| Title | : | Who Rules the World? |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 162779381X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781627793810 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 320 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2014 |
Who Rules the World? Reviews
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Dear readers,
Don't let the three star review throw you off. This is a very good book for a number of reasons:
1) Chomsky's playful and impish logic is as sharp as ever.
2) This is a very good/gentle introduction for people who have not read Chomsky's more technical political philosophy and may find themselves overwhelmed plodding through 10 different analyses of the same argument.
3) The readers new to Chomsky have a comprehensive source list that they can use if they want to delve into the topics under discussion further.
For me, I prefer his more technical works, for e.g. Manufacturing Consent, which are far more rewarding if you struggle through them. -
Tantos Jardins Para Cultivar
Esta leitura recordou-me uma imagem da Mafalda (aquela miúda gira e esperta engendrada pelo Quino), a auscultar um Globo Terrestre que fora cuidadosamente deitado numa caminha de bonecas. Ao sentir a mãe aproximar-se numa sonora tagarelice, calou-a com um sussurro que soava mais ou menos assim:
"Ssssssssshhhhhh!.... O Mundo está doente!"
"Está doente, o Mundo? Coitadinho!... E o que tem ele, Mafalda?", interpelara a mãe, ternamente.
"Dói-lhe muito a Ásia", retorquira ela com um olhar trasbordante de infelicidade!
Essa dor aguda na Ásia seria, muito provavelmente, um primeiro sintoma de cancro!
Cancro esse, que entretanto alastrou por múltiplas áreas, e que a continuar assim, arrisca-se a sucumbir sob os efeitos dalguma eutanásia nuclear!
E o que fazer, para evitar tamanha calamidade?
Bem... Sendo a Humanidade a responsável pelos males do Planeta, se a Humanidade melhorar, o Mundo certamente melhora!...
Ora, a Humanidade é constituída pelos humanos, que somos todos nós. Convirá então, para bem do nosso amado Planeta Azul, que cada um de nós melhore individualmente:
Melhores Humanos, Melhor Humanidade!
Melhor Humanidade, Melhor Planeta!
Parece que tudo aponta para aquela solução tão simples, contida nas derradeiras palavras do Cândido de Voltaire:
"É preciso cultivar o nosso jardim"
Como vêem, está tudo nos nossos amados livros.
Só nos resta praticar! 😉
As palavras detêm um Poder que só a Prática poderá confirmar!
Se porventura duvidam da eficácia desta receita, sugiro que leiam "O Homem Que Plantava Árvores", que vos irá deliciar com um exemplo gratificante e convincente. 👍
"Quem Governa o Mundo?" irá perturbar-vos. Contudo, é mesmo esse o objectivo. Quanto mais incomodados se sentirem, mais ansiarão por um trilho de mudança!
"if you wanna turn the world into a better place take a look at yourself and make the change".😉 -
Or, What Principles Rule The World?
I recently emailed Professor Chomsky regarding a question that had been nagging me for some time (especially whilst reading this book). Why should we pay attention to mainstream media sources? Are they even worth picking up given their inherent bias? My question finished with a mention toward the fact that the professor himself has spent many years picking apart these biases, and yet still reads the papers daily. I presented an open conclusion asking if I should do the same. His response is as follows:"I don't agree with [this] assumption. The major journals are, I think, an indispensable source of information. They do of course reflect particularly perspectives, but careful reading and when relevant investigation of other sources can compensate for that.
The independent outlets have their own perspectives. We all do."
It's a testament to the professor that despite having a chapter in this book titled One Day in the Life of a Reader of The New York Times - a systematic annihilation of the hypocrisy of what is put out in just one single day of a mainstream paper - he can still yet provide an answer like the above one. An answer that very much suggests that despite understanding how the world is run , Chomsky is someone who stills believes in taking in all sources available on current affairs. Even the mainstream ones.
Something I'm afraid I really struggle to bring myself to do.
This is my second Chomsky book, the first being Profit Over People, which I struggled to wrap my head around at the time of purchase if I'm being honest. However, these series of essays were, overall, much easier to digest, and while I doubt any moderate chomsky reader / listener will be surprised at what they will find in these pages, I do still believe this is an invaluable source to have at your disposal.
If there's anyone looking at this review wondering if this book is worth their time (especially people unfamiliar with this man), I would highly recommend picking this book up. There are levels of hypocrisy that drive our world order that we can't even begin to contemplate, and a small scratching is revealed here for you to see. There's a few surprises here to. Chomsky is surprisingly witty and sarcastic at times, something he generally omittes from his lectures / talks. One can only assume he saves his anger (generally) for the ink and paper, and having watched hours of this man talk via YouTube, I have to admit it is most effective. He also makes certain to jump between topics per essay, keeping the reader engaged, whilst bringing up overarching points he made in previous chapters, making sure we know what is worth our attention.
I'll leave the rest for any potential reader to conclude with on their own merit, but I can only recommend you give this a read, as you'll feel better informed for it after.
The New edition Afterward is especially terrifying in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. -
- اذا كنت مهتماً بمعرفة المبادئ التي يسير عليها العالم اليوم والطريقة التي يدار بها من اعلى الهرم وكمية النفاق التي تبثها وسائل الإعلام والتضليل الذي يكتبه اصحاب الأقلام المأجورة من الكثير من مدعي صفات: سياسي، مثقف، صحافي، اعلامي، محاضر..... فهذا الكتاب سي��ون مقدمة رائعة لك.
- الكتاب ينقسم لقسمين، وبينما اتى القسم الاول كمجموعة من المقالات والمحاضرات لتشومسكي فإن القسم الثاني كان لمقالات عنه (مدحا وذماً، مع وضد). وبالتأكيد فالقسم الأول يعطيك المعلومة من مصدرها بينما ساعد القسم الثاني على توسيع مدى القسم الأول وعقد مقارنات عديدة قد تفيد القارئ والباحث على حد سواء.
- تشومسكي يعري السياسة الأمريكية منذ ما بعد الحرب العالمية الثانية مرورا بغزو فيتنام وصولا الى اجتياح افغانستان والعراق. وبالدليل يفند ادعاءات تلك الإدارة( مثل نشر الديمقراطية، ازاحة ديكتاتور، تجفيف منابع الإرهاب،...) ويظهر الصورة الحقيقية لمصلحة الدولة في الغزو وقمع الديمقراطيات غير المطيعة ونشر الإرهاب بل استعمال ارهاب الدولة.
- النقطة الضعيفة في الكتاب هي التكرار، لأنه عبارة عن مقالات مستقلة، فعدة امثلة ستتكرر بالحرف في العديد من المقالات. الترجمة كانت جيدة لكنها تفتقر للهوامش والتعريف بالأسماء المذكورة.
- انصح جميع الأصدقاء بالكتاب وازعم انه سيوسع آفاقهم او سيفتح آفاق جديدة في إدراكهم. -
A sharp take on the failings and atrocities of U.S. foreign policy. In clear prose Chomsky overviews everything from postwar aggression toward Cuba to the terrible state of Israel-Palestine relations today, lucidly examining the role America’s played abroad since the end of WWII. The work’s solid as an intro to leftist thought, but there’s little here that’s new and key points are repeated across chapters.
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دلیل چرخش زمین نیست جاذبه-پوله که زمینو میچرخونه جالبه|سروش لشگری
طی تحولات اخیری که توی منطقهی خاورمیانه و به خصوص ایران رخ داده و همینطور سیستم توزیعِ قدرت در دنیا، دنبال الگویی بودم که طبق اون بتونم تحولات رو درک کنم و بینندهی صِرف نباشم. برای خوانندهی عادیای مثل من، دیدن اینکه فیلسوفی مثل چامسکی به موضوع قدرت و حاکمیت در دنیا پرداخته جالب بود. در فهرست کتاب هم دیدم دربارهی ایران و به خصوص دربارهی برجام صحبت کرده و همچنین درباره ی دشمنی ایران با آمریکا-اسرائیل هم صحبت کرده. برای همین تصمیم گرفتم بخونمش.
چامسکی در این کتاب به طور خلاصه تاریخ سدهی اخیر و جنگ ها و تحولات استراتژیکی جهان رو برمیرسه و تمرکز اصلیش روی تجاوزگری آمریکا به بهانهی ایجاد صلح(یکی به میخ میزنه یکی به نعل) و همچنین اشغالگریهای اسرائیل به بهانه ی پس گرفتن سرزمین پدریه. چامسکی دربارهی رابطهی ایران-آمریکا میگه آمریکا از زمان کودتای 28 مرداد دیگه دست از سر ایران برنداشته و از اون
زمان به بعد مردم ایران همیشه از طرف آمریکا تحت فشار بوده و هستن(مستقیم و غیر مستقیم-که جنگ ایران-عراق یک نمونهشه).همچنین میگه رؤسای جمهور آمریکا با همدیگه فرق چندانی ندارن و در قبال دنیا و به خصوص ایران سیاست مشخصی دارن. فقط بعضی هاشون ظاهرِ کار رو حفظ میکنن، مثل باراک اوباما که به جای جنگ تنبهتن با پهباد ترور میکرده. من همچنین فهمیدم ترامپ انگشت کوچک ریگان هم نیست. فقط اداشو درمیاره!
چامسکی در این کتاب همچنین دربارهی خطر نزدیک شدن به پایان دنیا توسط حملههای اتمی صحبت میکنه و میگه ما مردم دنیا تاحالا چندین بار از وقوع چنین فاجعهای جون سالم بهدر بردیم اما هیچ بعید نیست که بر اثر یک خطای سهوی انسانی(در آمریکا، چین، روسیه، کرده شمالی، هنود و پاکستان!) چنین اتفاقی رخ بنمایونه-مثل فیلم «دکتر استرنجلاو» کوبریک.
در جای دیگری از کتاب دربارهی پر شدن زمین از کربن صحبت میکنه و میگه طرفداریهای دولتها از هوای پاک بیشتر جنبهی نمایشی داره(مثل شرکت «کِلِر» توی سریال "خانهی پوشالی"). چامسکی دربارهی حاکمان جهان(که سرمایه دارها هستن) صحبت میکنه و دکترینِ اونها رو نقد میکنه: همه چیز برای ما، هیچ چیز برای دیگران.
دو ایراد در این کتاب هست: یکی اینکه فکر می کنم قسمت هایی که درباره ی ایران صحبت میکنه دستخوش سانسور شده و دیگری اینکه چامسکی در چهار پنجم ابتداییِ کتاب، تجاوزگری آمریکا و اسرائیل رو نقد می کنه و می گه چرا هیچکی صداش درنمیاد؟ اما دربارهی ج.ا.ایران که همواره معترض به تجاوزگری های آمریکا و اسرائیل هست خیلی کم صحبت می کنه.
و در کل اگر بخوام واقعبینانه نگاه کنم باید بگم راهی برای خلاصی از اندروید، آیاواس، ویندوز، مکینتاش، کوکاکولا، کیافسی، وارنر براس، کولومبیا پیکچرز و دیزنی وجود نداره. آمریکا تمام مردم دنیا رو نمکگیر کرده. -
Typical Chomsky “brain drilling” with impeccable attention to detail. I love the way he builds his narrative and supports his claims. His well-thought and deep analysis of various diplomatic and military events, as always, leaves me amazed and persuaded. I wouldn’t recommend this book as an introduction to Chomsky to those who are less familiar with his work. It’s a “must” though for anyone who has already enjoyed reading his books.
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"North Korea may be the craziest country in the world. It’s certainly a good competitor for that title. But it does make sense to try to figure out what’s in the minds of people when they’re acting in crazy ways. Why would they behave the way they do? Just imagine ourselves in their situation. Imagine what it meant in the Korean War years of the early 1950s for your country to be totally leveled, everything destroyed by a huge superpower, which furthermore was gloating about what it was doing. Imagine the imprint that would leave behind.
Bear in mind that the North Korean leadership is likely to have read the public military journals of this superpower at that time explaining that, since everything else in North Korea had been destroyed, the air force was sent to destroy North Korea’s dams, huge dams that controlled the water supply -- a war crime, by the way, for which people were hanged in Nuremberg. And these official journals were talking excitedly about how wonderful it was to see the water pouring down, digging out the valleys, and the Asians scurrying around trying to survive. The journals were exulting in what this meant to those “Asians,” horrors beyond our imagination. It meant the destruction of their rice crop, which in turn meant starvation and death. How magnificent! It’s not in our memory, but it’s in their memory." -
Horrifying. Whether you're inclined to believe the author's (Noam Chomsky) analysis or the views of those he opposes, I doubt anyone can read unmoved this rollcall of suffering. So much violence, so many deaths. It does demand an answer: what motivates us as societies and individuals to commit and/or tolerate the abuse of people present and future, and of the environment that sustains us?
Bits of the book were repetitive. Its arguments were strongly stated - which I understand, but the result was a metaphorical bludgeoning which I kept waiting to be equally balanced with a "Next Steps, what you can do" section. That wasn't part of this book and, for me, that lessened it. If there was no path forward at the end, then I think the earlier bits that hammered the point of failure and evil, needed to include what the alternative, non-evil (sorry for the clumsy wording) actions might have been.
It left me feeling as if I'd touched a frustrated idealism twisting into nihilism. But, that was just my response. -
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ½
Genre: Nonfiction
This was a difficult-to-read book. Not because it was not well written or not thoroughly researched. But because it will make you more aware of the amount of injustice that is happening in our world back then and today. For someone who has been subject to the Western media’s propaganda, this might come as a big shock. While for someone who has been looking at things without bias and from all different sources this book just validates all the opinions he might have been forming about “the world”
The author first explains what does “the world” mean in the Western media. This terminology defines the political class in Washington, London, and Israel (and whoever happens to agree with them on specific matters). If you don’t agree with them, then you are not in the world! Then the author gives us an example of the media’s propaganda which went on to say “the world” fully supported George Bush when he ordered the bombing of Afghanistan. While in reality the international community overwhelmingly had a preference for diplomatic measures! There was hardly any support. But “the world” of course will go on to do whatever its imperialist politicians desire. And today we all know what happened in Afghanistan.
Mr. Chomsky keeps giving the readers so many examples of the atrocities committed by “the world”. Some of them I knew about and others I had no idea about. An example, three Israelis get killed in Cyprus. Israel retaliates by bombing Tunis. Israel conceded that the killers had nothing to do with Tunis. But because Tunis is a more preferable target as it is defenseless and because of the extra benefit that it has more exiled Palestinians who could be killed there!
Actually, the whole book talks about hypocrisy and double standards that “the world” has been committing throughout the years. And they are not the opinions of the author. He gives you all the facts clearly for you to see and think about. All the references are there as well if you want to know more about a certain subject. About 90% of the book is about what the United States and Israel did or are still doing. The victims are spread across the globe and their crime is “nationalism”. This is a word according to the author that “the world” hates a lot and does not want to see. “The world” considers independent nationalism a virus that might spread contagion. This virus might cause the creation of a parliamentary path toward some kind of democracy. And “the world” does not want that. Not only that but the author even goes on to say that the US and England before it, are more to support radical fundamentalist Islam (eg. Saudi Arabia) in opposition to secular nationalism which is a posing threat of independence and a huge risk of losing their hegemony over these countries!
Then the author explains how the US needs to maintain its hegemony by supporting dictatorships and turning them into puppets, like the Arab rulers. The Arab Spring was a huge risk to the United States’ control over these countries but through intervention, they succeeded to let the power remain in the hands of the dictatorship regimes by only changing one person while everything else remained the same. Egypt is a clear example in which military dictatorship has been restored. Another example is in 1953 when the US and England organized a military coup to overthrow Iran’s parliamentary government and install the dictatorship of the shah who had a vast record of crimes that were reported by Amnesty International and human rights organizations, but the Western readers as per the author do not get to read or know about these reports in the press but only from 1979 when the Shah’s regime was overthrown. In other words, all dictatorships will be supported and remain in power as long as they are puppets of “the world” and work towards imperialist goals set for them!
But again who rules “the world”? Is it ruled by the people? The normal Americans who go to vote every four years? Nope. Actually, in the 2016 election, about 94 million eligible US voters avoided the election because they believed their vote won’t make a difference. No matter who the president is, the policies especially the foreign policy of the US will not change because it is controlled by “Masters of Mankind” as the author calls them. And these are the big corporations and financial institutions. They are the principal architects of government policy and who pursue their “vile maxim”: “All for ourselves and nothing for other people”. They represent what they term “the national interest”. A term that is used again and again to represent their interests and not the people, just like how “the world” does not represents the actual world.
This is one of those books that will keep igniting all the different reactions inside you. Frustration, anger, pity, sadness, or even disgust. It is an important subject, yes we might try to avoid it to spare ourselves from all those feelings but no matter how much we avoid such subjects they will come in front of us in real life. Issues such as nuclear threat and climate change both have not been taken seriously over the years. We might face a time when it is too late for that! Issues like hypocrisy and double standards are still there and need to be addressed. A poor country like Yemen has been under attack and siege for eight years by Saudi Arabia with the support of “the world” in terms of logistics and continuous military aid. The U.N. has even termed it the greatest humanitarian crisis in our times. Yet “the world” has given full support to the aggressor. On the other hand, the moment Russia invades Ukraine, you see all the outcry, condemnation, and boycotting happening! Why is that? Because one dictator is better than the other? Or because of the skin and eye colors of the victims? In a fair world, both should be condemned and taken action against. Let’s just hope one day for this kind of world where everybody really matters and where the world really means the whole world. -
كعادة تشومسكي أكثر من انتقد سياسة الولايات المتحدة منذ الحرب العالمية الثانية وحتي منذ نشائتها يقدم لنا في ذلك الكتاب عدة مواضيع مهمة تناقش باختصار التالي :
- يقارن تشومسكي ما تفعله أمريكا من عمل ارهابي أو مذبحة أو اي دولة تحت حمايتها أو تحظي بتأييدها بأي عمل أخر قامت به أي دولة او شخص والفرق بين ما تكتبه الصحافة وبين ما تعتبره أمريكا ارهاب فى وقت ووقت أخر يكون دفاع عن النفس او حتي يتم إلغائه من الأخبار كانه لم يحدث ، فجريمة تحدث تغطي علي جميع الجرائم الأخري وتقزمها الى اقصي الحدود
أعطي مثال علي ذلك :
1- باغتيال عماد مغنية الذي كانت أغلب التهم الموجه إليه واهية ما عدا اتهامة بخطف طائرة وسفينه التي تم قتل رجل مقعد عليها فلماذا لا نقارنه بمذبحة جنين وقتل رجلين مقعدين هما كمال الصغير وجمال الرشيد أو قصف تونس عام 1985 أو تفجير المخابرات الأمريكية سيارة مفخخة فى بيروت لقتل محمد حسين فضل الله مما تسبب فى قتل أطفال ونساء فكان عدد الضحايا 80 قتيل 265 مصاب
2- قامت قيامة أمريكا عند استيلاء بوتين على القرم والذي أساسا كانت رداً لمحاولة وموافقة أمريكا لدخول أوكرانيا للناتو وماذا كانت ستفعل أمريكا اذا كانت المكسيك ودول امريكا الجنوبية سينضمون لحلف وارسو فى وقته ، ما قامت به أمريكا مثلا فى كوبا لمدة خمسين عاما واحتلالها لخليج جوانتامو يعتبر بجانب الاستيلاء على جزيرة القرم عمل لطيف ولكن كلنا رأينا الفرق فى التعامل مع الحدثين
3- اتهام روسيا بجريمة سقوط الطائرة الماليزية وقتل 298 راكب ولكن أمريكا تناست هي والعالم إسقاط أمريكا لطائرة ايرانية عام 1988 وقتل 290 راكب من ضمنهم 66 طفل بل والرئيس ريغان أعطي من تسبب فى ذلك جائزة تقديرية
4- بعد قتل الصحفيين فى شارل ايبدو وظهرت جميع التعليقات والاحتجاجات للبحث عن اصل هذه الهجمات فى التاريخ الاسلامي والثقافة الاسلامية واستكشاف طرق لكبحها ، ماذا عن قتل عشرات الصحفيين فى هندراوس عبر انقلاب بمباركة أمريكا أو مقتل 16 صحفي من الصرب بسبب هجوم الناتو بالصورايخ على مقر الاذاعة لم يتم اتهام أحد الا رئيس المقر لأنه لم يقم بالإخلاء !
ولماذا لم يظهر أية مطالبات بالتعرف علي جذور وأصول الهجوم فى الثقافة المسيحية او التاريخ المسيحي وهناك أعمال ارهابية أخري لم تطالب بالتحقيق فى الأصول أو الجذور مثل المسيحي اندرز بريفيك الذي قتل 77 شخص عام 2001
- مسئولية أصحاب الفكر الذين يثنون على كل من كرس نفسه لخدمة الدولة وعقوبة كل من رفض اي سياسة او يقلل من هيبة القيادة وتحدي السلطة مثل الذي حكم عليه بعشر سنوات لطرحه أسئلة عن حرب الرئيس ويلسون من أجل الديمقراطية
- التعذيب وكيف كان هناك تعذيب ممنهج فى غزو العراق فلقد كانت لديهم معلومات وحجج لغزو العراق من ضمنها ربط القاعدة بالعراق وعندما ينتهي التحقيق بدون ذلك الرابط يجب التعذيب للحصول على أي شئ لتصبح الأكذوبة حقيقة وايضا تكلم عن غوانتامو وذريعة التعذيب الاشهر هي الحرب علي الارهاب ، واعطي امثلة لغير امريكا مثل ما فعلته اليابان مما يعرف باغتصاب نانجينج
- نظرية الدومينو لصاحبها هنري كسينجر أنه اذا فقدت امريكا السيطرة على دولة صغيرة او حتي منطقة فستكون فيروس ينتقل الي بلاد أخري فيجب ايقافه ومحاربته وذلك تم فى اغلب التاريخ الأمريكي واشهرها الهند الصينية او ما يعرف بغزو فيتنام
- تكلم كثيرا عن الحرب النووية وكيف كانت أمريكا ستسبب عدة مرات فى حرب نووية ينتهب بسببها العالم واشهرها ازمة ص��اريخ كوبا فمثلا لماذا قام خروتشوف بارسال صواريخ لكوبا فالسبب يتم تجاهله وهو محاولة امريكا المستميتة لقتل كاسترو اولا فى غزو خليج الخنازير والذي عاقبت امريكا عليه كوبا لدحرها ذلك الغزو بالحصار التجاري وبعدها محاولة بعملية سمّيت مونغوز وذلك كان سبب لجعل الاتحاد السوفيتي يرسل الصواريخ لحماية كوبا من امريكا
- تكلم كثيرا عن اسرائيل وانتهاكها لكل المواثيق والحقوق برعاية أمريكية فى اغتصاب اراضي فلسطينية وقتل وسجن الكثير من الفلسطينين وانه يتم الاعداد لجعل القدس مدينة يهودية واعلانها عاصمة لاسرائيل وهذا ما حدث للأسف بعد صدور الكتاب
- اخيرا تكلم عن من يحكم العالم فنتكلم عن امريكا وا��دول وننسي أسياد البشرية كما سمّاهم أدم سميث وهم تجار وصناعيو الانجليز وقتها اما الأن فالشركات متعددة الجنسيات والتكتلات التجارية والذي ينطبق عليهم المبدأ الخسيس الذ قاله ادم سيمث كل شئ لنا ولا شئ للأخرين
- تكلم عن تجاهل أمريكا لمشكلة الاحتباس الحراري وخصوصا الجانب الجمهوري وأنهم لا يرون التغييرات البيئية التي حدثت بالفعل مما ينذر بكارثة بيئية
الكتاب به الكثير من المعلومات والتي لن استطيع اختصارها فى ريفيو ولكن نصيحة لاصدقائي بالقراءة لتشومسكي فهو يتكلم عن مواضيع مهمة وثقيلة ولكن باسلوب سهل جدا وأفضل من تكلم وانتقد أمريكا -
I received this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.
And holy hell am I glad I did. In 100 years, when Chomsky is understood as the definitive intellectual giant of our time, this will be the book historians reference. Who Rules the World? is the culmination of all of Chomsky's work packed into a tight, well-researched, interesting, and above-all compassionate take on world power, US atrocities, and the very real possibility of the annihilation of civilization. (Chomsky isn't convinced there will be historians 100 years from now.) Each short chapter is built with a skeptical reader in mind as Chomsky slowly builds his case, considers logical counterarguments, and convinces his readers with a mind-boggling amount of records. His basic premise is thus: the US has ruled the world for the last 75 years, committing terrible atrocities and killing millions to maintain that rule. Now that power is slipping away, being dispersed globally. The US struggle to keep its global power distracts our leaders from the two gravest threats to human existence, nuclear war and global climate change. The scope of the book is that epic. This should be required reading for every US citizen.
It's not clear that there will be a world to rule in 100 years, but after reading this book it is clear who should rule the world: Noam Chomsky. -
من يمتلك العالم؟
"كل شيء لنا ولا شيء للآخر"
الكتاب في قسمه الأول عبارة عن محاضرات لتشومسكي يكشف فيها تشكل الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية بعد الحرب العالمية الثانية، ودعمها للديكتاتوريات في الشرق الأوسط وامريكا الجنوبية ومحاربتها للديمقراطية فمن منظور الولايات المتحدة أن الديمقراطية جيدة في حال خدمت مصالحها وليس إن كانت ستؤدي لاستقلال الدول الأخرى، يركز الكتاب على ثورات الربيع العربي وكيف ان أمريكا في البداية حاولت إخمادها بمساندة الحكام مثل مبارك (ديكتاتورها المفضل كما وصفه تشومسكي) ولكن تخلت عنه عندما لم يفلح الأمر وبحثت عن وجوه جديدة تقوم بنفس الأدوار.
نقد تشومسكي للسياسات الخارجية الأمريكية في فيتنام والعراق وغيرها من ضحايا أمريكا كان عنيفا، وعندما سئل تشومسكي لماذا لا يدين الديكتاتوريات الأخرى قال إن من حقه كمواطن أمريكي أن ينتقد الأعمال الوحشية للدولة التى يدفع ضرائبه لها.
- القسم الثاني من الكتاب عبارة عن مقالات عن تشومسكي ونشأته في عائلة يهودية نازحة من اوكرانيا لأمريكا ودور هذه النشأة على مستقبله السياسي ودوره كعالم لغويات وهذه المقالات بين مؤيد ومعارض لتشومسكي ووجهات النظر المختلفة حوله.
-الكتاب في مجمله سلس غير ممل ككتاب سياسي، وبداية موفقة في قراءة أعمال تشومسكي. -
The pattern of praise and punishment have been familiar throughout history: those who line up in the service of the state are typically praised by the general intellectual community and those who refuse to line up are punished. Intellectuals are privileged and with privilege comes responsibilities.
The notion of 'the World' defined by Israel and US is far different from the actual world in terms of the atrocities and crimes conducted on the Muslim World versus death of a few American or Israelis in retaliation of years of suppression, murder, brutality and torture but still the Muslim World is labelled as terrorists and looked down upon by the majority. The bombings conducted by CIA and other organizations have been kept top secret hence very few secrets or facts actually come out unless they become too prominent to suppress.
If we adopt to the perspective of the world we might ask which criminal are 'wanted the world over'. The US has mainly seen its torture done for it by proxy - paying, arming, training and foreigners doing it but usually being careful to keep America at least one discreet step removed.
US has been at the peak of power after World War II but since 1970's, the US share of global wealth have fallen by 25% and industrial world have become tripolar: North America, Europe and East Asia. Though US still remains the most powerful state in the world, global power is continuing to diversify hence US is increasingly unable to impose its will.
US and its Western allies are sure to do whatever they can to prevent authentic democracy in the Arab World, which is quite evident from their support to the Isreali government over Palestinian occupation. Ever since the Oslo Accords declared Gaza and West Bank as an indivisible territorial unity, the US Isreal duo have been committed to separating the two regions through illegal means, massive killings and injustices.
Gaza provides Palestine the only access to the outside world so once they are separated any autonomy that Isreal might grant to Palestinians to the West Bank would leave them effectively imprisoned between two hostile states, Isreal and Jordan. Isreal is in a fine position today to reverse its decade old policy of separating Gaza from the West Bank and observe a major ceasefire agreement for the first time.
At least temporarily the threat of democracy in neighbouring Egypt have diminished and the brutal Egyptian military dictator would be a welcome ally for Isreal in maintaining control over Gaza. But Isreal doesn't seem to be interested in such a proposal and continues to remain persistent in its dealings with Palestinians due to US constant military, economic, diplomatic and ideological support.
US invaded Iraq resulting in hundreds of thousands killed and millions of refugees along with barbarous torture and destructions. Meanwhile igniting sectarian conflict that is tearing the region to shreds and laying the basis for ISIS monstrosity along with their ally Saudi Arabia is categorised as 'stabilization'. On the other hand, Iran poses no military threat, its strategic doctrines are defensive and its nuclear program (have no effect to produce bombs as far as intelligence can determine) are a central part of US's deterrent strategy.
US and Isreal with Saudi Arabia are trying their best to join the club with its invasion of Bahrain (to support the crushing of a reform movement there) and now its murderous assault on Yemen have accelerated a growing humanitarian catastrophe in the country.
We cannot gain a realistic understanding of Who Rules the World while ignoring the 'Masters of Mankind' - multinational conglomerates, huge financial institutions, retail empires and the like. Therefore it is important that the citizens of the rich and powerful states who enjoy an unusual legacy of freedom, privilege and opportunity, question and challenge their leaders and the policies imposed by them over other countries.
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For me, this thought-provoking and deeply disturbing book comes as the perfect supplement to the People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn which is still haunting me on a daily basis (I still haven't been able to write a review about it, three months after finishing it). The plain and simple truth that presently the USA are the grandest, fiercest and most ruthless terrorist on earth is very much obvious to anyone who has even the tiniest interest in following the events on the world's scene. Exhibiting its utter hypocrisy and self aggrandizing mania, and among the cliche euphemisms about spreading democracy when instead we've got a classic case of imperialism, America has sown the seed of numberless crises that are causing inconceivable suffering throughout the world for many decades now. And even if the people of America were able to grasp the manipulation to which they fall victim to, it's rather uncertain whether they'd be able to influence in any meaningful way the course of their own country, not after this clown of a person was actually elected as president. We are doomed, the only question is how soon the end will come.
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I can see this book being criticized for repetitiveness, but I understand the repetition to be helpful for deprogramming. Chomsky is a treasure.
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http://delsharm.blog.ir/1397/03/31/wh...
حافظهٔ همهٔ ما آدمهای "معمولی" کوتاهمدت است. مثلاً همیشه از گذشته چیزهای خوب یادمان میماند و به همین خاطر خیلی وقتها حسرت دورهٔ قبل، رئیس جمهور قبل، و حتی گاهی رژیم قبلی را میخوریم. در مورد آمریکا این مسأله پررنگتر است، خاصه آن که آمریکا قدرت رسانهای بسیار قویای دارد. برخلاف آنچه که بعضاً در ناخودآگاه ما ذهن میگیرد، بسیاری از مردم دنیا از آمریکا دل خوشی ندارند. مثلاً یک بار در خاطراتم در مورد عصبانیت چند جامائیکایی در مورد به رگبار بستن کوچههای شهر از سوی هلیکوپیترهای آمریکایی به بهانهٔ یک مجرم جامائیکایی نوشته بودم.
عنوان این کتاب بیشتر از آن که در مورد این که چه کسی جهان را میگرداند باشد، در مورد «چه جور کسی» جهان را میگرداند است. این کتاب یک "باید برای خواندن" برای همهٔ ماست تا بفهمیم که فهم ما از استکبار لزوماً یک فهم منطقی (یا تحلیل قرآنی در مورد ما مسلمانها) نیست. یک تجربهٔ بلند از ستم آمریکایی وجود دارد که در خط به خط این کتاب وجود دارد یا به قول رهبر ایران، مشکل ما با آمریکا از روی تحلیل فقط نیست، از روی تجربه است. پیشنهاد میکنم این کتاب را حتماً و حتماً بخوانید. کتاب تا حدی پر از نکات است که اگر میخواستم خلاصهای واقعی از کتاب بنوی��م باید کل متن کتاب را مینوشتم. علیالحساب خلاصهای نیمچهمضمونی نیمچهترجمهای از ۲۳ فصلِ کتاب را در ادامهٔ این مطلب میگذارم، به امید آن که باعث اشتیاق در خواندن کتاب برای دیگران شود. -
Pentru oricine vrea să înțeleagă în ce lume trăiește, Chomsky este o alegere. Una chiar excelentă.
Deși anumite informații pot demoraliza, mai ales pe cei ce se mai cred idealiști, eu tot recomand cartea!
Cât despre America, e o discuție amplă... -
Reading this book is quite like the aversion to checking your bank account after making a large purchase, or stepping on the scale after indulging in a large meal, knowing you are on a diet. You hope that by avoiding the result of these actions, you can also avoid the inevitable consequences that ensue.
Indeed, this is an unsettling read, and it touches on a lot of pressing but uncomfortable topics. These range from the matter of climate change to numerous human rights atrocities to impending nuclear war. The issues touched on are of a critical importance, and I do hope that others choose to pick up the book, despite its unsettling nature, and actually do something to change the course we are currently on. -
Noam Chomsky has been called the social conscience of America, and as an ardent champion of free speech and democracy, he challenges the established order, the mainstream news media, and neoliberalism. This balanced polemic is equally scathing about both Democrat and Republican Party administrations with their imperialist foreign policies of ‘democratic terrorism’ around the globe, from war against South Vietnam under Kennedy’s administration through to the global drone assassination campaign under Obama.
Chomsky nominates five candidates for who or what controls the world today:- the USA, the G7, Global Trade Organisations & Financial Institutions, Multilateral Conglomerates, and Media Empires. He highlights the two current major threats to world stability as those of nuclear weapon proliferation and global warming.
Chomsky also demonstrates how neoliberal programs have concentrated wealth and power in fewer hands while undermining democracy. Public opinion is ignored and the powerless in society are shown contempt by the wealthy metropolitan elites – witness the attempts to overturn democratic referenda in Britain and Europe. Real power shifts from elected politicians to the Market and Corporations. In the EU, for example, decision making shifted to unelected bureaucrats in Brussels.
This collection of previously published essays was re-issued two years ago, with an Afterword to the 2017 edition so it is unfortunate that earlier chapters have not been updated in light of later events which now shed a different light on some of Chomsky's analyses. For instance, the mood of angry impotence and rebellion across Europe against the imposition of austerity measures and mass immigration is only now gathering momentum, which shifts the emphasis onto globalisation as a current threat to world stability.
However, Chomsky closes his deliberations with the powerful alternative question to the opening one - i.e. "What principles and values rule the world?'
which hopefully will guide the choices as to how our 'rulers' should respond to the challenges ahead.
Highly recommended. -
So this was my first Chomsky, and I think I am a fan. He is pretty glib and glum, but justifiably. One gets the impression that there is no world in which Chomsky can be satisfied, but that should not take away from his dressing down of many valid targets of derision and ridicule.
There were times in this book where the slant was palpable. For instance, he praises Hugo Chavez, of all people, for making a (hollow) call for environmentalism, while savaging every one of his other targets for any deviation from stated intention; much of the same for Israel and Palestine. It's just irritating when he lets traditional scallawags off the hook, ostensibly to provide a balanced view, when he holds all of our traditional powerbrokers to such a (justifiably) high standard.
Despite his errant hypocrisies, we need more public intellectual iconoclasts like Chomsky in our society.
(Also, this being Halloween weekend and having been to the Brooklyn Halloween Dog Costume Parade in Ft. Greene, I couldn't help but think that Noam Chomp-sky would be a cute name for a dog) -
تصفحت الكتاب فقط
كل شيء لنا ولا شيء للاخر انها الحكمة الكريهة لسادة البشرية في كل عصر من العصور. هي صحيحة بالامس وصحيحة اليوم وصحيحة في كل زمان
ما قد يعتبره بعض البشر استقلالا هو بالنسبة لبشر اخرين تهديدا. انها اللعبة مصائب قوم عند قوم منافع ومنافع قوم عند قوم مصائب
ثروة بعض البشر قائمة على ماساة بعض البشر
ان موارد الطاقة موجودة في العالم العربي واي ثورة تشكل خطرا على الغرب لذا يقوم بمنع اي ديمقراطية فاعلة تسمح بالتطور. اللعبة تقول ادعم الديكتاتور مادام ذلك ممكنا اذا لم يعد ذلك ممكنا يحين دور الجيش للانقلاب ضده وطرده. في العلن يجب اعلان كل التضامن مع الديمقراطية وفي الخفاء يجب ارجاع النظام القديم. وحتى لو ادركت الشعوب العربية ذلك وقامت بكره الغرب فذلك ليس مهم المهم هو ان الغرب يسيطر. دعهم يدخنون من الغيظ كل شيء تحت السيطرة
اشار ادم سميث ان التجار واصحاب المصانع هم الاشخاص الذين يمتلكون المجتمع ويجب ان تخدم مصالحهم مهما كان التاثير.وهذا صحيح اليوم ايضا المؤسسات المالية والشركات المتعددة القومية هي من تحكم وتاثيرها ليس مؤلم فقط لكن مميت ايضا. ان السلطة هي في ايديهم وكل القرارات السياسية تاخذ تبعا لمصالحهم
الخطر ليس هو الاسلام او التطرف الخطر هو الاستقلال المسلمون المتطرفون خطيرون اذا استقلوا عن سيطرة الغرب والعلمانيون خطرون اذا استقلوا. كل مجموعة مستقلة هي عدو
الصين مركز تصنيع عظيم لكنها في الحقيقة مصنع تجميع تجمع اجزاء اجزاء ومكونات تكنولوجيا عالية تاتي من مراكز صناعية محيطة كاليابان وتايوان وكوريا الجنوبية وسنغافورة والولايات المتحدة واروبا. منذ 1945 استقلت الصين وكانت تلك خسارة لامريكا -
Chomsky has not lost his edge or his ability to completely turn your thinking inside out on any major foreign policy decision or issue of current affairs. While he makes some comparisons and analogies that are quite strained, his indictment of the ruling class and their insulation from democratic processes designed to keep their power in check is especially pertinent in this year's election cycle. The answer to the book's title, much to Chomsky's (and my) chagrin, is the US, but he ultimately turns the question around to ask the much more pertinent, "What principles and values rule the world?" After his long narrative of US mishaps and misadventures in imperialism, it is Chomsky's assertion that it cannot be those principles and values that have guided our foreign policy for the last half century. Stimulating reading from the 87 year old firebrand.
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A wealth of knowledge. But like most other Chomsky books, very dry and sometimes even hard to follow.
I can't help it but think that Chomsky's moral belief is not suited for this line of work, or maybe he writes for people who think that maybe US should actually care about right or wrong, or that proving this politician or country is a hypocrite is actually worth a damn. This is why I don't really like Chomsky. I don't see the point.
Anyways, good short read. Not something you can enjoy though. -
Noam Chomsky was a name I kept running across in my reading over the years, and I had long intended to take the plunge and read one of his books. A giant in the field of linguistics, Chomsky has had a storied and prolific career as an MIT professor, philosopher, activist, writer and more.
“Who Rules The World”, was, for me, a pointed and sobering introduction to his well-known criticisms of American foreign policy. I knew going in that my political views are markedly different than his, but much credit to Chomsky for a logical, well-documented, and thorough narrative of his thesis: that the U.S. has, for decades, let a hunger for power, empire building, and ties with corporate interests take precedence over human rights, democracy and environmental and nuclear threats.
Certainly the U. S. doesn’t have a flawless record; no nation does. And even though it has, in my view, the finest system of government ever conceived, mistakes will be made that need correcting --- sometime, as in our past, at the deep philosophical and spiritual level. Wherever you stand on the political spectrum, Chomsky will make you think, and he will test your arguments – and that’s a good thing. -
Aftur having seen many TV interviews with Noam Chomsky, I finally read one of his books. The title question is a big one, and he tries to answer it in this book while reflecting on Climate Change, terrorism, history, and politics, among other things.
It didn’t disappoint me. It’s an really interesting analyzes. I think he builds up a strong, convincing case for his views, even though the book is a little bit repetitive at times. Not sure if this is his best work, but I’m definitely going to read more of his books. -
كلام عظيم, منطقي, موزون بعيداً عن نظرية المؤامرة والماسونية وأفلام الأكشن. بكل بساطة بيشرحلك الكتاب كيف حتى أميركا عم تتحكم فيها الشركات الكبيرة. الكوكب ماشي بهي الطريقة.
وبعدها بيشرح كيف أميركا بتحكم قبضتها عالشرق الأوسط وأميركا الجنوبية والدنية
أحلى شي بالكتاب هو البعد عن كلام الجرايد وهرطقات نظرية المؤامرة. نعوم تشومسكي الآن عمره 88 عام ويصنّف بمرتبة كارل ماركس وفرويد وسقراط كفيلسوف ومثقف. بيستحق نقرأ كتب تانية اله -
Chomsky hace una crítica feroz al imperialismo y al sistema político de Estados Unidos, que dominan las empresas de los megarricos en su mayor parte.
Desde George Washington, que odiaba y denostaba a sus soldados rasos, por eso, por ser pobres, hasta la innovación de Obama con sus drones asesinos, siendo abogado constitucionalista que debe conocer la presunción de inocencia. Pasando por Reagan y su cruzada contra la democracia en Centroamérica, y la de Nixon en Chile.
Lo que no me gustó fue que ensalza a Putin, dictador ruso, en algunos apartes, y se repite frecuentemente. -
This was certainly timed by the publishers for the current US election fiasco and the desperate need for any kind of balancing voice in American politics. Watching the whole thing from afar this time (geographically speaking) makes it seem even more absurd than what a Trump/Clinton ticket might normally be – if that kind of thing is possible. This is highly recommended if you’re new to Chomsky as it’s a pretty good summary of his political thought from the past few decades. Much of what he says here has been said before in his other books, the philosophy is only updated with references to more recent events. His primary warnings center around environmental collapse and nuclear disaster, both of which are going mostly (recklessly) unheeded by both those in American politics and global business.
