Noam Chomsky

Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is the Institute Professor Emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chomsky is credited with the creation of the theory of generative grammar, often considered the most significant contribution to the field of theoretical linguistics of the 20th century. He also helped spark the cognitive revolution in psychology through his review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior, which challenged the behaviorist approach to the study of mind and language dominant in the 1950s. His naturalistic approach to the study of language has also impacted the philosophy of language and mind (see Harman, Fodor). He is also credited with the establishment of the so-called Chomsky hierarchy, a classification of formal languages in terms of their generative power. Chomsky is also widely known for his political activism, and for his criticism of the foreign policy of the United States and other governments. Chomsky describes himself as a libertarian socialist, a sympathizer of anarcho-syndicalism.

Chomsky's influence as a political activist

Opposition to the Vietnam War

Chomsky became one of the most prominent opponents of the Vietnam War in February 1967, with the publication of his essay "The Responsibility of Intellectuals" http://www.nybooks.com/articles/12172 in the New York Review of Books.

Related Topics:
February - 1967

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Allen J. Matusow, "The Vietnam War, the Liberals, and the Overthrow of LBJ" (1984) http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/readings/Matusow_VietnamWar.pdf:

Related Topics:
Allen J. Matusow - 1984

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:"By 1967 the radicals were obsessed by the war and frustrated by their impotence to affect its course. The government was unmoved by protest, the people were uninformed and apathetic, and American technology was tearing Vietnam apart. What, then, was their responsibility? Noam Chomsky explored this problem in February 1967 in the New York Review. By virtue of their training and leisure, intellectuals had a greater responsibility than ordinary citizens for the actions of the state, Chomsky said. It was their special responsibility "to speak the truth and expose lies." ... concluded by quoting an essay written twenty years before by Dwight Macdonald, an essay that implied that in time of crisis exposing lies might not be enough. "Only those who are willing to resist authority themselves when it conflicts too intolerably with their personal moral code," Macdonald had written, "only they have the right to condemn." Chomsky's article was immediately recognized as an important intellectual event. Along with the radical students, radical intellectuals were moving "from protest to resistance."

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A contemporary reaction from Raziel Abielson, Chairman of the Department of Philosophy at New York University http://www.nybooks.com/articles/12102:

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:"...Chomsky's morally impassioned and powerfully argued denunciation of American aggression in Vietnam and throughout the world is the most moving political document I have read since the death of Leon Trotsky. It is inspiring to see a brilliant scientist risk his prestige, his access to lucrative government grants, and his reputation for Olympian objectivity by taking a clearcut, no-holds-barred, adversary position on the burning moral-political issue of the day...."

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Chomsky also participated in "resistance" activities, which he described in subsequent essays and letters published in the New York Review of Books: withholding half of his income tax http://www.chomsky.info/debates/19670323.htm, taking part in the 1967 march on the Pentagon, and spending a night in jail. http://www.chomsky.info/articles/19671207.htm In the spring of 1972, Chomsky testified on the origins of the war before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by J. William Fulbright.

Related Topics:
1972 - Senate Foreign Relations Committee - J. William Fulbright

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Alleged marginalization in the mainstream media

Despite Chomsky's prominence during the Vietnam War, by the end of the war Chomsky and his supporters claimed that he was becoming increasingly marginalized by the mainstream media in the U.S. Chomsky's supporters, who regard him as a dissident, often criticize this alleged marginalization http://indy.pabn.org/news.php?id=90 http://hnn.us/articles/9538.html, arguing that he is kept out of the public spotlight because his comments are too unsettling for corporate broadcasters to dare advertise.

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His supporters have also argued that Chomsky is widely caricatured and discredited by elites who wish to sideline or undermine him. For example, Milan Rai has suggested that the controversy over Chomsky's 1979 comments on the Khmer Rouge was manufactured as part of a propaganda campaign to discredit Chomsky.

Related Topics:
Caricature - Milan Rai - 1979 - Khmer Rouge - Propaganda

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Despite the criticisms, interviews with Chomsky or his writings have still occasionally appeared in popular media outlets in the United States such as CNN, Time Magazine, Foreign Policy and others. Critics of Chomsky have argued his mainstream media coverage is adequate, and not unusual considering the fact that academics in general often receive low priority in the American media.

Related Topics:
CNN - Time Magazine - Foreign Policy

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Over the years Chomsky has gained some supporters in prominent American publications. In 1979, Paul Robinson wrote in the New York Times Book Review, "Judged in terms of the power, range, novelty and influence of his thought, Noam Chomsky is arguably the most important intellectual alive today." This quote has since become one of Chomsky's most well-known titles, and is frequently used by fans to describe the professor. However, in his article Robinson did go on to describe Chomsky's political writings as "maddeningly simple-minded."

Related Topics:
1979 - New York Times Book Review

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A 1995 Boston Globe profile by Anthony Flint, "Divided Legacy", described Chomsky's increasing marginalization http://www.chomsky.info/onchomsky/19951119.htm:

Related Topics:
1995 - Boston Globe

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:"The New York Review of Books was one soapbox for Chomsky — but only until 1972 or so. Chomsky says that's because the magazine's editorial policy abruptly shifted to the right around then. But he couldn't seem to find a home with other publications, either. He went from huddling with newspaper editors and bouncing ideas off them to being virtually banned. The New Republic wouldn't have him, in part because of his unrelenting criticism of Israel. The Nation? Occasionally. But for the most part, mainstream outlets shunned him. Today, his articles on social and political developments are confined to lesser-known journals such as the magazine Z.

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More dismissively, Paul Berman wrote in Terror and Liberalism (2003): "In the United States, the principal newspapers and magazines have tended to ignore Chomsky's political writings for many years now, because of his reputation as a crank." http://www.demosophia.com/2003/09/paul_berman_on_.html

Related Topics:
2003 - Crank

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When CNN presenter Jeff Greenfield was asked why Chomsky was never on his show, he explained that Chomsky might "be of the leading intellectuals who can't talk on television. If you got a 22-minute show, and a guy takes five minutes to warm up, he's out." Greenfield described this need to "say things between two commercials" as the media's requirement for "concision". Chomsky has elaborated on this, saying that "the beauty of is that you can only repeat conventional thoughts", and that if the media were better propagandists they would let dissidents on more because the time restraint would stop them properly explaining their radical views and they "would sound like they were from Neptune". For this reason, Chomsky rejects many offers to appear on TV, preferring the written medium.

Related Topics:
CNN - Jeff Greenfield - Neptune

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Since Chomsky's 9-11 became a bestseller in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Chomsky has attracted more attention from the mainstream American media. For example, The New York Times published an article in May 2002 describing the popularity of 9-11 http://www.theconversation.org/chomsky911.html. In January 2004, the Times published a review of Chomsky's Hegemony or Survival by Samantha Power http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/04/books/review/04POWERT.html, and in February, the Times published an op-ed by Chomsky himself, criticizing the Israeli West Bank Barrier for taking Palestinian land http://www.chomsky.info/articles/20040223.htm.

Related Topics:
September 11, 2001 attacks - The New York Times - May - 2002 - January - 2004 - February - Op-ed - Israeli West Bank Barrier

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Worldwide audience

Despite Chomsky's alleged marginalization in the mainstream US media, Chomsky is one of the most globally famous figures of the left, especially among academics and university students, and frequently travels across the United States, Europe, and the Third World. He has a very large following of supporters worldwide as well as a dense speaking schedule, drawing large crowds wherever he goes. He is often booked up to two years in advance. He was one of the main speakers at the 2002 World Social Forum. He is interviewed at length in alternative media http://www.chomsky.info/interviews.htm Many of his books are bestsellers, including 9-11. http://www.theconversation.org/chomsky911.html

Related Topics:
University - Third World - 2002 - World Social Forum - Alternative media

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The 1992 film Manufacturing Consent, shown widely on college campuses and broadcast on PBS, gave Chomsky a younger audience. In a 1995 article in REVelation, Alex Burns described the film as a "double edged sword--it brought Chomsky's work to a wider audience and made it accessible, yet it has also been used by younger activists to idolise him, creating a 'cult of personality.'" http://www.chomsky.info/onchomsky/20011115.htm

Related Topics:
PBS - 1995 - Cult of personality

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Chomsky's popularity has become a cultural phenomenon. Bono of U2 called Chomsky a "rebel without a pause, the Elvis of academia." Rage Against The Machine took copies of his books on tour with the band. Pearl Jam ran a small pirate radio on one of their tours, playing Chomsky talks mixed along with their music. R.E.M. asked Chomsky to go on tour with them and open their concerts with a lecture (he declined). Chomsky lectures have been featured on the B-sides of records from Chumbawamba and other groups. http://indy.pabn.org/news.php?id=90 Many anti-globalization and anti-war activists regard Chomsky as an inspiration.

Related Topics:
U2 - Rage Against The Machine - Pearl Jam - R.E.M. - B-side - Chumbawamba - Anti-globalization

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Chomsky is widely read outside the US. 9-11 was published in 26 countries and translated into 23 foreign languages http://www.sevenstories.com/Book/index.cfm?GCOI=58322100546790; it was a bestseller in at least five countries, including Canada and Japan http://www.theconversation.org/chomsky911.html. Chomsky's views are often given coverage on public broadcasting networks around the world- a fact supporters say is in marked contrast to his rare apperances in the US media. In the UK, for example, he appears frequently on the BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/3732345.stm

Related Topics:
Canada - Japan - Public broadcasting - UK - BBC

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