Since today seems to be Ron Paul Day here on The Caffeinated Citizens weblog, I figured I’d link to some comments from Noam Chomsky on the candidate. I’ve long believed that Mr. Chomsky is a nutcase whose arguments do not merit response, so I’m going to stay silent on this one. That said, the noted linguist and political dumbass provides excellent proof for why division of labor is a good thing.
Tags: Noam Chomsky, politics, Ron Paul
February 5, 2008 at 9:12 pm
chomsky’s arguments don’t merit a response? interesting.
perhaps you could humor us and pick one and respond to it. show us how much more brillant you are than the great mit scholar.
not having a response that you can base on evidence is really a much different concept.
February 6, 2008 at 2:02 am
To begin, Chomsky is indeed a great scholar. However, he is a great scholar of linguistics; it is for this scholarship that he is famous, and as a scholar in this field, that he is affiliated with MIT. For some reason, people think that his prominence and authoritativeness in one field carries to all other fields. We wouldn’t let Mr. Chomsky perform surgery on our bodies, why let him take the scalpel to our country?
Perhaps I mis-spoke when I called his invectives “arguments.” I hope to write on some of his works more extensively on my new blog (more info shortly), but to take the interview linked, we don’t see a very coherent or complete theory presented; rather, he presents an ad hoc hierarchy of the value of people based on class. For example, two people enter into a voluntary contract (presumably without extortion or duress), but apparently this is only binding on one party. Never mind “equal before the law” and “justice is blind”; these “aren’t my cup of tea. Well, forgive my language, Noam, but who the fuck are you?
February 6, 2008 at 7:35 pm
it is true that his initial claim to fame was in linguistics, however he is much more well known now for his knowledge and criticism of u.s. foreign policy. genius is genius. do you think da vinci should have just stuck to painting?
i agree the comments you referred to sounded a bit disjointed, but it was an interview and he was just responding to specific questions. i think if you read any of his books you will find his arguments are well thought out and backed up with mountains of factual evidence.
chomsky has many enemies because he questions authority. he questions corporate power. he questions the unrestrained agression of the united states. he despises poverty and inequality.
i think history has shown that he has generally been on the right side of the vast majority of the controversies he has been involved in (ie vietnam, cambodia, indonesia, israel/palestine)
my recommendation is that you take a couple of days and read one of his books. you may disagree with his overall conclusions, but i doubt you will able to question his sincerity and genius.