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The Essential Chomsky
One of the world's most prominent public intellectuals, Noam Chomsky has, in more than fifty years of writing on politics, philosophy, and language, revolutionized modern linguistics and established himself as one of the most original and wide-ranging political and social critics of our time. The Essential Chomsky brings together selections from his most important writings since 1959-from his groundbreaking critique of B.F. Skinner to his bestselling works Hegermony or Survival and Failed States-concerning subjects ranging from critiques of corporate media and U.S. interventionism to intellectual freedom and the political economy of human rights. With a foreword by Anthony Arnove, The Essential Chomsky is an unprecedented, comprehensive overview of Chomsky's thought.
515 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
About the author
Noam Chomsky
1,011 books17.5k followersAvram Noam Chomsky is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science. He is a laureate professor of linguistics at the University of Arizona and an institute professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Among the most cited living authors, Chomsky has written more than 150 books on topics such as linguistics, war, and politics. In addition to his work in linguistics, since the 1960s Chomsky has been an influential voice on the American left as a consistent critic of U.S. foreign policy, contemporary capitalism, and corporate influence on political institutions and the media.
Born to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants (his father was William Chomsky) in Philadelphia, Chomsky developed an early interest in anarchism from alternative bookstores in New York City. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania. During his postgraduate work in the Harvard Society of Fellows, Chomsky developed the theory of transformational grammar for which he earned his doctorate in 1955. That year he began teaching at MIT, and in 1957 emerged as a significant figure in linguistics with his landmark work Syntactic Structures, which played a major role in remodeling the study of language. From 1958 to 1959 Chomsky was a National Science Foundation fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study. He created or co-created the universal grammar theory, the generative grammar theory, the Chomsky hierarchy, and the minimalist program. Chomsky also played a pivotal role in the decline of linguistic behaviorism, and was particularly critical of the work of B.F. Skinner.
An outspoken opponent of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, which he saw as an act of American imperialism, in 1967 Chomsky rose to national attention for his anti-war essay "The Responsibility of Intellectuals". Becoming associated with the New Left, he was arrested multiple times for his activism and placed on President Richard M. Nixon's list of political opponents. While expanding his work in linguistics over subsequent decades, he also became involved in the linguistics wars. In collaboration with Edward S. Herman, Chomsky later articulated the propaganda model of media criticism in Manufacturing Consent, and worked to expose the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. His defense of unconditional freedom of speech, including that of Holocaust denial, generated significant controversy in the Faurisson affair of the 1980s. Chomsky's commentary on the Cambodian genocide and the Bosnian genocide also generated controversy. Since retiring from active teaching at MIT, he has continued his vocal political activism, including opposing the 2003 invasion of Iraq and supporting the Occupy movement. An anti-Zionist, Chomsky considers Israel's treatment of Palestinians to be worse than South African–style apartheid, and criticizes U.S. support for Israel.
Chomsky is widely recognized as having helped to spark the cognitive revolution in the human sciences, contributing to the development of a new cognitivistic framework for the study of language and the mind. Chomsky remains a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy, contemporary capitalism, U.S. involvement and Israel's role in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and mass media. Chomsky and his ideas are highly influential in the anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movements. Since 2017, he has been Agnese Helms Haury Chair in the Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona.
Born to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants (his father was William Chomsky) in Philadelphia, Chomsky developed an early interest in anarchism from alternative bookstores in New York City. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania. During his postgraduate work in the Harvard Society of Fellows, Chomsky developed the theory of transformational grammar for which he earned his doctorate in 1955. That year he began teaching at MIT, and in 1957 emerged as a significant figure in linguistics with his landmark work Syntactic Structures, which played a major role in remodeling the study of language. From 1958 to 1959 Chomsky was a National Science Foundation fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study. He created or co-created the universal grammar theory, the generative grammar theory, the Chomsky hierarchy, and the minimalist program. Chomsky also played a pivotal role in the decline of linguistic behaviorism, and was particularly critical of the work of B.F. Skinner.
An outspoken opponent of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, which he saw as an act of American imperialism, in 1967 Chomsky rose to national attention for his anti-war essay "The Responsibility of Intellectuals". Becoming associated with the New Left, he was arrested multiple times for his activism and placed on President Richard M. Nixon's list of political opponents. While expanding his work in linguistics over subsequent decades, he also became involved in the linguistics wars. In collaboration with Edward S. Herman, Chomsky later articulated the propaganda model of media criticism in Manufacturing Consent, and worked to expose the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. His defense of unconditional freedom of speech, including that of Holocaust denial, generated significant controversy in the Faurisson affair of the 1980s. Chomsky's commentary on the Cambodian genocide and the Bosnian genocide also generated controversy. Since retiring from active teaching at MIT, he has continued his vocal political activism, including opposing the 2003 invasion of Iraq and supporting the Occupy movement. An anti-Zionist, Chomsky considers Israel's treatment of Palestinians to be worse than South African–style apartheid, and criticizes U.S. support for Israel.
Chomsky is widely recognized as having helped to spark the cognitive revolution in the human sciences, contributing to the development of a new cognitivistic framework for the study of language and the mind. Chomsky remains a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy, contemporary capitalism, U.S. involvement and Israel's role in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and mass media. Chomsky and his ideas are highly influential in the anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movements. Since 2017, he has been Agnese Helms Haury Chair in the Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 20, 2025
Aprendí demasiado sobre la política internacional de USA. Chomsky lee algunos eventos con gran exactitud. El análisis de Israel y Gaza no puede estar más acertado. Gracias a él entendí el escándalo Irán contra y otras políticas reprobables de USA.
Estoy de acuerdo en el análisis que hace sobre la importancia que tiene resolver la economía mundial antes de acercarnos a cualquier otro problema. Cualquier problema es periférico. Así como la incompatibilidad del capitalismo con poder resolver la crisis ambiental.
El análisis sobre las asociaciones civiles es esperanzador y motivante. El mundo necesita que nos organicemos localmente, cara a cara. Democracia real.
Por otro lado en ocasiones miente deliberadamente con tal de probar un punto y dejar mal parado al capitalismo o a USA. (Camboya, leyes sobre la libertad de expresión, Adam Smith).
Chomsky es crítico solamente por querer burlarse o provocar. Cualquier acción, por mínima que sea, en apoyo a USA es imperdonable para Chomsky. Por ejemplo, llama a Lester Pearson un criminal de guerra por no oponerse a Vietnam (decisión que probablemente hizo atado de manos). Y se siente un gran disruptor mientras que Pearson fue mediador entre Egipto e Israel en la Crisis del Suez a través de la ONU, evitando que la guerra escalara. Además que extendió el estado de bienestar en Canadá.
Estoy de acuerdo en el análisis que hace sobre la importancia que tiene resolver la economía mundial antes de acercarnos a cualquier otro problema. Cualquier problema es periférico. Así como la incompatibilidad del capitalismo con poder resolver la crisis ambiental.
El análisis sobre las asociaciones civiles es esperanzador y motivante. El mundo necesita que nos organicemos localmente, cara a cara. Democracia real.
Por otro lado en ocasiones miente deliberadamente con tal de probar un punto y dejar mal parado al capitalismo o a USA. (Camboya, leyes sobre la libertad de expresión, Adam Smith).
Chomsky es crítico solamente por querer burlarse o provocar. Cualquier acción, por mínima que sea, en apoyo a USA es imperdonable para Chomsky. Por ejemplo, llama a Lester Pearson un criminal de guerra por no oponerse a Vietnam (decisión que probablemente hizo atado de manos). Y se siente un gran disruptor mientras que Pearson fue mediador entre Egipto e Israel en la Crisis del Suez a través de la ONU, evitando que la guerra escalara. Además que extendió el estado de bienestar en Canadá.
June 25, 2019
Chomsky vuelve a dejarme sin palabras y con una lucha interna sobre mis privilegios, sobre mi situación ante el mundo y la información, como futura internacionalista.
April 10, 2020
Es un libro muy interesante, y fácil de leer para alguien que se interesa en la concepción actual del mundo por parte de un pensador moderno.
Un libro que te hace pensar y cuestionarte sobre el capitalismo y el papel que se tiene como individuo en el.
Un libro que te hace pensar y cuestionarte sobre el capitalismo y el papel que se tiene como individuo en el.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews