Quotessence
Home / Authors / Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky Quotes

Linguist

Filter quotes by topic

AllPeopleIfsStatesWorldThinkingWarUnited StatesWayShouldUnitedFactsCountryGovernmentHumansKindDemocracyYearsKnowsMeanPolitical

Famous Noam Chomsky Quotes

“We should certainly not be perpetuating further harm to others or to the environment. Suppose that workers at ExxonMobil are trying to unionize. We have two choices: to help them improve their lives, or to keep away so that their lives will be worse. Neither choice has any effect on use of fossil fuels. So radical organizers can both help them unionize and improve their lives, and convince them to find a different way to survive and work for ending the use of fossil fuels.”

WayShouldTryingTwoDifferentHelpingUseChoicesEnvironmentEffectsWorkersHarmRadicalDifferent WaysFuelConvinceFossilsFossil FuelOrganizerTwo ChoicesPerpetuating
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image

“The reaction we should be having to [rich liberals] is not ridicule, but rather self-criticism. Why aren't we organizing them? I mean, we are the ones that ought to be organizing them, not Rush Limbaugh. There are historical analogs, which are not exact, of course, but are close enough to be worrisome. This is a whiff of early Nazi Germany.”

ShouldMeanSelfEnoughCoursesRichOughtCriticismHistoricalReactionsGermanyNaziRidiculeNazi GermanySelf CriticismAnalog
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image

“People are interested in authentic long-term, socialist goals, which is not what is usually called socialism. They should be thinking through carefully how the projected society should work, but not in extensive detail because a lot of things just have to be learned by experiment and we don't know enough to plan societies in detail by any means. But, general guidelines could be worked out and many of the specific problems can be discussed. That should just be part of people's popular consciousness. That's how a transition to socialism could take place.”

PeopleThinkingKnowsShouldMeanLongEnoughProblemGoalTermConsciousnessPlansDetailsExperimentsSocialismLong TermTransitionSocialistGuidelines
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image

“We should recall that during the Second World War and the Great Depression there was an upsurge in popular, radical democracy. In all over the world. It took different forms, but it was there, everywhere. In Greece it was in the Greek revolution, and so on. And it had to be crushed. In countries like Greece, it was crushed by violence. In countries like Italy, where the US forces entered in 1943, it was crushed by attacking and destroying the anti-German partisans and restoring the traditional order.”

WorldShouldDifferentWarCountryFormOrderForceDemocracyViolenceRevolutionTraditionalRadicalGreekWar Of The WorldsDestroyingRecallsGreeceAttackingCrushedPartisansSecond World WarGreat DepressionRestoring
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image

“If you want to find weapons of destruction, you can find them all over the place. Take, say, Israel. There is a very great concern right now about proliferation of nuclear weapons, as there should be. Israel has a couple of hundred nuclear weapons and also chemical and biological weapons. This stockpile is not only a threat in itself but encourages others to proliferate in reaction and in self-defense. Is anybody saying anything about this?”

IfsWantShouldSelfCoupleRight NowWeaponsHundredConcernDestructionThreatIsraelDefenseNuclearReactionsChemicalsNuclear WeaponsSelf DefenseProliferationBiological Weapons
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image

“While I think in principle people should not have irrational beliefs, I should say that as a matter of fact, it is people who hold what I regard as completely irrational beliefs who are among the most effective moral actors in the world, in many respects. They're among the worst, but also among the best, even though the moral beliefs are ostensibly the same.”

PeopleThinkingWorldShouldMatterFactsActorsBeliefMoralPrinciplesWorstRegardIrrationalMatter Of FactIrrational BeliefsMoral Beliefs
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image

“There are by now declassified documents from the 1950s that tells you a lot about what's going on in Egypt and we should have known it then. It's about exactly what's happening, how we can disregard public opinion as long as the dictators we support are capable of suppressing their populations. So to hell with public opinion. That's all right there in the 1950's. That's not security. That's not security of the government. That's, if anything, security from its own population. And there's a lot of that.”

IfsShouldLongGovernmentKnownOpinionSupportHellSecurityCapableHappeningsShould HavePopulationDictatorDocumentsEgyptPublic OpinionDisregardSuppressingShould Have Known
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image

“There are leaks from the Embassy in Honduras. There was a coup in 2009. Obama broke with most of Latin America and even Europe and supported the military coup, still does. The ambassador in Honduras sent back a detailed analysis saying the coup was military, illegal, unconstitutional, and that the legitimate president was thrown out. Okay, we now know that Washington was perfectly aware of that and decided to support the military coup anyway. We should have known that at the time. The government has no right to keep that information secret.”

KnowsShouldDoeStillsGovernmentAmericaPresidentSecretKnownSupportMilitaryInformationEuropeDecidedShould HaveOkayBrokeAnalysisThrownIllegalLatinLatin AmericaAmbassadorsLeaksCoupsUnconstitutionalEmbassyShould Have KnownHonduras
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image

“The Iranian issue I don't think has much to do with nuclear weapons frankly. Nobody is saying Iran should have nuclear weapons ­nor should anybody else. But the point in the Middle East, as distinct from North Korea, is that this is center of the world's energy resources. Originally the British and secondarily the French had dominated it, but after the Second World War, it's been a U.S. preserve. That's been an axiom of U.S. foreign policy, that it must control Middle East energy resources.”

ThinkingWorldShouldWarEnergyIssuesMiddlePolicyWeaponsResourcesShould HaveBritishEastNuclearPreservesWar Of The WorldsIranForeign PolicyMiddle EastWorld War INuclear WeaponsKoreaNorth KoreaSecond World WarIranianAxiomsCenter Of The World
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image

“The Bush administration has created an unimaginable catastrophe in Iraq. This should've been one of the easiest military occupations in history and they succeeded in turning it into one of the worst military disasters in history. They can't control it and it's almost impossible for them to get out for reasons you can't discuss in the United States because to discuss the reasons why they can't get out would be to concede the reasons why they invaded.”

ShouldStatesReasonWould BeUnitedUnited StatesImpossibleWorstMilitaryIraqDisasterAdministrationReason WhyOccupationCatastropheUnimaginable
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image

“Look at the ozone story. As long as it was the southern hemisphere that was being threatened, there was very little talk about it. When it was discovered in the north, very quickly actions were taken to do something about it. Right now there's discussion of putting serious effort into developing a malaria vaccine, because global warming might extend malaria to the rich countries, so something should be done about it.”

ShouldLooksLittlesLongCountryDoneStoriesMightActionEffortRichTakenSeriousRight NowDevelopingDiscussionGlobal WarmingSouthernThreatenedVaccinesHemisphereMalariaRich CountriesOzone
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image

“When people denounced [former Iranian president Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad for rejecting and criminalizing homosexuality, it should be remembered that was true of the United States until very recently. Women's rights were unheard of. Civil rights proponents were horribly treated, not just in the South. It was awful there, but pretty bad here. Environmental issues did not exist. Opposition to aggression was virtually zero. In fact, so little, that to this day, even scholarship mentions the Vietnam War as beginning in 1965.”

PeopleShouldLittlesWarStatesFactsPresidentUnitedUnited StatesIssuesRightsSouthEnvironmentalTreatedCivil RightsAwfulFormerRememberedOppositionThis DayZeroVietnamAggressionWomens RightsHomosexualityScholarshipVietnam WarIranianRejectingUnheardEnvironmental Issues
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image

“In the 1960s, various parts of the population became energized and began to enter the public arena to call for the rights of women, students, young people, old people, farmers and workers. What are called "special interests" - meaning the whole population - they began to press to enter the public arena. And they said that puts too much pressure on the state and therefore we have to have more moderation in democracy and they should go back and be quiet and obedient.”

PeopleShouldSaidStatesWholeYoungInterestDemocracyToo MuchRightsSpecialStudentsQuietPressurePressesWorkersPopulationVariousFarmersThey SaidModerationOld PeopleArena1960sObedientSpecial Interests
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image

“I should say that Canada is one of the major criminals, not just the tar sands and so on, but even mining throughout the world, a lot of it is Canadian. It's extremely destructive, so an important thing for Canadians to do is curtail the predatory and destructive behavior of their own government and corporations. A carbon tax is one way of doing it.”

WorldWayShouldImportantGovernmentTaxesBehaviorMajorsImportant ThingsCriminalsOne WayCorporationsCanadaSandDestructiveCarbonMiningPredatoryCarbon TaxDestructive Behavior
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image

“If in fact, the US story is correct, if it is true that Syria used chemical weapons, then it wouldn't be a major crime to send a kind of shot across the bow saying you can't do this anymore. Not the best thing in the world, but not a major crime, either. So, I think at the very least there should have been an inquiry into what happened. But just joining the bandwagon about how we're finally standing up to crimes in Syria, that's ridiculous.”

IfsThinkingWorldShouldKindHas BeensFactsStoriesUsedHappenedCrimeMajorsWeaponsShotsStandingShould HaveRidiculousBest ThingsChemicalsBowsSyriaInquiryShould Have BeenJoiningChemical WeaponsBandwagon
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image

“I think it only makes sense to seek out and identify structures of authority, hierarchy, and domination in every aspect of life, and to challenge them; unless a justification for them can be given, they are illegitimate, and should be dismantled, to increase the scope of human freedom.”

ThinkingShouldHumansGivenChallengesAuthorityAspectIncreaseStructureMake SenseJustificationDominationScopeHierarchyHuman FreedomAspects Of Life
Book:Language and Politics
Create image

“If by 'intellectual' you mean people who are a special class who are in the business of imposing thoughts and forming ideas for people in power, and telling people what they should believe...they're really more a kind of secular priesthood, whose task it is to uphold the doctrinal truths of the society. And the population SHOULD be anti-intellectual in that repect.”

PeopleIfsShouldBelieveKindMeanIdeasClassSpecialIntellectualTasksPopulationSecularImposingPriesthoodMean People
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image

“Why does everyone take for granted that we don't learn to grow arms, but rather, are designed to grow arms? Similarly, we should conclude that in the case of the development of moral systems; there's a biological endowment which in effect requires us to develop a system of moral judgment and a theory of justice, if you like, that in fact has detailed applicability over an enormous range.”

IfsShouldDoeFactsGrowsJusticeMoralCasesEffectsTheoryArmsDevelopmentJudgmentEthicsEnormousGrantedRangeEndowmentMoral Judgment
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image

“Now, the Libertarian Party, is a *capitalist* party. It's in favor of what *I* would regard a *particular form* of authoritarian control. Namely, the kind that comes through private ownership and control, which is an *extremely* rigid system of domination - people have to... people can survive, by renting themselves to it, and basically in no other way... I do disagree with them *very* sharply, and I think that they are not..understanding the *fundamental* doctrine, that you should be free from domination and control, including the control of the manager and the owner.”

PeopleThinkingWayShouldKindFormUnderstandingPartyParticularRegardFundamentalsIncludingLibertarianFavorsDoctrineManagersOwnersDisagreeCapitalistOwnershipDominationLibertarian PartyOwnership And Control
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image

“The great soul of power extends far beyond states, to every domain of life, from families to international affairs. And throughout, every form of authority and domination bears a severe burden of proof. It is not self-legitimizing. And when it cannot bear the burden, as is commonly the case, it should be dismantled.”

ShouldSoulSelfStatesFormCasesBearsAuthorityAffairInternationalBurdenProofSevereDominationDomainNihilismGreat SoulsInternational AffairsBurden Of Proof
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image

“In any institution-factory, university, health center, or whatever-there are a variety of interests that ought to be represented in decision-making: the work force itself, the community in which it is located, users of its products or services, institutions that compete for the same resources. These interests should be directly represented in democratic structures that displace and eliminate private ownership of the means of production or resources, an anachronism with no legitimacy.”

ShouldMeanForceInterestCommunityDecisionProductsOughtResourcesInstitutionsStructureDemocraticUniversityProductionsVarietyDecision MakingFactoriesUsersOwnershipGlobalizationLegitimacyAnachronism
Author:Noam Chomsky
Create image