Class War: The Attack on Working People

In perhaps the most potent of his speeches released on CD (this one recorded in 1995 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology), linguist and political critic Noam Chomsky frankly addresses the evident—but largely undiscussed—lines of class in American society, comparing, for example, American labor laws and practices with those of its global comrades. "The government," Chomsky says, quoting John Dewey, his favorite Democratic philosopher, "is the shadow cast by business over society." He bemoans corporate propaganda, the crushing of unions, and the "created wants" that have left us "a devastated peasant society.... People are scared, angry, and hostile." Pretty tough stuff, but Chomsky does offer one ray of hope: "If you want to change something, change the substance, not the shadow." —Michael Ruby