Chomsky interview with Michael Dranove: On Obama's budget (3/6)

[juanmora19910209]

1:18 Chomsky is the MAN!

[ChaoticSouls]

I got to disagree with him except on foreign policy

[poemsbytom]

My favorite Chomsky interviews involve only one person speaking. Catepillar. wow. More knowledge. Thank you

[rring88]

Those damn people thinking of others...

[catgumart]

I think everyone should have a computer in their household in this day age if someone can't afford one I think they should get one along with their benefits or welfare...there is too much of a disadvantage to not having access to the internet

[NegativeNick]

can someone please explain why public transport isn't an option?

[Chomskyan]

He was pointing out the type of choices that are available in a market system are limited. Since profit is the overwhelming driving force, we are usually presented with choices between one brand over another.... but choices that are not profitable, like public transportation, isn't presented as an option within the market.

[NegativeNick]

but that isn't true! buses are an option! the problem i see is that there aren't any good or diverse options to choose from. take cell phones, no variety, they all do the same thing. if we had a resource based economy we would do away with the crapy bus system as well as cars and move toward high powered magnet trains and shared cars that ran on a use system depending on who needed it at any given time

[Chomskyan]

To the extent that public transit exists, it's heavily state subsidized. So it's not part of the choices offered by the market. Remember he was talking about choices offered by the MARKET, which are profit driven.

Look into the history of the demise of the trolly system in LA, how private interests drove it to the ground on purpose in favor of cars.

I am not sure what you mean by a "resource based economy" but proposals like car sharing systems and high tech trains are sensible.

[NegativeNick]

that makes sense, but the way he puts it it makes it seem as though if the market doesn't supply it then it won't exist, or maybe it was just my intrepretation. for info on a RBE look up the Venus Project

[Chomskyan]

He was pointing out one of the limits of markets, as a critique of markets. He favors popular control over industries, resources, and development.

Unfortunately right now the population have very little control, other than these limited choices offered up by the market. He is saying popular movements should try to break through it.

[NegativeNick]

It's my opinion that as long as we have have money there will be control over it, it's better if we move toward an equal distrubution of resources because then we will start to see everyone as equal and do what's in everybody's best interest rather than doing what makes money

[catgumart]

How about totally electric cars, you go to a depot put your card through a machine(or your thumb print) and a car is issued, you go to the store get your groceries and return your car to the depot...so people can be more autonomous with there transportation...or maybe you can be issued a car if you are on welfare or if you just want to live simply, maybe for every 100 miles you drive you can donate an extra dollar toward scientific research or some good cause, or infrastructure...

[danzo240]

He must love that jumper. He never has it off!! Christmas Present haha

[shwwnn]

@danzo240 maybe he has many of the same looking ones.

[CrosshairJack]

Chomsky is God!

[IWantDemocracyNow]

Man, this guy's hair is driving me NUTS!!!!!  I can't see his face. What interviewer does that?

[Chomskyan]

Hey Donovan, give the kid a break.... he is 18 and politically interested and active, exactly the people we need for the movement. Give me a million kid like this with hair all up in his /her face. Better that then some clean cut apologist, don't you think?

[vktrsx]

Have you ever wondered why men cut their hair and shave? I just recently began to ponder it.

Historically, shearing was a means of humiliation for captured warriors.

It's also used by the military as part of the "tearing down and rebuilding" process.

When you get a haircut and shave for a job, you're demonstrating a willingness to submit to authority. It's an emasculation process.

Even the language is propaganda: "clean cut," as though hair were necessarily unclean.

Oh, but there's more...

[vktrsx]

...when you say "well, women like it," I say, "well, women are conditioned, too."

It's literally impossible to freely choose to be "clean cut," for the same reason that it's impossible to "freely choose" a boss under capitalism: you're compelled by conditions to conform to the accepted image, or you risk forfeiture of your culture pass and even your livelihood...

[vktrsx]

My point is, leave him alone. I hope he grows his hair even longer and keeps it throughout life, and grows a ZZ Top beard to match. It takes a special kind of newspeak to make shearing your head and scraping your face bare seem normal, while making your natural state seem bizarre and even frightening to women and children. It is fucking sick and needs to be challenged.

[Cosbibi]

Epic

[applaya]

I feel bad for him, he doesn't look well.

[rlvowell]

my hair is around 10 or 11 inches long, right now. occasionally i am told that i should cut it. i pretty much say, "fuck that, i like my hair and i like the monopoly i have over women that like men with long hair." :]

[tarnopol]

Who gives a shit what this kid's hair looks like? Good questions; good interview. At 18 or whatever he was far better than many "professionals."

[langengro]

@buddhagem - Using the obvious intellectual superiority of Noam Chomsky (or one's own affiliation to him) as an argument in a political debate doesn't count for anything. But it's interesting to see that such cynical appeals to authority can exist even on the political left. Seems to manifest a feeling of helplessness of people who are convinced that any attempt at rational persuasion in politics is bound to fail. I personally agree with you on that point, but Chomsky obviously does not.

[buddhagem]

I never said it counted for anything. That was your assumption and you can keep it. I've debated Luke plenty of times and I stand by my intellectual merit, not Chomsky's. Unlike you, I don't just lurk in the comment section. I actually make videos.

[langengro]

Well, if it didn't count for anything, why did you say it? And why do you think I have to post videos to make some lousy comment legitimate? But perhaps you better forget it. We both know that Youtube comments are typically used for the exchange of empty, hate-filled remarks. I just humbly remarked that your response to the dissenter below was no exception. You say that it is an exception given your own record, but the nature of your reply doesn't provide much evidence that this is true ...

[buddhagem]

Try and pay attention: I didn't use Chomsky to score points in a political debate. I was really and truly asking Luke if he would consider coming to Boston to interview Chomsky. Really! Are you still following along? You're the one who assumed I was trying to score points or whatever. I don't hate you. I just don't understand why you assumed so much.

[buddhagem]

Luke, we recognize your superior intellect and think it would be awesome if you could come down to Boston and interview Noam Chomsky and maybe bring up some of these points in an interview. I think Noam would really appreciate to hear from someone like you. I'm pretty sure Chomskyan can hook it up. When could you make it down? I'd pay money to see you enlighten Noam on economics.

[Luke12000]

Don't be a Jackass, I'm raising a contradiction within his/your philosophy instead of reacting emotionally why not show me why you think I'm wrong. Why not show why ONE social program must be forced uniformly across all of society. Do you believe people cant be trusted to do whats best for themselves? So it needs to be forced through the state?

[buddhagem]

Luke, I was being serious. I really would love to get you down to Boston to let you explain this to Noam. I think we can arrange it. Would you be interested? Might be fun. I'm sure we'd have a good time. I'm totally serious. I'm not saying "debate Chomsky" but maybe we could set up an interview and you could ask him questions. What do you think? I'll respond to the points you raise in the following comment

[Luke12000]

Ok, if it could be arranged I would certainly make the effort. I could make a video outlining questions I would like to ask.

[KentAllard]

political equality is meaningless without economic equality

[rlvowell]

he's not saying, "ONE social program must be forced uniformly across all of society." he's saying, "the state is here now and it has and will continue to steal our money. so we might as well pressure the fuckin thing to give us what we need, instead of letting the tax money go to waste."

[Luke12000]

Chomsky points out that you lose public programs in free markets, but he fails to mention that public programs are just a way of forcing a particular program on the people and making them pay for it. If there is demand for buses, then businesses will pursue profit and make buses. This is basic economics that Chomsky can't seem to recognize. This leads him to support authoritarianism, undermining everything he pretends to stand for.

[Wishchrono]

That's free market hogus-bogus. First of all, should the business make buses they would only apply their routs based on places where people can actually buy their products - basically in areas where people are pretty well off financially. A free market isn't a guarantee that small businesses would blossom, even in areas of high poverty, because some companies would still grow, and put the smaller ones out of business.

[Luke12000]

If people want a social program, they can create it out of mutual self-interest. That's what it all comes down to, there is no reason to advocate forced interaction as the solution, that is all I am saying. Chomsky serves as a propagandist for the state when he abandons free association because it might not lead to the social programs he advocates. People have the right to NOT associate with you. Neither you nor Chomsky knows what's best for people and you just need to accept that.

[buddhagem]

So if poor people with no access to food, jobs, housing or natural resources want a social program all they have to do is freely associate? I think what you are missing is the reality in which we live and while your idealism may be great and nifty, the government is actively stealing from us; we can use that money to feed, house, and clothe people or we can continue to use it to murder people around the world. Guns or butter?

[Luke12000]

What you are missing is that forced association does not solve the problems you raised, Im just saying people should be left to solve their own problems because they know best. I would think you would agree with me...

And the government is only stealing because of mealy mouth apologetics.

[lrn2wlk4life]

Where is Man's right not to associate with his countryman, or statesman, or neighbor? Every law made federal is made inescapable. It is wild where the anarchist joins the communist, mocking realist nationalists as apologists. Shame our military is seemingly included in those with whom you fret forced association.

But I'm with ya man - people should have the right to not associate. And that is why dc is small, states are big, and UN/NWO isn't a twinkle in daddy Marx's eye, Obama that is.

[Wishchrono]

But if there are no economical resources to create these social programs, how are they supposed to do it? It certainly would work in an anarcho-syndicalist society - not what you seem to propose, the free market OR state-capitalism. And your solution is what? Let the people be poor, let the sick, old, and unemployed die? I mean donations is what I hear from some free market idiots, and that was actually tried here in Sweden. Some months they just didn't want to pay. And then what?

[buddhagem]

BTW, I'm still awaiting your video response about the inefficiency of markets. What happened?

[Luke12000]

It'll come

[KentAllard]

or business will induce a demand for buses by buying up city light rail and tram lines and then dismantling them