Chomsky on Anarchism.pdf - Zine Library

CHOMSKY ON ANARCHISM
methods to ensure that the public is marginalized and removed from the public
arena. And the insignificant nations must be subjected to the same practices
as the insignificant people. The dilemma was explained by Roben Pastor, Latin
American specialist of the Caner Administration, at the extreme liberal and
dovish end of the political spectrum. Defending U.S. policy over many years,
he writes that "the United States did not want to control Nicaragua or other
nations in the region, but it also did not want to allow developments to get out
of control. It wanted Nicaraguans to act independently, except when doing so
would affect U.S. interests adversely."29 In short, Nicaragua and other countries
should be free-free do what we want them to do.-and should choose
their course independently, as long as their choice conforms to our interests. If
they use the freedom we accord them unwisely, then naturally we are entitled
ro respond in self-defense. The ideas expressed are a close counrerpart ro the
prevailing liberal conception of democracy at home as a form of population
COlltrol. At the other extreme of the spectrum, we find the "conservatives" wi th
their preference for quick resort ro Kristol's methods: gunboats and police cars.
A properly functioning system of indoctrination has a variety of tasks, some
rather delicate. One of its targets is the stupid and ignorant masses. They must
be kept that way, diverted with emotionally potent oversimplifications, marginalized,
and isolated. Ideally, each person should be alone in front of the TV
screen watching spons, soap operas, or comedies, deprived of organizational
structures that permit individuals lacking resources to discover what they think
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and believe in interaction with others, to formulate their own concerns and
programs, and to act to realize them. They can then be permined, even
encouraged, to ratifY the decisions made by their betters in periodic elections.
The "rascal multitude" are the proper targets of the mass media and a public
education system geared to obedience and training in needed skills, including
the skill of repeating patriotic slogans on timely occasiolls.
The problem of indoctrination is a bit different for those expected to take
part in serious decision-making and control: the business, state, and cultural
managers, and articulate sectors generally. They must internalize the values of
the system and share the necessary illusions that permit it to function in the
interests of concentrated power and privilege. But they must also have a certain
grasp of the realities of the world, or they will be unable to perform their
tasks effectively. The elite media and educational systems must find a way to
deal with these dilemmas, not an easy task. It is intriguing to see in detail how
it is done. but that is beyond the scope of these remarks.
I would like to end by stressing again one crucial point. The instinct for
freedom can be dulled, and often is, but it has yet to be killed. The courage
and dedication of people struggling for freedom, their willingness to confront
extreme state terror and violence, is often amazing. There has been a slow
growth of consciousness over many years and goals have been achieved {hat
were considered utopian or scarcely contemplated in earlier eras. An inveterate