Noam Chomsky: The responsibility of privilege

[kpete]

Noam Chomsky: The responsibility of privilege
The famed linguist and political activist says intellectuals have a moral duty to hold centres of power to account.
Talk to Al Jazeera Last Modified: 12 Jan 2013 14:19

“The more privilege you have, the more opportunity you have. The more opportunity you have, the more responsibility you have.”

"In the 1950s and the 1960s, which was the biggest growth period in American history, financial institutions were regulated. The New Deal regulations were in place and there were no financial crisis, none .... Starting in the 1970s it changed pretty radically. There were decisions made - not laws of nature - to reconstruct the economy."

And decades later, these decisions have resulted in a situation which "really is a catastrophe," he says.

But Chomsky also feels that "nothing’s ever gone too far. Anything can be reversed; these are human decisions."

He emphasises: "The more privilege you have, the more opportunity you have. The more opportunity you have, the more responsibility you have."

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http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/2013/01/201311294541129427.html