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Quotes by Noam Chomsky

Born: 7th December 1928
Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, and social critic.
Welcome to our collection of powerful insights and thought-provoking ideas by Noam Chomsky, the acclaimed activist and intellectual. In this curated compilation, we bring you a diverse range of Chomsky's ideas, spanning topics such as politics, media, education, and social justice. Explore Chomsky's piercing analysis of the world we live in, as he challenges conventional wisdom and offers alternative perspectives on pressing issues. Delve into the mind of one of the most influential thinkers of our time and gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of our society. Join us on this intellectual journey as we uncover the wisdom and critical thinking that have made Noam Chomsky an eminent figure in the realm of activism and intellectual discourse.

Wanton killing of innocent civilians is terrorism, not a war against terrorism. Read Summary

Changes and progress very rarely are gifts from above. They come out of struggles from below. Read Summary

If we choose, we can live in a world of comforting illusion. Read Summary

Even in the 1950s, President Eisenhower was concerned about what he called a campaign of hatred of the U.S. in the Arab world, because of the perception on the Arab street that it supported harsh and oppressive regimes to take their oil. Read Summary

Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation. Read Summary

The more you can increase fear of drugs and crime, welfare mothers, immigrants and aliens, the more you control all the people. Read Summary

Colorless green ideas sleep furiously. Read Summary

If you're teaching today what you were teaching five years ago, either the field is dead or you are. Read Summary

All over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume. Read Summary

If workers are more insecure, that's very 'healthy' for the society, because if workers are insecure, they won't ask for wages, they won't go on strike, they won't call for benefits; they'll serve the masters gladly and passively. And that's optimal for corporations' economic health. Read Summary

States are not moral agents, people are, and can impose moral standards on powerful institutions. Read Summary

There's a tremendous gap between public opinion and public policy. Read Summary

I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying child in Heaven - that's none of my business, ultimately. I won't lecture her on the philosophy of science. Read Summary

Concentration of wealth yields concentration of political power. And concentration of political power gives rise to legislation that increases and accelerates the cycle. Read Summary

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. Read Summary

Britain kept its position as the dominant world power well into the 20th century despite steady decline. By the end of World War II, dominance had shifted decisively into the hands of the upstart across the sea, the United States, by far the most powerful and wealthy society in world history. Read Summary

In the US, there is basically one party - the business party. It has two factions, called Democrats and Republicans, which are somewhat different but carry out variations on the same policies. By and large, I am opposed to those policies. As is most of the population. Read Summary

As a Zionist youth leader in the 1940s, I was among those who called for a binational state in Mandatory Palestine. When a Jewish state was declared, I felt that it should have the rights of other states - no more, no less. Read Summary

Israel is following policies which maximise its security threats... policies which choose expansion over security... policies which lead to their moral degradation, their isolation, their delegitimation, as they call it now, and very likely ultimate destruction. That's not impossible. Read Summary

Pakistan will never be able to match the Indian militarily, and the effort to do so is taking an immense toll on the society. Read Summary