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What We Say Goes: Conversations on U.S. Power in a Changing World
(American Empire Project)
by
An indispensable set of interviews on foreign and domestic issues with the bestselling author of Hegemony or Survival, "America's most useful citizen." (The Boston Globe)
In this new collection of conversations, conducted in 2006 and 2007, Noam Chomsky explores the most immediate and urgent concerns: Iran's challenge to the United States, the deterioration of the Israel-Pal ...more
In this new collection of conversations, conducted in 2006 and 2007, Noam Chomsky explores the most immediate and urgent concerns: Iran's challenge to the United States, the deterioration of the Israel-Pal ...more
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Start your review of What We Say Goes: Conversations on U.S. Power in a Changing World
Chomsky opened me to the idea of a "framework for thinkable thoughts". That there can be an imagined spectrum that is really only a very narrow interpretation of events. In this book he really blew me away with his take on our Foreign Policy
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The best thing about reading a Noam Chomsky book is that it recalibrates me. His work is never partisan, it simply is reality. And while you might find objection to just about every thought he says, after reading his words, you’ll realize that you are indeed wrong about the subject. This book is different than his previous work, as it has no central argument.
Rather, it’s a collection of far ranging thoughts penned during interviews with David Barsamian. I really enjoyed how this work was done, ...more
Rather, it’s a collection of far ranging thoughts penned during interviews with David Barsamian. I really enjoyed how this work was done, ...more
"America doesn't have friends, America only has interests"
- Henry Kissinger
It's bleakly disturbing how accurate Kissinger's quote was, is, and, most-likely, will continue to be after reading Chomsky. Chomsky explores, details, and elaborates [on] America's troubling foreign policies and offers complex insights into our current western societies, our somewhat amazing ability to ignore history, the changing role of media and its powerful ability to present/suppress information, as well as the Mi ...more
- Henry Kissinger
It's bleakly disturbing how accurate Kissinger's quote was, is, and, most-likely, will continue to be after reading Chomsky. Chomsky explores, details, and elaborates [on] America's troubling foreign policies and offers complex insights into our current western societies, our somewhat amazing ability to ignore history, the changing role of media and its powerful ability to present/suppress information, as well as the Mi ...more
Here's a person who takes a stand, caustic though it may seem, but justifiably so. It was through this book that many of my doubts and misunderstandings about the role of US in the Middle East and Latin America were debunked. An eye opener on many accounts, this book makes for an amazing read!
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This book is essentially an edited transcript of a conversation between Chomsky and David Barsamian. If you've ever listened to or watched a Chomsky interview before, it's pretty much exactly like that. His way of speaking is extremely different from his writing. It's far more accessible and easy to follow. The interviewer really hops around with different topics just like in a live interview. One page they're talking about Israel and the next it's Cuba, and the next it's the horn of Africa. Th
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My first "on hiatus" review of 2012, which means it ain't a real review by my usual standards; more of a placeholder. Noam Chomsky's geopolitical books (as opposed to the purely linguistic-related ones) tend to be of two types: those he writes himself, which tend to be verbose and dry and crammed with stats, and those which more or less "sound bite" him in collaboration with interviewer David Barsamian. I have to be fess up and admit I still haven't read any "pure" Chomsky, so far only encounter
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Brilliant! He so clearly elucidates the nexus between industry and government, agendas of various governments, of course more in the context of US world dominance.
Excerpt from the book:
On India: "You turn govt. funding into support for software engineering and take it away from rural development - support for farmers, irrigation, rural credit. So, you drive farmers to export production...
And the prices fluctuate radically. So one year you may make a lot of money and the next year you may make n ...more
Excerpt from the book:
On India: "You turn govt. funding into support for software engineering and take it away from rural development - support for farmers, irrigation, rural credit. So, you drive farmers to export production...
And the prices fluctuate radically. So one year you may make a lot of money and the next year you may make n ...more
"All countries are equal but there's one that is more equal", I would describe the book by rephrasing a quote from still unread Animal Farm.
It's a detailed explanation of what was going on in the world before the middle of the first decade of 2000s, though it feels slightly outdated due to new circumstances, however it is still worth a read if one wants to get a rather objective perspective on the US hegemony in the world, cause one will be told alternative scenarios of what would happen withou ...more
It's a detailed explanation of what was going on in the world before the middle of the first decade of 2000s, though it feels slightly outdated due to new circumstances, however it is still worth a read if one wants to get a rather objective perspective on the US hegemony in the world, cause one will be told alternative scenarios of what would happen withou ...more
He's brilliant as always--I listened to this as an audiobook and he speaks in such a wonderfully rational tone. It's also good to hear how things have improved since the 1960's in terms of public discourse. I can never get enough Noam.
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Felt dumber with each page - how can one person retain so much information and still function in such an inherently corrupt system?
It's interesting reading this nearly 15 years after it's release. Chomsky is pretty much only ever proven right when predicting where the world is going, which is quite scary.
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Great facts inside include: In the Middle East, US and Israel have a long history of substantially helping to create islamic fundamentalist terrorism by destroying secular nationalism. Propaganda has to have an element of credibility in order that when attacked the the attacker is merely accused of denying what is true. You must protect to right to lie to support power.The slow steady erosion of repeated lies is "your duty of service to power". Look at the majority of declassified documents and
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I was surprised to see Chomsky's name on this book as I was searching for a book at 1/2 Price bookstore to introduce me to foreign policy (US). The last time I heard of Chomsky was in reference to his ideas about linguistics...
This book makes me know i don't know about our foreign policy, past and present. It's an old book, but I don't know anything so it's giving me some perspective. Chomsky has decided opinions, seems very critical to government decisions/choices, but he backs his statements w ...more
This book makes me know i don't know about our foreign policy, past and present. It's an old book, but I don't know anything so it's giving me some perspective. Chomsky has decided opinions, seems very critical to government decisions/choices, but he backs his statements w ...more
I always feel that going back to Chomsky every so often is important to refocus my perspective on US foreign and domestic policy and the role of our media in shaping public opinion. It's easy to get wrapped up in the minutia of our comfortable lives and forget about the struggles that people face all over globe, many of which are directly or indirectly created by our own government's policies. Our ongoing complicity is inexcusable, yet almost feels inevitable to a certain extent (Noam would not
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What We Say Goes is a vitally important book to read to understand the nature of United States imperialism, especially if you are, like me, a young American who doesn’t have a good grasp on the international politics of the last century or so. It is mind-blowing to read about what the U.S. gets away with, and so enlightening to read Chomsky’s conclusions.
Noam hit the nail on the head with this one, everything is referenced and backed up, it all makes sense and you know it's true. Read and take it for what it is, I think you'll like it if you can get through how sad of a situation we are in.
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Absolutely essential reading to understand our 20th and early 21st century American empire. Why it can't last and how the rest of the world is gearing up to resist and also deal with our decline. Noam Chomsky has never been clearer, in my opinion, as in this book. ...more
Think this Chomsky guy might be on to something
For starters, this book is collection of interviews of Mr Chomsky and has been presented in a Q/A format. The title is pretty interesting. Surprisingly enough, it has been picked up from an official statement of Mr George Bush the senior in 1991 which was in context of Gulf war. he said that we are bringing in a "new world order" from now on in which "what we say, goes"
This statement is indicative of the hubris that the Americans not only feel but also enjoy in other countries' viewpoint as well ...more
This statement is indicative of the hubris that the Americans not only feel but also enjoy in other countries' viewpoint as well ...more
6/10
“The major enemy of most states is its own population”.
We have historical amnesia as a country insists Chomsky, and in this book, he attempts to rectify this issue by tracing issues from their proximate, to more root causes, which he often finds far in the past.
I appreciate Chomsky’s willing to speak the truth as he sees it. Specifically in reminding us something America chooses to forget, we supported Sadam Hussien, and propped up other dictators that happen to align with America at the ...more
“The major enemy of most states is its own population”.
We have historical amnesia as a country insists Chomsky, and in this book, he attempts to rectify this issue by tracing issues from their proximate, to more root causes, which he often finds far in the past.
I appreciate Chomsky’s willing to speak the truth as he sees it. Specifically in reminding us something America chooses to forget, we supported Sadam Hussien, and propped up other dictators that happen to align with America at the ...more
As the subtitle states this book is a collection of conversations between Noam Chomsky and David Barsamian. This is not the first book I have read by Noam Chomsky and will not be the last, love his criticism toward the American Empire. Throughout these conversations Chomsky provides ample evidence that United States is the leading outlaw state, unconstrained by the Constitution and international law. Upon reading this book the reader will discover that not only is America an imperialist state bu
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Kind of spooky how this holds up. To read someone talking in 2007 about how we should be worried about a possible pandemic was prophetic. I found this to be thoroughly enlightening in many ways. Especially in regards to the actions of the United States around the world in the last 50 years. It helps make sense of so many present day issues. It is based off of interviews so it reads in a question and answer format. Sometimes the answers get a bit wordy, but it is obvious Noam is very well versed
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"The gospels are radical pacifist material. When the emperor Constantine adopted Christianity he shifted it. He shifted Christianity from a radical pacifist religion to the religion of the Roman empire. So the cross, which was symbol of the suffering of the poor was put on the shield of roman soldiers. Since that time the church has been pretty much the church of the rich and the powerful."
"When you conquer somebody and suppress them, you have to have a reason for it. You can't just say 'I'm a s ...more
"When you conquer somebody and suppress them, you have to have a reason for it. You can't just say 'I'm a s ...more
It amazes me how paranoid, divisive, and critical a person can be. Having little agreement with Mr. Chomsky and preferring to read WFB, George Will, Thomas Sowell, etc., I was hoping to get a perspective on opposing views. This was an uncomfortable read. I still believe the vast majority of Americans are good people and we are fortunate to live here and now (and we will strive to make our descendants’ lives even better).
If you want a broad overview of Noam's thoughts on many issues then this is for you. A very quick and interesting read if not sometimes slightly dry. A good starting point from which to delve into Noam's other more detailed books on specific topics.
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Good overview of the main arenas in which US power is exercised, albeit a little scattered in structure (this is understandable, the book is constituted of excerpts from interviews with David Barsamian).
Chomsky is a must read for those seeking an understanding on the issues facing the United States. While What We Say Goes is several years old, the commentary Chomsky provides is still relevant.
An enlightening, engaging and deeply troubling read that will likely keep me up at night!
An enlightening, engaging and deeply troubling read that will likely keep me up at night!
The title very much says it all.. The Mighty US and the faults of its foreign policy.
Conversations between Chomsky and D.Barsamian covering a wide range.
It may seem a bit outdated but some things do not change.
Conversations between Chomsky and D.Barsamian covering a wide range.
It may seem a bit outdated but some things do not change.
Highly informative.
He always has some nice ideas and ways of thinking I think.
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Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, political activist, author, and lecturer. He is an Institute Professor and professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Chomsky is credited with the creation of the theory of generative grammar, considered to be one of the most significant contributions to the field of linguistics made in the 20th century. H ...more
Chomsky is credited with the creation of the theory of generative grammar, considered to be one of the most significant contributions to the field of linguistics made in the 20th century. H ...more
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