Noam Chomsky Quotes About Power

• It’s ridiculous to talk about freedom in a society dominated by huge corporations. What kind of freedom is there inside a corporation? They’re totalitarian institutions - you take orders from above and maybe give them to people below you. There’s about as much freedom as under Stalinism.

  Noam Chomsky

  Freedom, Power, Government

  Noam Chomsky (2013). “How the World Works”, p.217, Soft Skull Press

• The corporations plainly want academic scholarship to create a web of mystification that will avoid any public awareness of the way in which power actually functions in the society, and the faculty has caught the message and they do it magnificently.

  Noam Chomsky

  Power, Society, Want

  Noam Chomsky (2004). “Language and Politics”, p.136, AK Press

• For the powerful, crimes are those that others commit.

  Noam Chomsky

  Powerful, Political, Crime

  Noam Chomsky, David Barsamian (2010). “Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World”, p.73, Macmillan

• The intellectual tradition is one of servility to power, and if I didn't betray it I'd be ashamed of myself.

  Noam Chomsky

  Responsibility, Intelligent, Power

  Interview on BBC's "The Late Show", November 25, 1992.

• The principle that human nature, in its psychological aspects, is nothing more than a product of history and given social relations removes all barriers to coercion and manipulation by the powerful.

  Noam Chomsky

  Nature, Powerful, Principles

• States are violent institutions. The government of any country, including ours, represents some sort of domestic power structure, and it's usually violent. States are violent to the extent that they're powerful, that's roughly accurate.

  Noam Chomsky

  Country, Powerful, Government

  "Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media". Documentary, Biography, War, 1992.

• It is not that I am not a fan of American exceptionalism. That is like saying I am not a fan of the moon being made out of green cheese - it does not exist. Powerful states have quite typically considered themselves to be exceptionally magnificent, and the United States is no exception to that. The basis for it is not very substantial to put it politely.

  Noam Chomsky

  Powerful, Moon, Green

  Interview with "The Young Turks", October 26, 2010.

• People are dangerous. If they're able to involve themselves in issues that matter, they may change the distribution of power, to the detriment of those who are rich and privileged.

  Noam Chomsky

  Power, Issues, People

  David Barsamian, Noam Chomsky (2001). “Propaganda and the Public Mind: Conversations with Noam Chomsky”, p.30, Pluto Press

• Remember, the U.S. is a powerful state, it's not like Libya. If Libya wants to carry out terrorist acts, they hire Carlos the Jackal or something. The United States hires terrorist states.

  Noam Chomsky

  Powerful, Want, United States

  "Distorted Morality: America’s War on Terror?". Talk at Harvard University, chomsky.info. February 2002.

• The Bush Administration do have moral values. Their moral values are very explicit: shine the boots of the rich and the powerful, kick everybody else in the face, and let your grandchildren pay for it. That simple principle predicts almost everything that's happening.

  Noam Chomsky

  Powerful, Simple, Grandchildren

  Interview by Steve Scher on KUOW-FM 94.9, 2004.

• The dangers of unexamined and unregulated monopoly power, particularly in the state executive, are hardly news. The right reaction is not passive acquiescence.

  Noam Chomsky

  Power, Acquiescence, News

  Noam Chomsky (2015). “Because We Say So”, p.108, City Lights Books

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