Powers and prospects : reflections on human nature and the social order / Noam Chomsky
Main Author Chomsky, Noam, 1928- Country Reino Unido. Publication London : Pluto Press, 1996 Description XII, 244 p. ; 22 cm ISBN 0-7453-1106-7 CDU 19 CHOMSKY| Item type | Current location | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monografia | Biblioteca Geral da Universidade do Minho | BGUMD 91107 | Available | 169640 |
Total holds: 0
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
'Powers and Prospects - Reflections on Human Nature and the Social Order adds another controversial volume to Chomsky's already tottering pile on language and politics ... This political chapters, by contrast, boil with barely restrained moral outrage and passion ... A powerful section covers the British and Us role is organizing and supporting Suharto's murderous military coup of 1965, which resulted in the slaughter of some 600 000 people...Chomsky presents here a timely review of the western-backed massacres in East Timor ... Chomsky, as ever, remains one of the few people willing to put the true value of all three in their proper perspective' The EcologistFrom East Timor to the Middle East, from the nature of democracy to our place in the natural world, from intellectual politics to the politics of language, Powers and Prospects provides a scathing critique of orthodox views and government policy, and outlines other paths that can lead to better understanding an more constructive action. Chomsky lifts the veil of distortions that conceals the workings of history and social policy, and reveals how the 'new' world order is little more than a remarketing of the same old disorder. His refreshingly clear views of the world and the nature of things are supported by a wealth of detail.
Table of contents provided by Syndetics
- Foreword (p. v)
- Preface (p. x)
- 1 Language and Thought: Some Reflections on Venerable Themes (p. 1)
- 2 Language and Nature (p. 31)
- 3 Writers and Intellectual Responsibility (p. 55)
- 4 Goals and Visions (p. 70)
- 5 Democracy and Markets in the New World Order (p. 94)
- 6 The Middle East Settlement: Its Sources and Contours (p. 132)
- 7 The Great Powers and Human Rights: The Case of East Timor (p. 169)
- 8 East Timor and World Order (p. 204)
- Endnotes (p. 222)
- Index (p. 237)
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Publishers Weekly Review
The prolific linguist and political pundit has two new books out this season. In May, Common Courage will bring out Class Warfare, the third in a series of interviews between Chomsky and David Barsamian, director of Alternative Radio. At a time when downsizing, the demise of unions and other factors are leading to an increased income gap between rich and poor, Chomsky analyzes some of the reasons and offers solutions. ($15 ISBN 1-56751-092-2; cloth $29.95 -093-0). Then in June, South End will release a more wide-ranging collection of essays on language, human nature and foreign policy with Power and Prospects: Reflections on Human Nature and the Social Order ($16 ISBN 0-89608-535-X; cloth $40 -536-8) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reservedAuthor notes provided by Syndetics
Noam Chomsky was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 7, 1928. Son of a Russian emigrant who was a Hebrew scholar, Chomsky was exposed at a young age to the study of language and principles of grammar. During the 1940s, he began developing socialist political leanings through his encounters with the New York Jewish intellectual community.Chomsky received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied linguistics, mathematics, and philosophy. He conducted much of his research at Harvard University. In 1955, he began teaching at MIT, eventually holding the Ferrari P. Ward Chair of Modern Language and Linguistics.
Today Chomsky is highly regarded as both one of America's most prominent linguists and most notorious social critics and political activists. His academic reputation began with the publication of Syntactic Structures in 1957. Within a decade, he became known as an outspoken intellectual opponent of the Vietnam War.
Chomsky has written many books on the links between language, human creativity, and intelligence, including Language and Mind (1967) and Knowledge of Language: Its Nature, Origin, and Use (1985). He also has written dozens of political analyses, including Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (1988), Chronicles of Dissent (1992), and The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many (1993).
(Bowker Author Biography)
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