~ On the Chomskyian Method ~

________________________________

…and the principles underlying his investigations…

   In looking at any influential writer, it is not enough just to like or dislike someone's work. If their work deserves consideration, as Chomsky's does, bar none, it is important to find the underlying principles that give it its substance and merit. In examining any case or situation which deserves consideration (largely because the truth is buried under layers and layers of obfuscation), Chomsky has a method by which he investigates the madness. The principles of that methodology are laid out below:

1. Examine the “strongest case” given as an example of the efficacy of U.S. action…

2. Examine places where U.S. influence is greatest, while interference with those actions is minimal…Was the U.S. "national interest" achieved? What was the effect on the local population?

3. Examine “doctrine” versus "reality"... what are the discrepancies?

Some examples of cases/situations where Chomsky has applied this methodology:

• the idea of a “critical media”
• foreign policy doctrines throughout American history (particularly since the Wilson era)
• the realities of neoliberalism and market economies
• the role of intellectuals
• the function of the business/corporate-sponsored press
• the war in Indochina
• NAFTA
• democracy in Latin America (1980's)
• the Cuban approach
• the Iraq War
  
• and many, many more...
  

   These three principles provide an extremely useful tool for the critical analysis and investigation of power in society. Let us endeavor to apply this "Chomskyian method" to all aspects of our life where power comes into play...you may be persecuted, but you will be free...

~ Suvian Quilmann