Free Market Fantasies by Noam Chomsky 2/5

thisisbunk Says:

May 6, 2010 - so if these are free market fantasies (of which i agree) and examples of the power of "private" tyrannies (power derived from the state) - when does Noam talk about the truth of free markets and the true definition of "private" means?

grantorgeir Says:

May 16, 2010 - @nammoo89 I'm in favour of a health care system where providers and customers come to an agreement without bringing private actors into the equation

pazusheeta Says:

Jun 1, 2010 - 3:20 Raising children isn't work...figuring out scams for investment firms is. Classic.

comrademessenger Says:

Aug 5, 2010 - @pazusheeta i.ro.ny1. The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning.2. An expression or utterance marked by a deliberate contrast between apparent and intended meaning.3. A literary style employing such contrasts for humorous or rhetorical effect

pazusheeta Says:

Aug 5, 2010 - @comrademessenger Yes...I was praising his use of it.

alternatehistorypt Says:

Oct 20, 2010 - Personally I like to call the so-called "free-market" by what is really is "MARKET FASCISM" great video :)

nomis101uk Says:

Oct 31, 2010 - I think Chomsky's analysis of WHAT's happening in our society is almost always accurate, but sometimes when he throws out the WHY, I start scratching my head. For instance: on putting people in prison. He comes out with accurate facts about crime levels and jail population which makes a point in itself. But then, with absolutely nothing to back him up, just comes out and says 'its cos "they" want to get rid of the useless people'. I wish he would back up these kinds of "why's" with evidence.

talgkjertel Says:

Nov 25, 2010 - @nomis101uk I agree with you, but then again 'why' will always be an open question. As long as we can come to some certain agreement on 'what' is happening, then we can begin to start making the right decisions for ourselves.

mntlPurple Says:

Dec 12, 2010 - there are no problems, only solutions

CytherLynx Says:

Jan 2, 2011 - To all Chomsky fans.the REAL libertarians are of the Frederick Bastiat kind. yes, the left were the true libertarians, but they were for Laissez-faire CAPITALISM and minimal to no government!please read 'The Law'. it is only 52 pages long and written in 1850.However, seeing as many are lazy, please read w w w . fff . org / freedom / fd0706b . asp(copy to URL and delete the spaces)if Bastiat were alive, he'd certainly be an Austrian economist

Tougemaster06 Says:

Jan 10, 2011 - @nomis101uk There is plenty of evidence. The fact that the rich just don't want to fulfill their end of the social contract is evidence. The fact that we have to even argue the existence of the welfare state is evidence. The fact that the bourgeoisie come up with all kinds of BS reasons and distort human nature to justify their vulgar economics is evidence.... Does Chomsky have to think for you too? lol

nomis101uk Says:

Jan 11, 2011 - @Tougemaster06 I don't quite understand what your reply has to do with my comment. I was simply stating that, if you're going to say something as extraordinary as "there's a high prison population because the elite wants to get rid of useless people", then you need to actually produce real evidence if you expect anyone to believe it; because such a statement implies design - A particular causation for which evidence should exist if it were real.

johnuio Says:

Jan 14, 2011 - @nomis101uk --> Well, you are asking for too much, because it is common knowledge that legislation always carries a nominal veneer of STATED purpose, which conceals lobby motives. YOU KNOW THIS. Neo-cons and other conservatives are traditionally authoritarian, and so it is reasonable to psychoanalyze their lobby, i.e. to dig into their motives to guess intelligently at their intentions with regard to elements in society that are not authoritarian. Yes they are capable of demonizing sectors.

nomis101uk Says:

Jan 16, 2011 - @johnuio Expecting evidence is to much to ask? Well unfortunately I prefer to base my beliefs on evidence. The reality is that often in politics the stated motives ARE the real motives. This occurs when there is no need for concealment. So in this instance the stated motives are entirely consistant with the zero-tolerence, "tough-on-crime" ethos that the RIght has and prefers to rehab and social justice approaches. All other explanations are surplus to requirement and unsupported by evidence.

nomis101uk Says:

Jan 16, 2011 - @johnuio I'm simply applying Occam's razor here

johnuio Says:

Jan 16, 2011 - @nomis101uk --> Fair enough. I agree that pure conspiracy paranoia is unwise, but political blocs should be scrutinized at least enough to dissuade or mitigate self serving PR. You may be right that stated purposes are often real. But a discerning public cannot rely on that. Finally, it's entirely possible that Chomsky crosses the line by attributing to hypothetical motives too much from the outcomes. That would be a post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy without further justification.

johnuio Says:

Jan 16, 2011 - @nomis101uk --> Sorry not that fallacy, but the fallacy of attributing specific intentions to a party on the basis of the results. The reason I give Chomsky leeway on that interpretation of neo-cons is because their anti-crime and other "tough love" policies have the direct and obvious effect of severely marginalizing/alienating social dissidents and outsiders. The related ambiance of elitist hyper competitiveness, in the business world, is infectious and very authoritarian, fear-generating.

pvisserandorra Says:

Jan 18, 2011 - US has the highest prison population in the World, 50% higher than China (who have 3 times the population).

neonaction Says:

Mar 9, 2011 - Reagan is a shame to our country. He kisses the ass of rich people and screws the poor

37Dionysos Says:

Apr 12, 2011 - "Watch out for the word REFORM---it's a change you're supposed to like." Indeed the word goes back to the first Euro-colonists, the Puritans, who were "reforming" everything life-loving out of English culture and promised to "reform" the Irish and American Indians until they "progressed" into worshipping property and the Bible. ANCIENT LIGHTS dot o-r-g

thirdshift47 Says:

Apr 24, 2011 - @37Dionysos Great point.We all know how welfare 'reform' and even health care 'reform' are turning out.Another word to watch out for is 'Modernization.'

KraussHelmut Says:

Apr 27, 2011 - I love how he slams hillbilly thinking. Truly I do.

DystopianEmpire01 Says:

May 12, 2011 - Many ppl confuse hillbilly with redneck, not the same type of person, hillbillies and rednecks, in alot of ways. Not the same. Same goes with southern and counrty.

joezuu Says:

Oct 24, 2011 - @neonaction Unfortunately, you can't really blame Reagan. Chances are, he didn't even know what half of the policies he was enacting were. It's the administration that's really at fault. Reagan literally was a trained actor, and a terrible one at that.

neonaction Says:

Nov 2, 2011 - @joezuu So you can't blame Mao and Stalin then right? Cause in reality Mao and Stalin didn't really know all the policies as well, they can't possibly know- they managed like half the world's land mass and population.Mao and Stalin are great actors as well.