It makes sense to work towards a better world, but it doesn't make any sense to have illusions about what the real world is. Noam Chomsky More Quotes by Noam Chomsky More Quotes From Noam Chomsky The country was founded on the principle that primary role of government is to protect property from the majority, and so it remains. Noam Chomsky majoritygovernmentcountry The money in politics is a cash cow for the media. Noam Chomsky cashcowsmedia Some may remember, if you have good memories, that there used to be a concept in Anglo-American law called a presumption of innocence, innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Now that's so deep in history that there's no point even bringing it up, but it did once exist. Noam Chomsky presumption-of-innocencelawmemories In societies that profess some respect for law, suspects are apprehended and brought to fair trial. I stress 'suspects.' Noam Chomsky stresstrialslaw Armed attack has a definition in international law. It means sudden, overwhelming, instantaneous ongoing attack. Noam Chomsky ongoinglawmean It was during the Reagan years that defiance of international law and the U.N. Charter became entirely open. Noam Chomsky defiancelawyears Some international law specialists compare the invasion of Iraq to the 'crimes against the peace' for which Nazi leaders were indicted at Nuremberg. Noam Chomsky iraqleaderlaw In the case of Yugoslavia v. NATO, one of the charges was genocide. The U.S. appealed to the court, saying that, by law, the United States is immune to the charge of genocide, self-immunized, and the court accepted that, so the case proceeded against the other NATO powers but not against the United States. Noam Chomsky yugoslaviaselflaw The U.S. - the idea that the U.S. has introduced and imposed principles of international law, that's hardly even a joke. The United States has even gone so far as to veto Security Council resolutions calling on all states to observe international law. That was in the 1980s under Reagan. Noam Chomsky principleslawideas I do think that Magna Carta and international law are worth paying some attention to. Noam Chomsky lawattentionthinking The crimes against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories and elsewhere, particularly Lebanon, are so shocking that the only emotionally valid reaction is rage and a call for extreme actions. But that does not help the victims. And, in fact, it's likely to harm them. Noam Chomsky lebanonterritorydoe When Reagan left office, he was the most unpopular living president, apart from Nixon, even below Carter. If you look at his years in office, he was not particularly popular. He was more or less average. He severely harmed the American economy. Noam Chomsky officeaverageyears A tremendous amount of the entrepreneurial initiative, if you want to call it that, comes from the dynamic state sector on which most of the economy relies to socialize costs and risks and privatize eventual profit. And that's achieved by, if you like, advertising. Noam Chomsky costriskwant Surely few if any readers have come across the sentence they are now reading, and someone who had by chance heard or seen it could not possibly remember such a fact. Noam Chomsky chancereadingfacts In some respects, South African apartheid was more vicious than Israeli practices, and in some respects the opposite is true. Noam Chomsky viciouspracticeopposites The respected intellectuals are those who conform and serve power interests. Noam Chomsky conforminterest Independence of mind, enthusiasm, dedication to the field, and willingness to challenge and question and to explore new direction. There are plenty of people like that, but schools tend to discourage those characteristics. Noam Chomsky dedicationpeopleschool The Republican and Democratic Parties are only factions of the Government Party. Noam Chomsky republicanpartygovernment It's designed to carry forward the neoliberal project to maximize profit and domination, and to set the working people in the world in competition with one another so as to lower wages to increase insecurity Noam Chomsky insecuritycompetitionpeople Reparations - not just aid - should be provided by those responsible for devastating Iraqi civilian society by cruel sanctions and military actions, and - together with other criminal states - for supporting Saddam Hussein through his worst atrocities and beyond. That is the minimum that honesty requires. Noam Chomsky honestymilitarytogether
