 |
|
| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Newfy
Western Samoa
462 Posts |
 Posted - 28 Jun 2006 : 05:21:56
|
Failed States - New Book from Noam Chomsky
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/25/books/review/25freedland.html?ex=1151294400&en=f1eddaeb2c6042ad&ei=5087%0A
THIS latest book from Noam Chomsky sets out to overturn every belief about their country Americans hold dear. The self-image of the United States as a beacon of freedom and democracy, lighting the way for the rest of the world, is a lie, Chomsky says, and it always has been. "Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy" aims to expose the rot of the shining city on a hill, from its foundations to its steeples.
At the book's center is the avowed American mission to spread democracy throughout the world. Chomsky concedes that, rhetorically at least, this has been the nation's goal since Woodrow Wilson, but he insists the words are utterly at odds with American deeds. In its many foreign interventions, Washington has acted to frustrate the will of the people, often by supporting those engaged in the most chilling violence. The United States has overthrown democratic governments in Iran, Chile, Guatemala "and a long list of others." Elsewhere it has paid lip service to procedural democracy while doing all it could to rig the outcome. There is, Chomsky says, a "rational consistency" to this inconsistency between words and actions. The record shows that the United States does indeed back democracy abroad — "if and only if it is consistent with strategic and economic interests."
These are not, Chomsky insists, the interests of the American people, but of the corporate elite that dominates the country and its policy making. For, he says, the United States is not a democracy, if that word is reserved for a society where the people's will is done.
For more of the book review on Failed States, see link above
|
The law an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
Mohandas Gandhi |
|
|
serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jun 2006 : 14:39:24
|
| Thanks, Newfy. I see people like Chomsky as the real American patriots. And every dictator in this world who is supported or installed by the US should keep in mind that they can make him their bogeyman at any time, if their 'interests' demand it... We all know many examples. |
Edited by - serenata on 28 Jun 2006 14:44:26 |
 |
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
| Bantaba in Cyberspace |
© 2005-2024 Nijii |
|
|
|
Topic Locked
