There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.
Noam ChomskyRead
In the 1930s, unemployed working people could anticipate that their jobs would come back.
Interpretation
The quote reflects a time when job loss was seen as temporary and hopeful optimism about economic recovery was prevalent.
Noam Chomsky's quote highlights the belief during the 1930s, particularly among unemployed workers, that the economic hardships caused by the Great Depression would eventually ease, allowing them to regain their jobs. This sentiment speaks to a collective hope and resilience that defined that era, suggesting that people had faith in the eventual return of stability and opportunity in the labor market.
In practice
In a speech about economic recovery, one could quote Chomsky to highlight the importance of optimism during tough times.
There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.
The 'free-floating intellectual' may occupy himself with problems because of their inherent interest and importance, perhaps to little effect.
If you're teaching today what you were teaching five years ago, either the field is dead or you are.
There are very few people who are going to look into the mirror and say, 'That person I see is a savage monster;' instead, they make up some construction that justifies what they do.
The Republican Party has become overwhelmingly so extreme that it's hardly a traditional political party anymore.
There is still much debate about whether torture has been effective in eliciting information - the assumption being, apparently, that if it is effective, then it may be justified.
What someone is paid has little or no relationship to what their work is worth to society.
We have designed a capitalist system wrong. We assume human beings are one-dimensional, all they do is make money, so we've created a money-centric world.
When you have a tax system in which most of the exemptions and the lowest rates benefit the richest, all in the name of job creation, all that happens is that the rich get richer.
With the exception of the instinct of self-preservation, the propensity for emulation is probably the strongest and most alert and persistent of the economic motives proper.
The modern corporation must manufacture not only goods but the desire for the goods it manufactures.
You don't drive an economy by consuming - the consumer is not the engine, the consumer is the caboose.
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