Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy

....Among the hardest tasks that anyone can undertake, and one of the most important, is to look honestly in the mirror. If we allow ourselves to do so, we should have little difficulty in finding the characteristics of "failed states" right at home. That recognition of reality should be deeply troubling to those who care about their countries and future generations. "Countries," plural, because of the enormous reach of US power, but also because the threats are not localized in space and time. The first half of this book is devoted mostly to the increasing threat of destruction caused by US state power, in violation of international law, a topic of particular concern for citizens of the world dominant power, however one assesses the relevant threats. The second half is concerned primarily with democratic institutions, how they are conceived in the elite culture and how they performed in reality, both in "promoting democracy" abroad and shaping it at home. The issues are closely interlinked, and arise in several contexts. In discusing them, to save excessive footnoting I will omit sources when they can easily be found in recent books of mine. --- excerpts from book's Preface

This book is a devastating polemic against U.S. Foreign Policy that ought to infuriate all sides of the political spectrum. The most controversial chapter in the book, however, is probably the last chapter whose central argument is that what the author identifies as an elite minority made up wealthy families and large corporations really run the U.S. and that, "...elections are skillfully managed to avoid issues and marginalize the underlying population..." He would have approved President's Eisenhower's warning against the power of the military-industrial complex. Nonetheless the main thrust of this book is critiquing U.S. foreign policy. In the 1950's the then CEO of General Motors, Charlie Wilson, remarked famously that "What was good for General Motors was good for America." Far from causing outrage this remark was accepted as pretty accurate and Wilson subsequently became Secretary of Defense. The underlying, and unstated, premise of this book is that American Foreign Policy is predicated on the American belief that what is good for the U.S. is good for the world. This naïve belief is the root cause for what Chomsky calls America's self exemption from obeying international law, adhering to formal treaties, and abstaining from unprovoked aggression. In Chomsky's view U.S. history is largely a story of the U.S. concealing its drive for power and corporate profits behind high flown claims to altruistic motives the latest being the promotion of democracy in the Near East. Early on in this book, the author provides a fairly rigorous definition of failed states and then proceeds to show that the U.S. itself actually fits the criteria of a failed state. The book's author, Noam Chomsky is a well known anarchist and public intellectual. He also happens to be one of the few truly original thinkers of the 21st Century and, even rarer, a practicing philosopher. Weather you agree with him or not he is well worth reading. This book may make you mad, but it will also make you think.

Well I can see the right-wing trolls are starting to come out in an attempt to spam these reviews. It should go without saying but here goes: Please at least read the book before you put up an ignorant, hate filled, moronic review. If you've read Noam Chomsky's previous work then you know what to expect here. Another stunning and brilliant critique backed up by meticulous research and fact. Chomsky destroys U.S. foreign policy, the Bush administration's "noble intentions" and the conflict in Iraq piece by piece. Using history and a strong documentary record he looks at our history of conquest and places Iraq in the middle of it. Needless to say this is absolutely essential reading for anyone who wants to better understand our country's military policies and current position in the world. I cannot recommend this important work highly enough.

Noam Chomsky's writings are the real "No Spin Zone." Most all other commentators are either blatantly serving the Powers That Be, or else spinning some sort of lesser-of-two-evils compromise. By simply telling the truth for 40 years, Noam Chomsky has become the closest thing we have to an Old Testament prophet, speaking truth to power with no holds barred. "Oh God, pride of man, broken in the dust again..." This latest installment of Chomsky's patient and relentless skewering of imperial propaganda of course has plenty of material to work with since his last in 2003 (HEGEMONY OR SURVIVAL) -- the preventive war doctrine, the illegal prisons and torture scandal, and all the other accumulating crimes of the Cheney/Bush Faction. And since reading is not enough, we should do our best to force the Senate to produce the follow-up report on the Iraq invasion intelligence, the report that they promised before the election, the one that exposes the lies and distortions the government used to justify the war. That, of course, is a high crime if there ever was one. Now, on top of everything else, Cheney/Bush is threatening to attack Iran with nuclear weapons. Chomsky is obviously more relevant than ever. The Empire is moving to secure control of the oil, and truth and morality are minor obstacles in its path.

Most people who see the danger and evil of the course that the United States has taken under Bush II imagine that it is an anomaly in United States history. With brutal efficiency and undeniable facts and logic, Chomsky's latest book destroys that illusion, and by so doing snuffs out the last faint glimmerings of hope that the trend might be easily reversed. It is concentrated reality in a single dimension. Don't read it if you are unwilling to have your world view changed. If you are like me you will find Chomsky's message difficult to accept emotionally, but impossible to deny intellectually.