has taken place, and how it has been interpreted, constitute an impressive testimonial to the rule of force in international affairs, one that should be considered carefully by those who care about the fate of the world."


Richard Edward Noble - The Hobo Philosopher - Author of:

"Hobo-ing America: A Workingman's Tour of the U.S.A.."