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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums'They've turned into raging monsters': Noam Chomsky links GOP lies to Nazi propaganda
Link to tweet
https://www.alternet.org/2021/05/noam-chomsky-republican-party/
The United States has had 17 different presidents during Noam Chomsky's lifetime, from Calvin Coolidge to Joe Biden and the left-wing author, now 92, has lived through major historical events including the Great Depression, Watergate, 9/11, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Chomsky discussed the challenges of the Biden era during a recent interview with author/journalist David Masciotra for the Los Angeles Review of Books.
Chomsky discussed his most recent book, "Consequences of Capitalism: Manufacturing Discontent and Resistance," in the interview with Masciotra, warning that people who are hurting economically can be manipulated by far-right extremists. Chomsky has been a blistering critic of neoliberal economics, which he said continues to fail millions of people in the United States.
"I've seen it over and over," Chomsky told Masciotra. "During the Kennedy and Johnson years, the technocratic and meritocratic elite, my colleagues from Harvard and MIT, were flocking down to Washington to show how the world should be run. Well, in Vietnam, we saw what came of that. It was not unpredictable. Those of us in the streets were warning of it all along. Now, it is the same. Neoliberalism, whatever is in the minds of people who advocate for it maybe they don't even think about it is an explicit effort . to hand power to private institutions, which are dedicated to self-enrichment."
Neoliberalism, Chomsky added, only worsens the divide between the haves and the have-nots in the United States.
"The majority of the population gets by paycheck to paycheck," Chomsky told Masciotra. "Real wages have stagnated for 40 years. The gains of productivity growth concentrate in very few pockets. This leads to . unfocused anger. Is it surprising? People aren't told what is really robbing them. Instead, they are told that it is immigrants, Blacks, some pedophiles from outer space, if you believe QAnon anything but what is actually happening."
*snip*
Uncle Joe
(58,362 posts)Thanks for the thread Nevilledog.
appalachiablue
(41,132 posts).. "The majority of the population gets by paycheck to paycheck," Chomsky told Masciotra. "Real wages have stagnated for 40 years. The gains of productivity growth concentrate in very few pockets. This leads to
. unfocused anger. Is it surprising?
People aren't told what is really robbing them. Instead, they are told that it is immigrants, Blacks, some pedophiles from outer space, if you believe QAnon anything but what is actually happening."...
crickets
(25,980 posts)Carlitos Brigante
(26,501 posts)JoeOtterbein
(7,700 posts)Chomsky is, and has always been, correct. The labor-classes have been used and abused during his entire life. And we still are.
AZ8theist
(5,461 posts)Chompsky always performs hammer to nail perfectly.
It's just a shame more people don't listen. Or know how to think or reason...
Orrex
(63,212 posts)Sick of Chomsky being 100% spot-on and 100% ignored by the mainstream.
Response to Orrex (Reply #6)
Dave says This message was self-deleted by its author.
blm
(113,061 posts)Ask 10 random people in a grocery store to define the word neoliberalism.
Orrex
(63,212 posts)The Right has been 1000X better at branding and messaging for at least the past 50 years. The Left tends to articulate complex social strategies for change and then wonders why their lengthy and esoteric dissertations fail to catch fire in the popular imagination.
Justice matters.
(6,929 posts)Polls show a big majority of people's preferred policies are almost to the left of Bernie...
Dont believe it? Check out these polls.
>> https://prospect.org/power/americans-liberal-even-know/
The Economy
82 percent of Americans think wealthy people have too much power and influence in Washington.
69 percent think large businesses have too much power and influence in Washington.
59 percentand 72 percent of likely votersthink Wall Street has too much power and influence in Washington.
78 percent of likely voters support stronger rules and enforcement on the financial industry.
65 percent of Americans think our economic system unfairly favors powerful interests.
59 percent of Americansand 43 percent of Republicansthink corporations make too much profit.
Inequality
82 percent of Americans think economic inequality is a very big (48 percent) or moderately big (34 percent) problem. Even 69 percent of Republicans share this view.
66 percent of Americans think money and wealth should be distributed more evenly.
72 percent of Americans say it is extremely or very important, and 23 percent say it is somewhat important, to reduce poverty.
59 percent of registered votersand 51 percent of Republicansfavor raising the maximum amount that low-wage workers can make and still be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, from $14,820 to $18,000.
Money in Politics
96 percent of Americansincluding 96 percent of Republicansbelieve money in politics is to blame for the dysfunction of the U.S. political system.
84 percent of Americansincluding 80 percent of Republicansbelieve money has too much influence in politics.
78 percent of Americans say we need sweeping new laws to reduce the influence of money in politics.
73 percent of registered voters have an unfavorable opinion of the Supreme Courts Citizens United decision.
Taxes
80 percent of Americans think some corporations dont pay their fair share of taxes.
78 percent think some wealthy people dont pay their fair share of taxes.
76 percent believe the wealthiest Americans should pay higher taxes.
60 percent of registered voters believe corporations pay too little in taxes.
87 percent of Americans say it is critical to preserve Social Security, even if it means increasing Social Security taxes paid by wealthy Americans.
67 percent of Americans support lifting the cap to require higher-income workers to pay Social Security taxes on all of their wages.
Minimum Wage
66 percent of Americans favor raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.
59 percent favor raising the federal minimum wage to $12 an hour.
48 percent support raising the national minimum wage to $15 an hour.
(A survey of registered voters found that 54 percent favored a $15 minimum wage.)
63 percent of registered voters think the minimum wage should be adjusted each year by the rate of inflation.
Workers' Rights
61 percent of Americansincluding 42 percent of Republicansapprove of labor unions.
74 percent of registered votersincluding 71 percent of Republicanssupport requiring employers to offer paid parental and medical leave.
78 percent of likely voters favor establishing a national fund that offers all workers 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave.
Health Care
60 percent of Americans believe it is the federal governments responsibility to make sure all Americans have healthcare coverage.
60 percent of registered voters favor expanding Medicare to provide health insurance to every American.
58 percent of the public favors replacing Obamacare with a federally funded healthcare program providing insurance for all Americans.
64 percent of registered voters favor their state accepting the Obamacare plan for expanding Medicaid in their state.
Education
63 percent of registered votersincluding 47 percent of Republicansof Americans favor making four-year public colleges and universities tuition-free.
59 percent of Americans favor free early-childhood education.
Climate Change and the Environment
76 percent of voters are very concerned or somewhat concerned about climate change.
68 percent of voters think it is possible to protect the environment and protect jobs.
72 percent of voters think it is a bad idea to cut funding for scientific research on the environment and climate change.
59 percent of voters say more needs to be done to address climate change.
Gun Safety
84 percent of Americans support requiring background checks for all gun buyers.
77 percent of gun owners support requiring background checks for all gun buyers.
Criminal Justice
57 percent of Americans believe police officers generally treat blacks and other minorities differently than they treat whites.
60 percent of Americans believe the recent killings of black men by police are part of a broader pattern of how police treat black Americans (compared with 39 percent who believe they are isolated incidents).
Immigration
68 percent of Americansincluding 48 percent of Republicansbelieve the countrys openness to people from around the world is essential to who we are as a nation. Just 29 percent say that if America is too open to people from all over the world, we risk losing our identity as a nation.
65 percent of Americansincluding 42 percent of Republicanssay immigrants strengthen the country because of their hard work and talents. Just 26 percent say immigrants are a burden because they take our jobs, housing and health care.
64 percent of Americans think an increasing number of people from different races, ethnic groups, and nationalities makes the country a better place to live. Only 5 percent say it makes the United States a worse place to live, and 29 percent say it makes no difference.
76 percent of registered votersincluding 69 percent of Republicanssupport allowing undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children (Dreamers) to stay in the country. 58 percent think Dreamers should be allowed to stay and become citizens if they meet certain requirements. Another 18 percent think they should be allowed to stay and become legal residents, but not citizens. Only 15 percent think they should be removed or deported from the country.
Abortion and Women's Health
58 percent of Americans believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
68 percent of Americansincluding 54 percent of Republicanssupport the requirement for private health insurance plans to cover the full cost of birth control.
Same-Sex Marriage
62 percent of Americansincluding 70 percent of independents and 40 percent of Republicanssupport same-sex marriage.
74 percent of millennials (born after 1981) support same-sex marriage.
But the Senate is set up to favor republiQons' policies (or obstructing Left-leaning policies).
crickets
(25,980 posts)BobTheSubgenius
(11,563 posts)inequity is, if not front and center, at least an important side effect or partial cause. Wage and wealth inequality is so important - it's killing the ostensible American Dream.
I've said it many times - deprivation doesn't cause revolutions like inequality does. If people think the suffering is widely shared, they will persevere along with their friends and neighbours. If they think that they, either alone or as part of a group, are bearing a disproportionate amount of the burden, they will not suffer in silence indefinitely.
pecosbob
(7,538 posts)Billionaires and nazis running shit.
live love laugh
(13,109 posts)with an assault on the media to keep them in the dark.
Disastrous mix.
colsohlibgal
(5,275 posts)The Republicans threw a fit about Biden sending money To everyday Americans because it would add to the deficit.....funny how they never mention that when cutting taxes for Billionaires and Large Corporations.
Wages stagnated for 40 years....back to Reagan, no surprise.
malaise
(268,998 posts)Rec