This past weekend renowned American philosopher, cognitive scientist, and linguist, Noam Chomsky, delivered a speech at New York’s New School. When he finished he opened up the floor to questions from the audience. In one of those questions Chomsky was asked what his thoughts were on Donald Trump. Chomsky replied, “Today’s Democrats are what used to be called moderate Republicans. The Republicans have just drifted off the spectrum. They’re so committed to extreme wealth and power that they cannot get votes. So what has happened is that they’ve mobilized sectors of the population that have been around for a long time. Trump may be comic relief, but it’s not that different from the mainstream, which I think is more important.”
You can watch the clip from Democracy Now! above (video #1, feature headline video), and watch the full video of Chomsky’s speech entitled On Power & Ideology below (video #2), wherein he discusses, among other things: George Orwell, the suppression of ideas, and the myth of American exceptionalism. In video #3 Chomsky explains why America — not Iran — poses the greatest threat to world peace. And in video #4 is the full clip of Chomsky’s Q&A with the New School audience. Video #5 is a clip from Chomsky’s now legendary debate with French philosopher, Michel Foucault, from 1971, where they discuss the question of human nature.
Following Chomsky’s New York speech on power, ideology, George Orwell & America, you might be interested in following it up with video #6 — Christopher Hitchens’ (Why Orwell Matters, Perseus Books, 2003) terrific 2009 interview below where he discusses the importance of George Orwell with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Noam Chomsky’s new book is entitled Because We Say So (available on Amazon).
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