Book outlines evil of Republican Party - "Requiem for the American Dream"

Follow @noamchomskyt Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes described as "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science.

Chomsky joined the UA in fall 2017, coming from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he worked since 1955 as professor of linguistics, then professor of linguistics, emeritus

How did this nation get to the point where the wealthiest one percent control all branches of government and set all national policy?

Noam Chomsky, in his book "Requiem for the American Dream," explains the 10 principals by which financial institutions and multinational corporations have gained control and intend to keep it.

Reduce democracy. It is dangerous to the elite.
Shape ideology. Chomsky cites the Trilateral Commission which saw "too much democracy" and suggested ways to "move people back to passivity and apathy."
Redesign the economy. Increase the role financial institutions, banks, investment firms, insurance companies, etc.
Shift the burden. For instance, the tax system must be redesigned so that taxes paid by the very rich are reduced and the tax burden on the rest of the population increased.
Attack solidarity. Attack social security (it only benefits the general public), attack public schools, privitize health care, reduce government.
Run the regulators. Those being regulated actually want regulation because they know that, eventually, they will control all regulation as legislators become lobbyists.
Engineer elections. Since corporations have now become "people" and money a "form of speech," we can no longer control how much corporations spend on elections.
Keep the rabble in line. People must be induced to hate and fear government because it is the potential instrument of popular will.
Manufacture consent. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent annually trying to create uninformed consumers who will make irrational choices.
Marginalize the population. We have people mobilizing against their own interests, supporting public figures whose goal is to harm them as much as possible.

These are the principals that are guiding this administration and the national Republican Party, which Chomsky calls, "the most dangerous organization in world history ... dedicated to racing as rapidly as possible to destruction of organized human life."

The book's available to all of us in our public library.

Richard W. Lewis Jr.

Glenville

SOURCE : dailygazette