Understanding Power by Noam Chomsky

In the wake of recent events it is only fitting that I finished Noam Chomsky’s Understanding Power. The book was based on discussions with Mr Chomsky throughout the 80s and 90s. He brings to light many government atrocities and how they were kept hidden in plain site and covertly by those with controlling influences over the media. After reading the book it comes as no surprise that we have effectively been living in a surveillance state since 2001.

Among the many topics that Noam discusses is that fact that we do not have a free market. Powerful corporations work hand in hand with our government to extract resources and profit from around the world. The corporations gladly use the publicly funded military and scientific research projects of the government to aid them in their profit making. It’s not wonder that if you look at a map of US military bases around the world, you’ll find a large concentration of them around pipelines and oil rich areas.

The book was indeed pessimistic but did explain how the US is among the leaders of personal freedoms in the world. The only way to improve society is to identify the problematic areas so solutions can be crafted. While doing so, we have to remain aware of all the accomplishments our society has done to maintain hope, unity and moral.