Noam Chomsky

"Far from creating independent thinkers, schools have always, throughout history, played an institutional role in a system of control and coercion. And once you are well educated you have already been socialized in ways that support the power structure, which, in turn, rewards you immensely." Noam Chomsky

"The public is not to see where power lies, how it shapes policy, and for what ends. Rather, people are to hate and fear one another." Noam Chomsky

"It’s ridiculous to talk about freedom in a society dominated by huge corporations. What kind of freedom is there inside a corporation? They’re totalitarian institutions - you take orders from above and maybe give them to people below you. There’s about as much freedom as under Stalinism." Noam Chomsky

"I try to encourage people to think for themselves, to question standard assumptions... Don't take assumptions for granted. Begin by taking a skeptical attitude toward anything that is conventional wisdom. Make it justify itself. It usually can't. Be willing to ask questions about what is taken for granted. Try to think things through for yourself." Noam Chomsky

"If we choose, we can live in a world of comforting illusion." Noam Chomsky

"As long as the general population is passive, apathetic, diverted to consumerism or hatred of the vulnerable, then the powerful can do as they please, and those who survive will be left to contemplate the outcome." Noam Chomsky

"It takes one minute to tell a lie, and an hour to refute it." Noam Chomsky

"It is the responsibility of intellectuals to speak the truth and expose lies." Noam Chomsky

"If something is repeated over and over as obvious, the chances are that it is obviously false." Noam Chomsky

"The conception of democracy is the one that I mentioned. The bewildered herd is a problem. We've got to prevent their roar and trampling. We've got to distract them. They should be watching the Superbowl or sitcoms or violent movies. Every once in a while you call on them to chant meaningless slogans like "Support our troops." You've got to keep them pretty scared, because unless they're properly scared and frightened of all kinds of devils that are going to destroy them from outside or inside or somewhere, they may start to think, which is very dangerous, because they're not competent to think. Therefore it's important to distract them and marginalize them." Noam Chomsky

"I think there is a good reason why the propaganda system works that way. It recognizes that the public will not support the actual policies. Therefore it is important to prevent any knowledge or understanding of them." Noam Chomsky

"Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state." Noam Chomsky

"The general population doesn't know what's happening, and it doesn't even know that it doesn't know." Noam Chomsky

"It’s about what you would expect from a bipartisan democracy campaign — it’s an attempt to impose what is called democracy, meaning rule by the rich and the powerful, without interference by the mob but within the framework of formal electoral procedures." Noam Chomsky