Comment

Feb 01, 2018sggramps rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
This collection of essays addresses a wide range of current political and economic issues. Mr. Chomsky directs his well informed if often scathing gaze to the multiple conflicts in the Middle East and the Americas, hegemonic plays between superpowers, corporatism, failures of American democracy, nuclear proliferation and environmental issues. While skillfully pointing out the contradictions and failures in policy, the author builds a case that government action largely serves the interest of a corporate elite. The media and government reporting, rooted in American exceptionalism, are blind to the perspectives and concerns of the victims of and subsequent opponents to western interests. A negative tone sometimes makes it difficult to differentiate irony from argument. Ad hominem attacks occasionally detract from the quality of research and the underlying merit of an argument. The author’s broad command of the subject at hand is unfortunately not matched by discipline in presentation. Essays are assembled in no particular order; multitudinous examples frequently lack a connective thread while anecdotes and themes are repeated. A straightforward acknowledgement that this is a collection of essays with the date and location of original publication of each would assist the reader in navigating the volume. Those who seek confirmation of America’s misdeeds will find plenty to regale their appetite; those who seek a more balanced and coherent view with constructive solutions will have to look elsewhere.