Here is a sample:
"One commonly hears that carping critics complain about what is wrong,
but do not present solutions. There is an accurate translation for that
charge: "They present solutions, but I don't like them." In addition to
the proposals that should be familiar about dealing with the crises
that reach to the level of survival, a few simple suggestions for the
United States have already been mentioned: 1) accept the jurisdiction
of the International Criminal Court and the World Court; 2) sign and
carry forward the Kyoto protocols; 3) let the UN take the lead in
international crises; 4) rely on diplomatic and economic measures
rather than military ones in confronting terror; 5) keep to the
traditional interpretation of the UN Charter; 6) give up the Security
Council veto and have "a decent respect for the opinion of mankind," as
the Declaration of Independence advises, even if power centres
disagree; 7) cut back sharply on military spending and sharply increase
social spending. For people who believe in democracy, these are very
conservative suggestions: they appear to be the opinions of the
majority of the US population, in most cases the overwhelming majority.
They are in radical opposition to public policy. To be sure, we cannot
be very confident about the state of public opinion on such matters
because of another feature of the democratic deficit: the topics
scarcely enter into public discussion and the basic facts are little
known. In a highly atomised society, the public is therefore largely
deprived of the opportunity to form considered opinions."
We tend to be a product of what media feeds us. And that media directs us down a number of fairly obvious channels - much of it ignoring what is happening in South America. A number of the points that Chomsky raises seem to be very relevant to us now though. The increasing number of quite strategic relationships that China is building with South American and Middle Eastern countries to secure its future energy supplies, while the UK, US and Australia expend significant financial and political resources on Iraq, East Timor etc, should say it all. Who is winning the Great Game here?
