Noam Chomsky

"The effort to try to present the Social Security program as if it's a major problem, that's just a hidden way of trying to undermine and destroy it." Noam Chomsky

"The West Bank is essentially imprisoned." Noam Chomsky

"In a democracy, in a functioning democracy, what would be happening is that popular organizations, unions, political groupings, others would be developing their programs, putting them forth, insisting that their representatives implement those programs." Noam Chomsky

"There is no body of theory or significant body of relevant information, beyond the comprehension of the layman, which makes policy immune from criticism." Noam Chomsky

"The Vietnamese see their history as an unending series of struggles of resistance to aggression, by the Chinese, the Mongols, the Japanese, the French, and now the Americans." Noam Chomsky

"Anarchism means all sort of things to different people, but the traditional anarchists' movements assumed that there'd be a highly organized society, just one organized from below with direct participation and so on." Noam Chomsky

"NATO's essentially run by the United States." Noam Chomsky

"The truth is, I have absolutely no professional credentials - literally, which is why I'm teaching at MIT." Noam Chomsky

"One of the best predictors of policy around is Thomas Ferguson's investment theory of politics, as he calls it - very outstanding political economist - which essentially - I mean, to say it in a sentence, he describes elections as occasions in which groups of investors coalesce and invest to control the state." Noam Chomsky

"I admire Ralph Nader and Denis Kucinich very much, and insofar as they bring up issues and carry out an educational and organisational function - that's important, and fine, and I support it." Noam Chomsky

"When you look at a corporation, just like when you look at a slave owner, you want to distinguish between the institution and the individual. So slavery, for example, or other forms of tyranny, are inherently monstrous. The individuals participating in them may be the nicest guys you can imagine." Noam Chomsky

"Debt is a trap, especially student debt, which is enormous, far larger than credit card debt. It's a trap for the rest of your life because the laws are designed so that you can't get out of it. If a business, say, gets in too much debt, it can declare bankruptcy, but individuals can almost never be relieved of student debt through bankruptcy." Noam Chomsky

"The Occupy movement did create spontaneously communities that taught people something: you can be in a supportive community of mutual aid and cooperation and develop your own health system and library and have open space for democratic discussion and participation. Communities like that are really important." Noam Chomsky

"You cannot control your own population by force, but it can be distracted by consumption." Noam Chomsky