VIDEO: Noam Chomsky: Markets Aren’t ‘Democratic’— They Radically Restrict Choice in Important Ways
In this short clip from a History Channel documentary, the renowned linguist and activist explains how markets actually bring out the worst in humans by turning us into people "dedicated to maximizing individual gain, not social concern."In this short clip from a History Channel documentary, the renowned linguist and activist explains how markets actually bring out the worst in humans by turning us into people “dedicated to maximizing individual gain, not social concern.”
—Posted by Natasha Hakimi Zapata
Your support is crucial…With an uncertain future and a new administration casting doubt on press freedoms, the danger is clear: The truth is at risk.
Now is the time to give. Your tax-deductible support allows us to dig deeper, delivering fearless investigative reporting and analysis that exposes what’s really happening — without compromise.
Stand with our courageous journalists. Donate today to protect a free press, uphold democracy and unearth untold stories.
Related stories
If Republicans succeed in dismantling Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, we can kiss what's left of our democracy goodbye.
In the second part of their recent conversation, the renowned intellectual (left) tells the Truthdig columnist how the banking, fossil fuel and tech sectors profit from taxpayer dollars.
“I think that the word 'ideology' has to be used very carefully But when people come forward with rather simplistic truths -- you already know you’re in trouble when they say they’ve got the truth -- and they say: 'This is what must happen This is how things work This is what dominates society' That’s an ideology"“I think that the word 'ideology' has to be used very carefully'".
The renowned linguist and activist explains the only way that capitalism could be compatible with democracy.
Unlike psychological terminology -- which consists mainly of terms of invective (try to think of a desirable personality complex) -- today’s economic vocabulary is euphemistic. One rarely hears the terms "rentier" or "usury" that played so central a role in the debates of past centuries.
Perhaps the bookers over at Fox News decided to get Rep. Adam Smith, one of 16 Democrats who voted against the fiscal cliff deal, on "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday because they thought the congressman would agree with the program's hosts. If that was the case, they were sorely mistaken.
If Republicans succeed in dismantling Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, we can kiss what's left of our democracy goodbye.
In the second part of their recent conversation, the renowned intellectual (left) tells the Truthdig columnist how the banking, fossil fuel and tech sectors profit from taxpayer dollars.
“I think that the word 'ideology' has to be used very carefully But when people come forward with rather simplistic truths -- you already know you’re in trouble when they say they’ve got the truth -- and they say: 'This is what must happen This is how things work This is what dominates society' That’s an ideology"“I think that the word 'ideology' has to be used very carefully'".
Unlike psychological terminology -- which consists mainly of terms of invective (try to think of a desirable personality complex) -- today’s economic vocabulary is euphemistic. One rarely hears the terms "rentier" or "usury" that played so central a role in the debates of past centuries.
Perhaps the bookers over at Fox News decided to get Rep. Adam Smith, one of 16 Democrats who voted against the fiscal cliff deal, on "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday because they thought the congressman would agree with the program's hosts. If that was the case, they were sorely mistaken.