Product Features

• ISBN13: 9780805082845
• Condition: New
• Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

From the Editors

<div><div><div><b>"It's hard to imagine any American reading this book and not seeing his country in a new, and deeply troubling, light."--<i>The New York Times Book Review</i></b></div><div><br>The United States has repeatedly asserted its right to intervene militarily against "failed states" around the globe. In this much-anticipated follow-up to his international bestseller <i>Hegemony or Survival</i>, Noam Chomsky turns the tables, showing how the United States itself shares features with other failed states--suffering from a severe "democratic deficit," eschewing domestic and international law, and adopting policies that increasingly endanger its own citizens and the world. Exploring the latest developments in U.S. foreign and domestic policy, Chomsky reveals Washington's plans to further militarize the planet, greatly increasing the risks of nuclear war. He also assesses the dangerous consequences of the occupation of Iraq; documents Washington's self-exemption from international norms, including the Geneva conventions and the Kyoto Protocol; and examines how the U.S. electoral system is designed to eliminate genuine political alternatives, impeding any meaningful democracy. </div><div><br>Forceful, lucid, and meticulously documented, <i>Failed States</i> offers a comprehensive analysis of a global superpower that has long claimed the right to reshape other nations while its own democratic institutions are in severe crisis. Systematically dismantling the United States' pretense of being the world's arbiter of democracy, <i>Failed States</i> is Chomsky's most focused--and urgent--critique to date. </div></div></div>
Product Description

Customer Response

depressing, but must read
Chomsky is both one of the most influential and most vilified intellectuals in the United States. That's what happens when you speak truth to power as he does. There is no need to agree with his entire philosophy (I certainly don't) in order to appreciate this book. While the style is a bit dry, the message is powerful and relentless. Contrary to well engrained mythology, the United States has not - generally speaking - been a force for democratic change across the world, only for the kind of change that served its own interests as a colonial power. Some of the times those interests have been furthered by helping democracies, in many other occasions American support went to thugs and dictators because they were pursuing US-friendly policies. Americans are so deluded by their own media and government imposed narrative that they are genuinely astonished when they find out that other people's opinion of the United States isn't so positive or charitable. And no, "they" don't hate us because of our freedoms. Chomsky's book is a must read for anyone seriously interested in international politics and the role played by the US in it. It is largely a bleak book, that may leave you with the impression that there isn't much any of us can do about the sorry state of affairs of the planet. However, there are some interesting and somewhat surprising rays of hope. Like the repeated careful documentation by Chomsky of the fact that while the American government often takes anti-democratic and anti-liberty positions, both internationally and internally, the people of the United States of America are far more progressive, sensible and generous than one would suppose: poll after poll show that Americans want a stronger social net at home, less military involvement abroad, and a much stronger United Nations, more independent from American hegemony through the (so-called) Security Council. Indeed, the wide gap between the will of the American people and the actions of the American government is astounding. And is what increasingly qualifies the USA as a "failed state" in a deep and disturbing way.

Failed author.
I had to read this book as part of a school study on globalization. All I can say is that Noam "Chumpsky" should of just stuck to being a linguist. This is basically exented rant on the "evils of America". It's a slanted diatrbe of distortions, half truths, mis truths and down right lies. We don't need any more of swill like this polluting book shelves around the world. "Failed States" is nothing new, just the same ol' liberal cry fest that seems to be all the rage these days.

Chomsky -- remixed!!!
It must be a source of constant frustration to Noam Chomsky that he must reside and eke out a living in an undemocratic "failed" state. Perhaps this is his rejoinder to those who would accuse him of voting with his feet.

Appeals to the U.N. Charter, international law, and the sanctity of sovereign states make their appearance -- again. With the possible exception of Margret and H.A. Rey, nobody is better at repackaging the same themes over and over again with only new cover art and title.

Chomsky is correct, in that the strict respect for the sovereignty of states provides the best path to ending international war. Yes, we get it. As for the wars sovereign states wage internally on their own citizens (e.g., Sudan, North Korea, Rwanda, Burma, Nazi Germany), Chomsky's solution is to change the subject. A wagging finger pointed back at the U.S. is the universal gesture for doing nothing, when real suffering is at hand.

As always, Chomsky offeres a different view on humanity - a must read book.
I had to read this book for one of humanity courses. I ended up reading it in 3 days. Chomsky style is not always an easy read and can be somewhat depressing. However, Chomsky offers a sane solution to many problems that humanity is facing. It seems like aggression rarely works, so we must give his ideas a chance. We have nothing to lose.

failed states
failed states is a very accurate explanation of the politics of governments. Somtimes Chomsky appears to be over critical of the United States way of doing business but at the end of the day he is truthful and through about . U.S. policy. The real deal.

Others also Liked

Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance (The American Empire Project)
Profit Over People: Neoliberalism & Global Order
Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media
What We Say Goes: Conversations on U.S. Power in a Changing World
Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky