
Understanding Power
The Indispensable Chomsky
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Narrated by:
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Robin Bloodworth
About this listen
A major new collection from "arguably the most important intellectual alive" (The New York Times). Noam Chomsky is universally accepted as one of the preeminent public intellectuals of the modern era. Over the past thirty years, broadly diverse audiences have gathered to attend his sold-out lectures. Now, in Understanding Power, Peter Mitchell and John Schoeffel have assembled the best of Chomsky's recent talks on the past, present, and future of the politics of power.
In a series of enlightening and wide-ranging discussions, all published here for the first time, Chomsky radically reinterprets the events of the past three decades, covering topics from foreign policy during Vietnam to the decline of welfare under the Clinton administration. And as he elucidates the connection between America's imperialistic foreign policy and the decline of domestic social services, Chomsky also discerns the necessary steps to take toward social change. With an eye to political activism and the media's role in popular struggle, as well as U.S. foreign and domestic policy, Understanding Power offers a sweeping critique of the world around us and is definitive Chomsky. Characterized by Chomsky's accessible and informative style, this is the ideal book for those new to his work as well as for those who have been listening for years.
©2002 Noam Chomsky, Peter Rounds Mitchell, and John Schoeffel (P)2014 Audible, Inc.You may also enjoy...
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This audiobook contains all 3 volumes of Capital, a compendium that Marx's collaborator Friedrich Engels described as 'the Bible of the working class'. One of the most notorious and influential works of modern times, Capital is an incisive critique of private property and the social relations it generates.
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The Wealth of Nations
- Written by: Adam Smith
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 36 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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The foundation for all modern economic thought and political economy, The Wealth of Nations is the magnum opus of Scottish economist Adam Smith, who introduces the world to the very idea of economics and capitalism in the modern sense of the words.
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a must!
- By Bean on 2022-02-17
Written by: Adam Smith
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Paradise Lost & Paradise Regained
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- Length: 16 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Paradise Lost, along with its companion piece, Paradise Regained, remain the most successful attempts at Greco-Roman style epic poetry in the English language. Remarkably enough, they were written near the end of John Milton's amazing life, a bold testimonial to his mental powers in old age. And, since he had gone completely blind in 1652, 15 years prior to Paradise Lost, he dictated it and all his other works to his daughter.
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Great insight
- By Edmund Reinhardt on 2020-08-08
Written by: John Milton
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Plato's Republic
- Written by: Plato
- Narrated by: Ray Childs
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Republic poses questions that endure: What is justice? What form of community fosters the best possible life for human beings? What is the nature and destiny of the soul? What form of education provides the best leaders for a good republic? What are the various forms of poetry and the other arts, and which ones should be fostered and which ones should be discouraged? How does knowing differ from believing?
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Acting is Great
- By Anonymous User on 2018-12-04
Written by: Plato
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A Brief History of Japan
- Samurai, Shogun and Zen: The Extraordinary Story of the Land of the Rising Sun
- Written by: Jonathan Clements
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
With intelligence and wit, author Jonathan Clements blends documentary and storytelling styles to connect the past, present, and future of Japan, and in broad yet detailed strokes reveals a country of paradoxes: a modern nation steeped in ancient traditions; a democracy with an emperor as head of state; a famously safe society built on 108 volcanoes resting on the world's most active earthquake zone; a fast-paced urban and technologically advanced country whose land consists predominantly of mountains and forests.
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History need not be dry.
- By Amazon Customer on 2020-04-03
Written by: Jonathan Clements
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The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World
- Written by: Robert Garland, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Robert Garland
- Length: 24 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
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Performance
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Story
Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.
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Loved it!
- By Trent T on 2018-10-29
Written by: Robert Garland, and others
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Capital: Volumes 1, 2, & 3
- A Critique of Political Economy
- Written by: Karl Marx
- Narrated by: Malk Williams
- Length: 104 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
This audiobook contains all 3 volumes of Capital, a compendium that Marx's collaborator Friedrich Engels described as 'the Bible of the working class'. One of the most notorious and influential works of modern times, Capital is an incisive critique of private property and the social relations it generates.
Written by: Karl Marx
-
The Wealth of Nations
- Written by: Adam Smith
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 36 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The foundation for all modern economic thought and political economy, The Wealth of Nations is the magnum opus of Scottish economist Adam Smith, who introduces the world to the very idea of economics and capitalism in the modern sense of the words.
-
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a must!
- By Bean on 2022-02-17
Written by: Adam Smith
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Paradise Lost & Paradise Regained
- Written by: John Milton
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 16 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paradise Lost, along with its companion piece, Paradise Regained, remain the most successful attempts at Greco-Roman style epic poetry in the English language. Remarkably enough, they were written near the end of John Milton's amazing life, a bold testimonial to his mental powers in old age. And, since he had gone completely blind in 1652, 15 years prior to Paradise Lost, he dictated it and all his other works to his daughter.
-
-
Great insight
- By Edmund Reinhardt on 2020-08-08
Written by: John Milton
-
Plato's Republic
- Written by: Plato
- Narrated by: Ray Childs
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Republic poses questions that endure: What is justice? What form of community fosters the best possible life for human beings? What is the nature and destiny of the soul? What form of education provides the best leaders for a good republic? What are the various forms of poetry and the other arts, and which ones should be fostered and which ones should be discouraged? How does knowing differ from believing?
-
-
Acting is Great
- By Anonymous User on 2018-12-04
Written by: Plato
-
A Brief History of Japan
- Samurai, Shogun and Zen: The Extraordinary Story of the Land of the Rising Sun
- Written by: Jonathan Clements
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With intelligence and wit, author Jonathan Clements blends documentary and storytelling styles to connect the past, present, and future of Japan, and in broad yet detailed strokes reveals a country of paradoxes: a modern nation steeped in ancient traditions; a democracy with an emperor as head of state; a famously safe society built on 108 volcanoes resting on the world's most active earthquake zone; a fast-paced urban and technologically advanced country whose land consists predominantly of mountains and forests.
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History need not be dry.
- By Amazon Customer on 2020-04-03
Written by: Jonathan Clements
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The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World
- Written by: Robert Garland, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Robert Garland
- Length: 24 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.
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Loved it!
- By Trent T on 2018-10-29
Written by: Robert Garland, and others
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Middlemarch
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- Unabridged
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Story
Dorothea Brooke is an ardent idealist who represses her vivacity and intelligence for the cold, theological pedant Casaubon. One man understands her true nature: the artist Will Ladislaw. But how can love triumph against her sense of duty and Casaubon’s mean spirit? Meanwhile, in the little world of Middlemarch, the broader world is mirrored: the world of politics, social change, and reforms, as well as betrayal, greed, blackmail, ambition, and disappointment.
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Middlemarch Forever
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Written by: George Eliot
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The Theory of Everything
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In physicist Stephen Hawking's brilliant opus, A Brief History of Time, he presented us with a bold new look at our universe, how it began, and how our old views of physics and tired theories about the creation of the universe were no longer relevant. In other words, Hawking gave us a new look at our world, our universe, and ourselves. Now, Hawking presents an even more comprehensive look at our universe, its creation, and how we see ourselves within it.
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Interesting overview
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Written by: Stephen Hawking
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The Charles Dickens Collection: 10 Novels
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- Unabridged
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This audiobook includes unabridged recordings of 10 of Charles Dickens' great novels in one audiobook. The novels included here are A Tale of Two Cities, Bleak House, Great Expectations, The Old Curiosity Shop, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, Our Mutual Friend, Little Dorrit, Dombey and Son and A Christmas Carol.
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too long
- By Amazon Customer on 2023-12-16
Written by: Charles Dickens
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The Origins of Totalitarianism
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- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 23 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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This classic, definitive account of totalitarianism traces the emergence of modern racism as an "ideological weapon for imperialism", beginning with the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe in the 19th century and continuing through the New Imperialism period from 1884 to World War I.
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A prescient warning for the 21st Century
- By Robert Hoople on 2022-01-28
Written by: Hannah Arendt
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The History of the Ancient World
- From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome
- Written by: Susan Wise Bauer
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 26 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the first volume in a bold new series that tells the stories of all peoples, connecting historical events from Europe to the Middle East to the far coast of China, while still giving weight to the characteristics of each country. Susan Wise Bauer provides both sweeping scope and vivid attention to the individual lives that give flesh to abstract assertions about human history. This narrative history employs the methods of "history from beneath" - literature, epic traditions, private letters, and accounts - to connect kings and leaders with the lives of those they ruled.
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Iffy narration, abrupt ending
- By Micah Clark on 2020-09-07
Written by: Susan Wise Bauer
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Modern Man in Search of a Soul
- Written by: Carl Jung
- Narrated by: Martyn Swain
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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This collection of 11 wide-ranging lectures which appeared originally in 1933, was based on lectures previously given when Jung was in the process of absorbing a considerable period of study of Eastern religions, Gnosticism and other religious sources. It was a time, according to the translator Cary F. Baynes, ‘when the Western world stands on the verge of a spiritual rebirth...after a long period of outward expansion, we are beginning to look inside ourselves once more.’
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masterpiece of the psyche
- By Jod Cadieux on 2020-06-25
Written by: Carl Jung
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Psychological Types
- The Psychology of Individuation
- Written by: C. G. Jung
- Narrated by: Martyn Swain
- Length: 24 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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In the 21st century, Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) remains one of the key figures in the field of analytical psychology - and Psychological Types, or The Psychology of Individuation, published in 1921, is one of his most influential works. It was written during the decade after the publication of Psychology of the Unconscious (1912), which effectively ended his friendship and collaboration with Sigmund Freud.
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Couldn't Finish It
- By Eyes_Blooded on 2024-02-28
Written by: C. G. Jung
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The Little Book of Big Change
- The No-Willpower Approach to Breaking Any Habit
- Written by: Amy Johnson PhD
- Narrated by: Kathleen Mary Carthy
- Length: 4 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Little changes can make a big, big difference! In The Little Book of Big Change, psychologist Amy Johnson shows you how to rewire your brain and overcome your bad habits - once and for all. No matter what your bad habit is, you have the power to change it. Drawing on a powerful combination of neuroscience and spirituality, this book will show you that you are not your habits. Rather, your habits and addictions are the result of simple brain wiring that is easily reversed.
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Life changing
- By Cindy Porter on 2018-09-19
Written by: Amy Johnson PhD
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Energy and Civilization
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- Written by: Vaclav Smil
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 20 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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In this monumental history, Vaclav Smil provides a comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel-driven civilization and offers listeners a magisterial overview of humanity's energy eras.
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Well worth reading and arguing over
- By M. Yakiwchuk on 2023-04-10
Written by: Vaclav Smil
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How Europe Underdeveloped Africa
- Written by: Walter Rodney, Angela Y. Davis - foreword
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Guyanese intellectual Walter Rodney emerged as one of the leading thinkers and activists of the anticolonial revolution. In 1980, shortly after founding of the Working People's Alliance in Guyana, the 38-year-old Rodney would be assassinated. In his magnum opus, Rodney incisively argues that grasping "the great divergence" between the West and the rest can only be explained as the exploitation of the latter by the former. This meticulously researched analysis of the repercussions of European colonialism in Africa remains an indispensable study for grasping global inequality today.
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Essential
- By L. Kelman on 2021-06-12
Written by: Walter Rodney, and others
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Say Less, Get More
- Unconventional Negotiation Techniques to Get What You Want
- Written by: Fotini Iconomopoulos
- Narrated by: Nan McNamara
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Nicknamed “the negotiator” as a child, Fotini Iconomopoulos has been honing her skills her entire life. As a sought-after expert, for more than a decade she’s been empowering Fortune 500 executives and their teams to achieve their objectives, guiding them through high-stakes scenarios in industries such as consumer packaged goods, retail, professional services, energy, telecommunications, tech, and finance. Now for the first time, Iconomopoulos shares her simple and innovative strategies, debunks common negotiation myths, and more.
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A great book to listen to
- By Amazon Customer on 2022-09-14
Written by: Fotini Iconomopoulos
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The Guns of August
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- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 19 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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In this Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, historian Barbara Tuchman brings to life the people and events that led up to World War I. This was the last gasp of the Gilded Age, of Kings and Kaisers and Czars, of pointed or plumed hats, colored uniforms, and all the pomp and romance that went along with war. How quickly it all changed...and how horrible it became.
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Couldn’t finish it
- By Boscotti_M on 2023-11-06
Written by: Barbara W. Tuchman
What listeners say about Understanding Power
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- RandomAccount007
- 2023-08-12
Incisive
Incisive analysis by Chomsky, as always. Old issues but commentary that is still relevant to America’s present-day indiscretion
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- heptaskelion
- 2020-01-09
Good compilation. Not good narration.
This is a good lightly edited collection of Chomsky’s political thought. A good entry point.
The narrator doesn’t know how to pronounce a lot of the names though, which is a little distracting: from rather frequently occurring ones (pronouncing ‘Noam’ to rhyme with ‘Tom’), to rather less frequent but still surprising ones (for instance putting stress on the ‘e’ in ‘Kaynesian’).
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1 person found this helpful
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- mike mainland
- 2018-09-12
great book with fantastic narration
highly informative content. high quality narration. a very interesting and informative listening experience. highly recommended
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- humza
- 2021-08-20
gr8 narrator! gr8 content!
First off, the narrator simply SLAYS IT. His performance is beyond wicked, it is downright killer. Great job, honestly, truly great job.
As for the content, this book should be required reading for all school kids aged 12 to 18. It should be mandatory reading for all university students as well. This is one of the greatest collection of words, ideas, sentiments that I have yet come across.
Just for the record, during the global pandemic when millions died and billions were effected, Jeff Bezos who owns Audible flew to space on a joy ride. I hope his family line extinguishes for this. This book exposes exactly what 'people' like Bezos are all about.
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- Hmackdad
- 2020-01-08
Absolutely Relevant
Engaging and educational. this is something you can listen to in 2020 and its every bit as true and motivating as it was in 2002 or 2014. Piercing and brutally honest.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Charlie
- 2022-07-28
Essential
An intellectual everyone can understand, with arguments you can understand and spread. This book would be good if you want to sway a right-leaning working class person
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- HotTubMan
- 2024-09-06
Chomsky is brilliant but
in thia book, he presents some confusing contradictions. For example, at one point he discusses how destructive "conspiracy theories" are and that they should be ignored. At this point in the book, he sights the JFK conspiracy theories as irrelevant and with out any obvious motive.
Later, a chapter or two later he discusses how capital reacts to the presentation of facts that make the economy or capitalists look bad, in reaction capital, through the media will dismiss this facts and observations as "conspiracy theory"
Not only is this a glaring contradiction but Chomsky some how misses the actual origin of the term. It was in the wake of the JFK assassination, where several explanations were floating around that did not support the official explanation....the CIA directed the media to reports these explanations but to dismiss them as "conspiracy theories" JFK was the origin of the term in popular culture. by CD Digg
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- Dustin Lawtey
- 2018-09-14
Truly essential Chomsky
If you've ever come across a Noam Chomsky quote that seemed to speak to you on some level, this book is a must-read. You will establish an understanding of Noam's life experience being a deliberate part of a shunned intellectual culture in one of the more ideologically regressive countries of our time. That may not make much sense to you now, but trust me, it will once you've finished this title. He's often regarded as "one of the most important thinkers of our time", he's well deserving of the title. Be awed at the veracity and breadth of this mans knowledge of the happenings of the 20th and 21st century. He has been alive for all of America's time as a world superpower, and has watched the growth and development of the current political, intellectual and sociological climate we live in. He's never afraid to say what he thinks, despite that content limiting his audience and appeal to the media. He's someone to truly look up to, for all the right reasons, and this book will help audiences interested see the world through his brilliant mind. #Audible1
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4 people found this helpful
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- nascenta
- 2020-05-04
thoroughly enjoyed it.
when though it is dated (70's - 99), he points out a mindset and method of governance that can be more easily identity what is happened today, twenty years later. it is truly indispensable.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Paul Bowen-Smith
- 2022-12-07
Struggled to get through it.
(Gloomy and arrogant) apocalyptic preaching rarely comes to fruition. This is no exception.
The narration is painful to listen to - why they couldn’t have an actual woman reading the women’s questions instead of the narrator making a pathetic attempt to sound like a female is beyond me.
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