Class Struggle or Get It in the Neck
The ruling class, and there is such a thing, assiduously attends to its needs. That is to say, to maintain and expand its power and wealth. How does it do that? By manipulation, propaganda and political influence. It deploys divide-and-rule tactics to not only distract most people but goads them to turn on one another. The idea is to get people to look down and not up at those who are in control. So your class enemy is not gazillionaires such as Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg but it’s the poor guy down the street, out of work, who is behind in his rent, and his family doesn’t have enough food to eat. The boot is on his neck. How to get it off? Organize and resist.
Interview by David Barsamian.
Speaker
Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky, by any measure, has led a most extraordinary life. In one index he is ranked as the eighth most cited person in history, right up there with Aristotle, Shakespeare, Marx, Plato and Freud. His contributions to modern linguistics are legendary. In addition to his pioneering work in that field, he has been a leading voice for peace and social justice for many decades. Chris Hedges says he is “America’s greatest intellectual” who “makes the powerful, as well as their liberal apologists, deeply uncomfortable.” The New Statesman calls him “the conscience of the American people.” He is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at MIT and Laureate Professor of Linguistics and Haury Chair in the Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona. At 95, he continues to inform and inspire people all over the world. He is the author of scores of books, his latest are Consequences of Capitalism, Chronicles of Dissent and Notes on Resistance.
From Ann Michelle in NM –
Thanks so much for your latest Chomsky interview. It was wonderful. You and he covered so much ground like the proposal for a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the Middle East and the Symington Amendment.
John Teton –
Prof. Chomsky’s insistence in recent weeks on your program that the Democrats lost everything apart from the White House in November is severely incorrect. Democrats destroyed the 6-vote majority the Republicans had enjoyed and now control the Senate for the first time in a decade. Chomsky’s error is sunk in longtime satisfaction with his role as an esteemed political Cassandra. Much of that has been well warranted, but not this time. We’ll see to what extent he defends or tries to downplay this gross misstatement and whether you’re willing to call attention to it.
Robert F. –
One of the best things I’ve ever heard in my life. I want to share it with many people.