Chomsky – Secrets, Lies and Democracy - Review

 

This is an interesting pamphlet of interviews by David Barsamian with Noam Chomsky, which covers a wide collection of topics from defective democracy, health care, religious fundamentalism, the CIA and the media.

The central thrust of these interviews focuses on the corporatization of our democratic system. In one interview, Chomsky cites Thomas Jefferson's warning or fear, made at the end of his life, stating, that, the elites, aristocrats, "fear and distrust of the people, and wish to draw all powers from them into the hands of the higher classes." Democrats, on the other hand, "identify with the people, have confidence in them, cherish and consider them as the most honest and safe, although not the wisest, depository of the public interest." (This has changed in 2021) What Jefferson was saying is that the people should have the reigns of power; we should be in control, and not the centralized, powerful elites. Jefferson's greatest fear was the "banking institutions and monied incorporations" (big business) and if they were allowed to influence politics, they would eventually, run the entire show, benefiting the few at the exclusion of the majority.

It is here, throughout this text, that Chomsky offers several examples how corporate America and big business internationally influence our a democratic system where economically, the "little guy' suffers while big business gets bigger as our basic wages plummet. In other terms, the rich get richer, the gap between rich and poor widens and only the few benefit.

One has only to look at the statistical indicators of countries around the world, comparing rich and poor sovereign states to see that nothing is changing for the better in developing countries but steadily getting worse, while the small percentage of rich countries, ironically exploiting these poorer countries, are improving their wealth. The gap is widening, particularly over the past thirty years, doubling the wealth in the top twenty percent, while the low twenty percent has become much poorer. These statistics speak for themselves, and there are reasons for this dramatic shift in wealth.

Politicians' incestuous connection to the corporate sector is well documented. Tax breaks for the rich, while the man or woman on basic wages supporting a family can pay, in some cases, more tax than a CEO. For the obvious reasons, our politicians protect the corporate sector: campaign contributions, personal investment, etc. Jefferson's fear and warning in the early 19th century against banking institutions and monied corporations' political involvement has been realized.

Chomsky, in most cases, backs his arguments with statistical data and historical documentation that can be researched and checked by any interested individual. His words are never rhetorical, ad hominem arguments, or self-righteous condemnations to push a personal agenda. Instead, he speaks about facts, revealing injustice and, at times, crimes against the common citizen that should not be ignored. This little book is a good starting point for further research into economic and international affairs.