There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.
Noam ChomskyRead
One of the most interesting reactions to come out of 1968 was in the first publication of the Trilateral Commission, which believed there was a 'crisis of democracy' from too much participation of the masses.
Interpretation
Chomsky highlights concerns about excessive public engagement in democratic processes.
In this quote, Noam Chomsky reflects on the perspective of the Trilateral Commission, which argued that an overload of mass participation could be detrimental to democracy. This raises important questions about the balance between engagement and the effective functioning of democratic institutions, suggesting that there are potential pitfalls to too much involvement from the populace in decision-making processes.
In practice
In a political science class discussing the complexities of democratic systems.
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.
The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. You wonder what his name is, where he came from. And if he was really evil at heart. What lies or threats led him on this long march from home. If he would not rather have stayed there in peace. War will make corpses of us all.
People do not think in English or Chinese or Apache; they think in a language of thought. This language of thought probably looks a bit like all these languagesBut compared with any given language, mentalese must be richer in some ways and simpler in others.
What consoles one nowadays is not repentance but pleasure. Repentance is quite out of date.
It is the awareness of unfulfilled desires which gives a nation the feeling that it has a mission and a destiny.
He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.
Simply from the fact that we have regarded a thing with the emotion of pleasure or pain, though that thing be not the efficient cause of the emotion, we can either love or hate it.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.