Noam Chomsky - pro or con?

[Dooga Aetrus Blackrazor]

I have only read one book by Chomsky, which was intitled "Chomsky on Anarchism." I found it interesting, and, overall, Chomsky seems like an intellectual, to say the least, but he also seems to be more of an upper class individual who realizes leftist philosophy is correct but is hesitant to make real changes. He also supports more reformist efforts than one would expect from an anarchist. I enjoy his strong criticism of Leninists, but I find that he criticizes authoritarianism more than capitalism, and I believe they should both be criticized strongly.

What are your thoughts on him?

[piet11111]

i think that at best he is full of shit.
more likely is that he wants to get himself into a great leader position and live like a king over the backs of the proletariat.

i once send him an email to ask him what he did with the money he made with his books.
personally i consider that qestion an opportunity for him to make himself look good and show how seriously he is working on raising the quality of life for the working classes.
instead he said he wont answer such a childish qestion.

to me that was more then enough to know what type of "leftist" he was.

[FULL METAL JACKET]

He's great for topics on U.S foreign policy but that's where it stops.

[redstar2000]

He is a "left" bourgeois intellectual. His scholarly studies of U.S. imperialism "in action" are quite good...if, unfortunately, rather "dryly" written.

But when he talks about "what is to be done", he is quite dreadful!


Originally posted by Chomsky speaking about the U.S.
We are lucky that we are in a very free country, the freest country in the world.

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cf...=60&ItemID=9803 (http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=60&ItemID=9803)

http://www.websmileys.com/sm/cool/123.gif

[Janus]

But when he talks about "what is to be done", he is quite dreadful!
Well, compared to many other nations, the US is relatively free though it should be no cause for celebration. I think that's all that Chomsky meant by it. Now as for his views on voting, then that's where he really goes wrong.

[Commie Rat]

Exellent as a professor of lingustic, commentator on forgin policy and american intervention. Yes
Exellent as an anarchist, or radical communist. No

[Decolonize The Left]

You guys hit it on the head, redstar especially. Chomsky offers incredible analysis of imperialist America, both past and present, and his intellectual critiques must not be overlooked. He is very valuable as a tool to understand what is happening today, and why governments do the things they do. But that's pretty much all he is. He is not a revolutionary, nor does he claim to be.

-- August

[jaster]

he's a pure genius, i saw him speak at gonzaga university, wonderful.