Quotes by Noam Chomsky

About Noam Chomsky:

Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, logician, political commentator, social justice activist, and anarcho-syndicalist advocate. Sometimes described as the "father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy. He has spent most of his career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he is currently Professor Emeritus, and has authored over 100 books. He has been described as a prominent cultural figure, and was voted the "world's top public intellectual" in a 2005 poll.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Bradley Manning has been imprisoned without charge, under torture, which is what solitary confinement is.

Noam Chomsky

Remember, weapons of mass destruction don't mean missiles.

Noam Chomsky

The threat and use of violence is stimulating nuclear proliferation along with jihadi terrorism.

Noam Chomsky

There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.

Noam Chomsky

Unlimited economic growth has the marvelous quality of stilling discontent while maintaining privilege, a fact that has not gone unnoticed among liberal economists.

Noam Chomsky

State formation has been a brutal project, with many hideous consequences. But the results exist, and their pernicious aspects should be overcome.

Noam Chomsky

Turkey must find its place if, of course, it can heal its internal sores, and none is more malignant than the perennial Kurdish issue.

Noam Chomsky

Sometimes I lose my temper.

Noam Chomsky

Under the worst conditions, horrendous conditions, people still, you know, fight for their rights and don't just succumb.

Noam Chomsky

The U.S. and its allies will do anything they can to prevent authentic democracy in the Arab world.

Noam Chomsky

Under Clinton, the defiance of world order has become so extreme as to be of concern even to hawkish policy analysts.

Noam Chomsky

It's perfectly obvious that there is some genetic factor that distinguishes humans from other animals and that it is language-specific. The theory of that genetic component, whatever it turns out to be, is what is called universal grammar.

Noam Chomsky

In the late 19th century there was a major union organization, Knights of Labor, and also a radical populist movement based on farmers. It's hard to believe, but it was based in Texas, and it was quite radical. They wanted their own banks, their own ...

Noam Chomsky

There are major efforts being made to dismantle Social Security, the public schools, the post office - anything that benefits the population has to be dismantled. Efforts against the U.S. Postal Service are particularly surreal.

Noam Chomsky

In much of the world, there is a sense of an ultra-powerful CIA manipulating everything that happens, such as running the Arab Spring, running the Pakistani Taliban, etc. That is just nonsense.

Noam Chomsky

I did used to have nightmares about the idea that when I die, there is a spark of consciousness which basically creates the world. 'Is the world going to disappear if this spark of consciousness disappears? And how do I know it won't? How do I know t...

Noam Chomsky

One of the most interesting reactions to come out of 1968 was in the first publication of the Trilateral Commission, which believed there was a 'crisis of democracy' from too much participation of the masses.

Noam Chomsky

In Egypt, on the eve of Tahrir Square, there was a major poll which found that overwhelmingly - 80-90%, numbers like that - Egyptians regarded the main threats they face as the U.S. and Israel. They don't like Iran - Arabs generally don't like Iran -...

Noam Chomsky

In November 2008, the day of the presidential election, Israeli military forces invaded Gaza and killed half a dozen Hamas militants. Well, that was followed by a missile exchange for a couple of weeks in both directions.

Noam Chomsky

I do not think psychoanalysis has a scientific basis. If we can't explain why a cockroach decides to turn left, how can we explain why a human being decides to do something?

Noam Chomsky

In 1949, China declared independence - an event known in Western discourse as 'the loss of China' in the U.S. - with bitter recriminations and conflict over who was responsible for that loss.

Noam Chomsky

Author Bio

  • NameNoam Chomsky
  • DescriptionAmerican linguist, philosopher
  • AliasesAvram Noam Chomsky; A. Noam Chomsky; Chomsky, Noam
  • BornDecember 7, 1928
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionPhilosopher; Linguist; Opinion Journalist; Political Writer; Educationist; Media Critic
  • AwardsOrwell Award; Guggenheim Fellowship