On Anarchism

by Noam Chomsky

Overview

On Anarchism provides the reasoning behind Noam Chomsky's fearless lifelong questioning of the legitimacy of entrenched power. In these essays, Chomsky redeems one of the most maligned ideologies, anarchism, and places it at the foundation of his political thinking. Chomsky's anarchism is distinctly optimistic and egalitarian. Moreover, it is a living, evolving tradition that is situated in a historical lineage; Chomsky's anarchism emphasizes the power of collective, rather than individualist, action.

The collection includes a revealing new introduction by journalist Nathan Schneider, who documented the Occupy movement for Harper's and The Nation, and who places Chomsky's ideas in the contemporary political moment. On Anarchism will be essential reading for a new generation of activists who are at the forefront of a resurgence of interest in anarchism—and for anyone who struggles with what can be done to create a more just world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781595589514
Publisher:	New Press, The
Publication date:	11/05/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	537,573
File size:	439 KB

About the Author

Noam Chomsky is Institute Professor (emeritus) in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Laureate Professor of Linguistics and Agnese Nelms Haury Chair in the Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona. A world-renowned linguist and political activist, he is the author of numerous books, including On Language: Chomsky's Classic Works Language and Responsibility and Reflections on Language; Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky, edited by Peter R. Mitchell and John Schoeffel; American Power and the New Mandarins; For Reasons of State; Problems of Knowledge and Freedom; Objectivity and Liberal Scholarship; Towards a New Cold War: U.S. Foreign Policy from Vietnam to Reagan; The Essential Chomsky (edited by Anthony Arnove); and (with Michel Foucault) The Chomsky-Foucault Debate. He lives in Tucson, Arizona. Nathan Schneider is the author of Thank You, Anarchy: Notes from the Occupy Apocalypse and God in Proof: The Story of a Search from the Ancients to the Internet. He also edits the online publications Waging Nonviolence and Killing the Buddha. He lives in Brooklyn.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Anarcho-Curious? or, Anarchist America Nathan Schneider vii

1 Notes on Anarchism 1

2 Excerpts from Understanding Power 21

3 Part II of "Objectivity and Liberal Scholarship" 45

4 Interview with Harry Kreisler, from Political Awakening 103

5 Language and Freedom 117

Notes 143

Permissions 169

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Noam Chomsky:
"Chomsky is a global phenomenon."
—Samantha Power, The New York Times Book Review

"Chomsky's fierce talent proves once more that human beings are not condemned to become commodities."
—Eduardo Galeano

"Not to have read [Chomsky] is to court genuine ignorance."
—The Nation

From the Publisher