Noam Chomsky has a fantastic ability to simplify things that often seem real complicated. After reading something he wrote or listening to him speak you may often think “that was obvious, or I should have known that”. Listening to him, you sense a calm that seems out of balance with the topics he is often discussing, topics that should and often do incite the rest of us to uncontrolled emotional outbursts. But he just kind of tells us how it is. When we really get down to it, it is all pretty obvious and it makes a lot of sense. That leaves me, at least, often wondering “how the majority of us all let things keep happening as they do”. So what do we do? I think we need to get mad, not forget and start taking chances and fix some things.
This post however, is about spending a little time learning from one of America’s best teachers, Noam Chomsky. The article below, found in the ALTERNET, “was previously published at BillMoyers.com. It is an excerpt from the new book Requiem for the American Dream: The 10 Principles of Concentration of Wealth & Power by Noam Chomsky and edited by Peter Hutchison, Kelly Nyks, and Jared P. Scott (Seven Stories Press, 2017).” Basically the article gives a short discussion of several general areas. Hopefully you will want to read his book. I do and will.
Topics:
- Running the Regulators
- Glass-Steagall
- Revolving Door
- Lobbying
- Deregulation and Financial Crashes
- Too Big to Jail
- The Nanny State
- Externalities and Systemic Risk
- Let the Market Prevail
This is just a tease compared to the book and the actual 10 principles Chomsky goes into in detail. If you really want to gain a comprehensive picture of how we got to where we are this is a must read.