Noam Chomsky | De-Americanizing the World

[marmar]

Noam Chomsky | De-Americanizing the World

Tuesday, 05 November 2013 09:54
By Noam Chomsky, Truthout | Op-Ed


During the latest episode of the Washington farce that has astonished a bemused world, a Chinese commentator wrote that if the United States cannot be a responsible member of the world system, perhaps the world should become "de-Americanized" — and separate itself from the rogue state that is the reigning military power but is losing credibility in other domains.

The Washington debacle's immediate source was the sharp shift to the right among the political class. In the past, the U.S. has sometimes been described sardonically — but not inaccurately — as a one-party state: the business party, with two factions called Democrats and Republicans.

That is no longer true. The U.S. is still a one-party state, the business party. But it only has one faction: moderate Republicans, now called New Democrats (as the U.S. Congressional coalition styles itself).

There is still a Republican organization, but it long ago abandoned any pretense of being a normal parliamentary party. Conservative commentator Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute describes today's Republicans as "a radical insurgency — ideologically extreme, scornful of facts and compromise, dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition": a serious danger to the society. ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/19825-noam-chomsky-de-americanizing-the-world

[jsr]

1. Recommend

[brooklynite]

2. And we should care what Noam Chomsky thinks because.....

[msanthrope]

3. Someday he will be Loam Chomsky, and you'll regret not listening to the Khmer Rouge apologist---

Seriously....you would think that after Michel Foucault so brilliantly deconstructed that lightweight in 1971, people would have learned--

http://www.chomsky.info/debates/1971xxxx.htm

That debate is one of my favorite pieces of literature, ever.

[johnd83]

4. More right wing crap

The US is only in decline because the right wing has decided that we should be. Repeating the idea that we are in decline just reinforces the right wing talking points. I don't understand where the idea that the US magically had so much more influence in the past came from. Maybe in the 5 years after the cold war when everything was in chaos the US had more soft power but historically the US still has tremendous influence over the rest of the world. Have the dollar be the reserve currency for the rest of the world hasn't worked out that well for our real economy. It would be a good thing if other countries diversified international currency trading.

[marmar]

5. Thanks for the kicks.

[malaise]

6. Good read

Rec