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Noam Chomsky
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Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies (The CBC Massey Lectures) Kindle Edition

by Noam Chomsky (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars 97 ratings

In his national bestselling 1988 CBC Massey Lectures, Noam Chomsky inquires into the nature of the media in a political system where the population cannot be disciplined by force and thus must be subjected to more subtle forms of ideological control. Specific cases are illustrated in detail, using the U.S. media primarily but also media in other societies.

Chomsky considers how the media might be democratized (as part of the general problem of developing more democratic institutions) in order to offer citizens broader and more meaningful participation in social and political life.

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  1. Print length
    436 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    House of Anansi Press
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    September 2, 1995
  6. File size
    2.9 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Born in Philadelphia, Noam Chomsky is an internationally acclaimed linguistics scholar, author, and political radical. A self-proclaimed anarchist, Chomsky has extablished an irreverence towards authority characterized by political activism. Currently a professory at the the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chomsky is the author of numerous books.

About the Author

Born in Philadelphia, Noam Chomsky is an internationally acclaimed linguistics scholar, author, and political radical. A self-proclaimed anarchist, Chomsky has established an irreverence towards authority characterized by political activism. Currently a professor of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chomsky is the author of numerous books, including Towards a New Cold War, Turning the Tide, The Culture of Terrorism, Manufacturing Consent (with E.S. Herman), 9-11, Media Control, and Hegemony or Survival. He lives in Boston.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00WRNW8Y4
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ House of Anansi Press
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 2, 1995
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 2nd
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.9 MB
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 436 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1770897052
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1670L
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 97 ratings

About the author

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Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky

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Avram Noam Chomsky (/ˈnoʊm ˈtʃɒmski/; born December 7, 1928) is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, logician, 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. He has spent more than half a century at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he is Institute Professor Emeritus, and is the author of over 100 books on topics such as linguistics, war, politics, and mass media. Ideologically, he aligns with anarcho-syndicalism and libertarian socialism.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by https://www.flickr.com/photos/culturaargentina [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Free Speech
    5.0 out of 5 stars Want to know what the intent of the media and corporations truly is?
    Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    If you've long perceived that the news programs that glow from the corporately empowered tabernacles from the mouths of the disembodied (E-band) spirits that you invite into your living rooms are exceptionally contrived and manipulative in their very selective content, their interviews biased to promote the perception that all is well (at least for the E-band executive conducting the interview and his or her wealthy subject), and their aggressive efforts to assert that America isn't a concept that, in terms of its original intent of individual democracy and enforceable legal rights, died at roughly the same time that railroads arose, produced massive wealth for very few, and managed to get the Supreme Court of the day to declare them to have all the legal rights of individuals, then you might want to read this book and gain some insight into how corporate power is manifested in the news media. This may sound like a dark perspective, but you may rest assured that the author of this book, consistent with his own propaganda model of the mass media, and those who are given access to it, is too often strangely chipper in his perspectives on the topic, so fear not.
    14 people found this helpful
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  • Brendan R. Manning
    5.0 out of 5 stars Noam Chomsky
    Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2010
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    Brilliant and insightful. I am a conservative rightwing voter but Professor Chomsky insight into power and the control of and by the media is truly frightening. Don't believe what you are told by the media. Do be fooled by the propaganda machine. Everyone should read his books regardless of your political or religious views. Yes, I am still a conservative rightwing voter but much better informed and aware.
    16 people found this helpful
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  • anonymous
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good book by an important thinker
    Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2014
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    Noam Chomsky is an important linguistic theorists and social writer. In this book Chomsky looks at how elites maintain political power through propaganda that distorts and confuses major issues. The first 130 or so pages are originally based on a series of lectures given on the Canadian Broadcasting System, so the style is engaging and easy to follow. He follows this up with 220 or so pages of appendices that address criticisms of his original talks. This detracts a little for the books overall coherence.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • David Mark Olson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Necassary Tensions
    Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2014
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    It is a great piece, part of a large body
    of work by professor Chomsky that gets
    to some of the most important points.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Joseph G. Williams
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2015
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    perfect
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  • Anthony Solloway
    5.0 out of 5 stars Necessary Illusions: Chomsky's tour de force
    Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2000
    Of all the articles and books of Chomsky that I have read, Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies is without doubt the most exhaustively researched (and footnoted), the most logically structured, and the most convincing. Chomsky reminds us that the majority of the populace rely on the various media institutions for their information about political affairs; both domestic and foreign. One can only hold an opinion on a topic if one knows about the topic. So take, for example, the popular myth of the 'persistent Soviet vetoe' at the UN during the cold war. Why do people believe the USSR was constantly vetoeing any and every Security Council Resolution? Simple! When they did, it generated front page condemnation. When the US or the UK exercised their right of veteo: silence. As Chomsky notes, during the years of 1970 and 1989 the former Soviet Union veteod 8 resolutions. The US veteod some 56. This is what Chomsky refers to as Thought Control. Unless the public examine the factual record of the UN themselves, they will never come by this information, (at least not in the mainstream press). So although Chomsky's title may appear somewhat paradoxical, or oxymoronic, a moments reflection on such facts shows it to be, in fact, extremenly pragmatic and truthful. The question is, have you the honesty and sheer guts to question yourself and challenge the information which has contributed to your beliefs? The crux of Chomsky's argument is that propaganda is to a democracy what violence is to a dictatorship. Chomsky points out that, in fact, propaganda is, contrary to popular postulations, more important and vital to a democratic society because people still have some rights. That is, since people can talk, the powers that be must ensure that only the correct words come out of the peoples' mouths. In a dictatorship it does not really matter too much what people think; for whatever they may think, they have to do what they are told, by pain of death. In countries such as the US (and the UK) other, more subtle, methods are required. People often critisise Chomsky for the sources of his information (the copious footnotes). No such critique can be levelled at this work. Chomsky's sources are declassified internal planning documents, naval proceedings documents, and the very institutions he examines, New York Times, Washington Post etc. If there was one Chomsky book I would suggest you to read, this would be it.
    297 people found this helpful
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  • Bodi4ev
    5.0 out of 5 stars Most influencial thinker in modern time
    Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2020
    I can not be annoyed enough how absolutely I never heard of him. It is crazy. He is very knowledgeable.
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  • ClayWalters
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2014
    Everyone should read this.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Amir
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book? No I should say one of the greatest book...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    This book does not need any review. This is an eye opener book, you can see the reality of today's life without especial filter of media and governments...

    I recommend this book to everybody (no matter the age, sex, etc)
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  • JOHN A. KENNEDY
    5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome
    Reviewed in Canada on June 27, 2024
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    Awesome
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  • S.B
    5.0 out of 5 stars Well written
    Reviewed in Canada on February 20, 2019
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    Good read
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  • E. E. Smith
    5.0 out of 5 stars Noam Chomsky knows
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 11, 2013
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    He's just trying to help the rest of us to get a better understanding of how bad things really are: which so far has evaded our intellectual and emotional grasp.
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  • Jose G.
    4.0 out of 5 stars Can not tell
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    It was to send as a gift.
    Read only a few pages.
    Thank you.
    Report

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