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148 John Schoeffel, Peter R. Mitchell: Indispensable Chomsky

The role of power in shaping society and the importance of critical thinking and activism in creating change.

Duration: 22 hours
12 minutes
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John Schoeffel, Peter R. Mitchell: Indispensable Chomsky

Summary

Understanding Power is a collection of conversations with Noam Chomsky on a variety of topics related to power, politics, and society. Chomsky provides insights on the ways in which power operates in different domains, including the media, education, and international relations. The book also emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and activism in challenging power structures and creating social change.

About

Title: Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky

Authors: Noam Chomsky, John Schoeffel, Peter R. Mitchell

Publishing Year: 2014

Publisher: The New Press

Length in hours: 22 hours and 12 minutes

5 main ideas

  1. Power is a pervasive force that shapes every aspect of society.
  2. The media is a tool of power that is used to shape public opinion and maintain the status quo.
  3. Education is a site of power that is used to socialize individuals and maintain dominant ideology.
  4. International relations are dominated by the interests of powerful nations and corporations.
  5. The importance of critical thinking and activism in challenging power structures and creating social change.
John Schoeffel, Peter R. Mitchell: Indispensable Chomsky

5 funny quotes

  1. "I suppose if you look back at the early days of the computer age, it's easy to romanticize them. But then again, it's also easy to romanticize the bubonic plague."
  2. "I don't have any particular fondness for journalists, I think they're just people who went to college and didn't want to give up their summers."
  3. "I'm one of the few people who has actually seen the invisible hand."
  4. "It's not a good sign when a country's leaders are known for their stupidity, but it's an even worse sign when the people follow them."
  5. "I'm not really that interested in saving the world, I just want to create a world worth saving."

5 thought-provoking quotes​

  1. "The more you can increase fear of drugs and crime, welfare mothers, immigrants and aliens, the more you control all of the people."
  2. "One of the reasons propaganda works is that most of the people who receive it think they're too smart to fall for propaganda."
  3. "The goal of education is to produce obedient workers and citizens, not creative thinkers."
  4. "International law is a fig leaf that powerful states use to cover their aggression and interventionism."
  5. "If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all."

5 dilemmas

  1. Can society balance the need for security with the need for privacy and freedom of expression?
  2. How can we ensure that education fosters critical thinking rather than obedience and conformity?
  3. Is it possible for the media to remain independent and objective when it is owned by powerful corporations?
  4. How can we address the power imbalance between developed and developing nations in international relations?
  5. How can we create meaningful social change without resorting to violence and extremism?

5 examples

  1. Noam Chomsky - renowned linguist and political activist who provides insights on power, politics, and society.
  2. Edward S. Herman - collaborator with Chomsky on the propaganda model of media.
  3. Ronald Reagan - former US president who utilized propaganda to control public opinion.
  4. Joseph Stalin - former leader of the Soviet Union who used education as a tool of socialization.
  5. Henry Kissinger - former US Secretary of State who pursued aggressive foreign policy in the interests of powerful nations and corporations.

Referenced books

  1. "Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media" by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky
  2. "Syntactic Structures" by Noam Chomsky
  3. "Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance" by Noam Chomsky
  4. "Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky" by Noam Chomsky
  5. "Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda" by Noam Chomsky

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"The goal of education is to produce obedient workers and citizens, not creative thinkers."

John Schoeffel, Peter R. Mitchell: Indispensable Chomsky

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