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Noam Chomsky
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The Umbrella of U.S. Power: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Contradictions of U.S. Policy (The Open Media Pamphlet Series, 9) Paperback – January 1, 1999

by Noam Chomsky (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 11 ratings
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Chomsky observes the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a''Path to a Better World,'' while chronicling how far off the trail the United States is with respect to actual political practice and conduct. Analysing the contradictions of U.S. power while illustrating the real progress won by sustained popular struggle, Chomsky cuts through official political rhetoric to examine how the United States not only violates the UD, but at times uses it as a weapon to weild against designated enemies
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  1. Print length
    80 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Seven Stories Press
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1999
  5. Dimensions
    0.25 x 4.25 x 7 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1888363851
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1888363852
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The United States government often invokes a moral imperative to honor human rights as justification for its foreign-policy decisions. But, according to Noam Chomsky, America's actual track record falls far short of the principles iterated in 1948's Universal Declaration of Human Rights--the accepted international standard. This slim but passionate volume lists case after case in which the United States has provided aid to grossly abusive regimes--among which Chomsky includes Israel and Indonesia--and examples of how the American government seeks to limit the human rights of its own citizens. With equal criticism for Democrat and Republican administrations, The Umbrella of U.S. Power refuses to remain silent about "the things it 'wouldn't do' to mention" as it works to expose the contradictions between what government leaders tell their people and what they actually do. --Ron Hogan

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Seven Stories Press; First Edition (January 1, 1999)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 80 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1888363851
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1888363852
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.47 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.25 x 4.25 x 7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 11 ratings

About the author

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Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Avram Noam Chomsky (/ˈnoʊm ˈtʃɒmski/; born December 7, 1928) is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, logician, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes described as "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy, and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science. He has spent more than half a century at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he is Institute Professor Emeritus, and is the author of over 100 books on topics such as linguistics, war, politics, and mass media. Ideologically, he aligns with anarcho-syndicalism and libertarian socialism.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by https://www.flickr.com/photos/culturaargentina [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Top reviews from the United States

  • egalitarian ethos
    5.0 out of 5 stars exposes US hypocrisy
    Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2000
    As is so lucidly shown by Noam Chomsky in "The Umbrella of US Power", the US cynically uses the Universal Declaration of Human Rights only when it serves the purpose of attaining US foreign policy goals. Chomsky's analysis clearly shows how the US has selectively used the Universal Declaration of Human Rights when the need arises and how the US has ignored it when the need arises. One of the more essential aspects of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that the US prefers to ignore is the language about economic rights:
    Article 23 of the UD declares that "Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment," along with "remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection." "Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests."
    With the complete approval of the US Gov't., US industry has conducted one of the most successful antiunion wars ever, illegally firing thousands of workers for exercising their rights to organize, prompting the International Labor Organizationto issue a recommendation that the US conform to international standards.
    Chomsky documents how US officials continually complain about goods made by prison labour in China, yet remain silent concerning the same practices in the US. Prison labour is a violation of the UD.
    "The Umbrella of U.S. Power: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Contradictions of U.S. Policy" is a powerful and important work that exposes US hypocrisy and its total lack of respect for international law and humanitarian principles.
    41 people found this helpful
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  • Kdee Tucker
    4.0 out of 5 stars A commentary on US Foreign and Domestic Policy
    Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    History of US Foreign policy shaped by Gov't, Capital Alliance. Particular
    attention to US dismissal of Universal Declaration of Human Rights articles 23-25. Also US Policy Foreign and Domestic of subversive tactics of population control, racism, and class warfare.
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  • Wildness
    4.0 out of 5 stars Our Less Than Stellar Record
    Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2007
    At times, Noam Chomsky is quite the critic of America; but, not out of dislike of his country, but because he recognizes our failures at face value. You don't have to agree with his politics, to learn something from his books. In "The Umbrella of U.S. Power", Chomsky points out the hypocrisy that our great country can sometime perpetrate; in this case in regards to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UD). The UD is an international document that U.S. is a co-signer of that spells out the universally accepted minimums of the human rights that all people of the Earth retain.

    Unfortunately, we do not have a great track record of upholding these rights when dealing with threats to our nation. I am not going to debate the necessity of these or not in this review; I, like many, have my moments of better us than them. But, if we are to call ourselves Americans and wish to embrace our liberty, democracy, and freedom, we need to be honest with ourselves. And, to do that, we must, as good citizens, be aware of how our government conducts our business in these matters.

    Only through fully understanding our history and our actions can we better handle crisis in the future. Is holding prisoners from our "War on Terror" in limbo on a beach in Cuba the best solution to the problem that some of these people pose? Or could we have found a viable solution to this situation and protect ourselves at same time, all while upholding the UD we signed?

    Read this book for the truth. Then choose how you fall on the issue. But, don't stick your head in the sand and assume that our leaders know what's best; collectively, if informed, we the people can guide our nation best.

    >>>>>>><<<<<<<

    A Guide to my Book Rating System:

    1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
    2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
    3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
    4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
    5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Quickhappy
    4.0 out of 5 stars Note: Rogue States contains this essay and much more.
    Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2003
    This is not so much a review as a note to buyers: you can obtain this exact essay by buying Chomsky's _Rogue States: The Rule of Force in World Affairs_. It's just a few dollars more than this pamphlet, yet it offers 13 *additional* essays. It doesn't fit quite as neatly into your back pocket, and it's a tad less digestable, but I think it's well worth the extra 2-3 dollars. That said, you can't go wrong with Chomsky--he's one of the greatest intellectuals and humanists of our time.
    13 people found this helpful
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  • Bakunin
    4.0 out of 5 stars He knows too much!
    Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2003
    Chomsky's writing is always something that will make an uproar. Good book for non-nationalists, not so good for close-minded people.
    7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • A. Horner
    5.0 out of 5 stars Another Chomsky Masterpiece
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 18, 2003
    Verified Purchase
    Another Chomsky masterpiece comparing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with US foreign (and home) policy. The book is in three parts – the narrative and text by Chomsky (52 pages), the 112 references he uses throughout his writings and the full text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (the book is 78 pages in all).
    Chomsky is a master at ripping US policy apart and exposing the real plan under it all. His observations on the US prison system are as damning as his points on US sponsorship of foreign dictators and their bloody campaigns against defenceless civilians.
    I recommend this book to everyone
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