Power Systems

November 5, 2012
For decades, famed MIT linguist and political critic Chomsky has provided a sober perspective on U.S. policy. In this set of interviews (from 2010 to 2012) with journalist Barsamian (director of Alternative Radio), Chomsky (Hegemony or Survival) cuts through bipartisan centrism while exploring such urgent concerns as the power shift from sovereign nations to multinational corporate entities, "from the global workforce to the owners of the world: transnational capital, global financial institutions." Analyzing America's strategic interests in Afghanistan, he points to the long-planned Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, intended to carry natural gas to India, as well as historical precedents like the 1915 invasion of Haiti. Elsewhere, he addresses both changes in Western activism and the West's "eroding" system of Middle Eastern dictatorships. The abuses of power discussed can be painful to absorb, yet for those who believe that in the discovery of truth lies hope, Chomsky proves an excellent guide. The penultimate interview, a rare intersection of Chomsky's linguistic and political work, ties the proliferation of national dogmas to our inborn ability to learn language. If every literate person in the U.S. and Europe were to pick up Chomsky's latest, it's not outlandish to imagine a tidal shift in modern conceptions of global power and freedom.

March 25, 2013
In this series of interviews with activist-journalist David Barsamian, noted political theorist and linguist Noam Chomsky details the essence of power in the modern political world and describes the tendency of major social institutions to generate propaganda that perpetuates elitist control. These recordings took place not in a studio, but rather in Chomsky’s office. In fact, at several points during the sessions, we hear the muted electronic buzzing of what must be a telephone. However, nonceremonious production values fit nicely with Chomsky’s no-nonsense approach. Barsamian serves as an effective interviewer, guiding the flow of conversation around a series of recurring themes while making room for hard-hitting, off-the-cuff insights from Chomsky. A Metropolitan paperback.