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 any institution-factory, university, health center, or whatever-there are a variety of interests that ought to be represented in decision-making: the work force itself, the community in which it is located, users of its products or services, institutions that compete for the same resources. These interests should be directly represented in democratic structures that displace and eliminate private ownership of the means of production or resources, an anachronism with no legitimacy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of diverse interests being represented in decision-making processes within various institutions.
Noam Chomsky argues that in any institution, be it a factory, university, or health center, it is crucial to include the perspectives of various stakeholders, such as employees, the surrounding community, and users of services. He stresses that genuine democratic representation is necessary to replace outdated systems that prioritize private ownership, which he deems illegitimate and unfit for modern society.
Themes
DemocracyRepresentationInterestsDecision-MakingCommunity
In practice
Example use cases
In a presentation about community health initiatives, this quote can illustrate the need for stakeholder input.
More from Noam Chomsky
All quotes →The 'free-floating intellectual' may occupy himself with problems because of their inherent interest and importance, perhaps to little effect.
Noam ChomskyRead
If you're teaching today what you were teaching five years ago, either the field is dead or you are.
Noam ChomskyRead
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.
Noam ChomskyRead
The Republican Party has become overwhelmingly so extreme that it's hardly a traditional political party anymore.
Noam ChomskyRead
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.
Noam ChomskyRead
Similar quotes
I have the feeling of this completely alternative person I should have become. There was another life that I might have had, but I’m having this one.
Kazuo IshiguroRead
What in me is dark Illumine, what is low raise and support, That to the height of this great argument I may assert eternal Providence, And justify the ways of God to men. 1 Paradise Lost. Book i. Line 22.
John MiltonRead
ZENITH, n. The point in the heavens directly overhead to a man standing or a growing cabbage. A man in bed or a cabbage in the pot is not considered as having a zenith, though Horizontalists hold that the posture of the body was immaterial.
Ambrose BierceRead
On the meeting point of two worlds, the ornament of Turkish homeland, the treasure of Turkish history, the city cherished by the Turkish nation, İstanbul, has its place in the hearts of all citizens.
Mustafa Kemal AtaturkRead
The blessed spirits must be sought within the self which is common to all
William Butler YeatsRead
If you have not discovered something you are willing to die for, then you are not fit to live.
Martin Luther King, Jr.Read