Noam Chomsky: 'We've Moved From A Functioning Democracy-It's By Now Really A Plutocracy'

[kpete]

M.I.T. professor emeritus Noam Chomsky reflects on eight decades of
struggle. Plus, Smiley and West share highlights from their favorite
conversations and say goodbye:

(snippet):

CHOMSKY: There's endless amounts of work to be done. Drive through a city you can see all sorts of things that have to be done, infrastructures collapsing, the schools have to be revived.

We have a situation which huge numbers of people want to work. There are plenty huge resources available, an enormous amount to be done. The system is so rotten they can't put them together.

Of course the reason is there's plenty of profit being made by those who pretty much dominate and control the system.

We've moved from the days where there was some kind of functioning democracy. It's by now really a plutocracy.


MUCH MORE:
https://soundcloud.com/smileyandwestshow/noam-chomsky-the-final-smiley

[daleanime]

1. Hell yes.....

Major K&R. Tons of work to be done, but that won't lined any body's pocket.

[Octafish]

2. A plutocracy empowered and enriched by perpetual war, Dr. C!

"Money trumps peace." -- George W. Bush, Feb. 14, 2007

[jsr]

3. Recommend

[cantbeserious]

4. The Oligarchs, Corporations And Banks Own And Control The Politicians That Own And Control Us

eom

[L0oniX]

5. Credits to Reagan and Clinton for leading the way!

[heaven05]

7. yep

+1000

[Pretzel_Warrior]

13. way to not mention either Bush. i find that weird.

[openfield]

6. If democracy broke down

it was in no small part due to apathy of half of Americans who don't even vote. That half would most likely vote Democratic. Make voting a legal requirement, like Australia. Not a big a sacrifice to keep the country from slipping into plutocracy, corporatocracy, etc.

[bobduca]

10. Yes the best defense to non-democracy is organized education.

"That half would most likely vote Democratic"

If only they were armed with the merest of rhetorical defenses from the purpose-built anti-democratic memes:

* Ill get rich one day so we'd better not raise taxes on the rich!
* the job-creators need low taxes to thrive and create jobs for us job-havers!
* tax and spend democrats just want to take your hard-earned paycheck!
* rationalize your racism, bigotry and xenophobia into exploitative policy stances!

[woo me with science]

8. K&R for the hideous truth.

[rhett o rick]

9. And those that support Clinton-Sachs are ok with the plutocracy status quo. nm

[Pretzel_Warrior]

12. your post can be disproven in the following way

I support Hillary Clinton for president should she choose to run.
I also support the progressive winds blowing across this country and being championed by Senator Elizabeth Warren, and I further hope to see a dramatic "correction" of our system through the force and work of the people who are getting screwed to a point that it is no longer deniable. A tipping point is almost reached.

Hillary Clinton--like most successful politicians is no idiot. She will support dramatic reversal of industrial policy, fiscal policy, etc. if there is political will to do so.

Whining about it on DU will not equate to "political will" however.

[rhett o rick]

14. There is nothing to indicate that "the progressive winds blowing across this country" will

be supported by Clinton-Sachs. There is no evidence that "She will support dramatic reversal of industrial policy, fiscal policy, etc. if there is political will to do so. " She makes no bones about her support for Wall Street and the TPP.

Why would you vote for a known corporatist and hope she will support the lower classes.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

15. You can really only judge her based on her time in the senate

Who she fundraises from has jack shit to do with it. You try to win a presidential election without serious coin from large donors. Even with Obama's grassroots $5 here and $200 there campaign, they still needed massive money from unions, lawyers, fiancial centers, etc.

So what specifically during Hillary's time in the senate did she do to cause you to believe she's nothing but a corporatist?

[rhett o rick]

20. She just received $400,000 from Goldman-Sachs that wasnt campaign money.

It went into her personal fortune. I certainly can judge her on that. Do you honestly think she sides with the 99% over Wall Street?

Will she repeal the Patriot Act or put severe controls on the NSA? Who do you think will run her economic team? Rubins, Summers, Bernanke, ??

I think she will make a similar president as Obama. Good for social programs but very conservative on defense, intelligence, and the economy. She is a supporter of the TPP.

[progressoid]

22. Huh? "Who she fundraises from has jack shit to do with it"

You can't be serious.

Did you think the same thing about Bush/Cheney and big oil money?

[bvar22]

21. Obama rode to victory on those "Progressive Winds" and Populist Rhetoric.

Remember?
He was going to:
*End the Wars

*Renegotiate NAFTA

*Make EFCA the Law of the Land"

*most transparent White House ever

*ban lobbyists from the White House

*walk the line with LABOR

*get a "Rescue Mutt", just like himself

*Raise Taxes on the RICH

*Raise the CAP on FICA Deductions

*Give us a Public Option

*Label GMO foods

...practically a reincarnation of Huey Long!
[font size=4]Obama's Army for “CHANGE”, Jan. 21, 2009[/font]

[font size=4]"Oh, What could have been."[/font]

Campaign 2008 showed that America is hungry for those values,
and that those values can WIN.


Unfortunately, Hillary is no "blank slate".
Everybody already knows who she is,
and who she works for.
She could never get away with a "Hope & Change" campaign.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

11. helluva linguist. and he's spot on about these economic issues. we need Occupy Wallstreet on steroid

because just sitting there letting it happen is only serving the oligarchy

[Egalitarian Thug]

16. Nuclear war, climate change, meanwhile at home,

The economy has been financialized. The core of the economic institutions these days are financial institutions. They are quite different from what banks used to be. They're probably a drag on the economy overall. Some analysts may take a much harsher stand. They survive primarily on the basis of government support. The government insurance policy, it's called informally too big to fail, not only bales them out repeatedly since the Reagan years, but also provides access to cheap credit, to high rankings, to be known to be essentially risk free since the tax payer is going to bail them out.

If there is such a thing as a historian...

Great except, thanks.

Interview stars about 20 minutes in.

[chervilant]

17. Watch "The Wall Street Code."

Haim Bodek's courageous candor shreds the curtain behind which the uber wealthy hide their continued amassing of obscene wealth using complex algorithms that average citizens will never comprehend.

[lonestarnot]

18. plutofuckedupcracy.

[raouldukelives]

19. Thank an investor. nt

[sarcasmo]

23. Has been for a few years and is morphing into a Police State Plutocracy.