Pirates and Princes - Chomsky Anthology

Author: (American) Chomsky, translated by Ye Qing
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-04-01
Features: This book is one of Chomsky's collected works. The several works translated in this collection were written in different periods and are representative works of Chomsky's political commentary. They basically cover the core content of the author's political theories, exploring the direction of U.S. foreign policy since the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the September 11th attacks. The collection offers a strong critique of the U.S. media and public opinion, which have long claimed to be "value-neutral." It further provides a profound analysis of the current state and causes of one of the major hot issues in the world today—international terrorism. This collection helps domestic scholars and readers gain a deeper understanding and research into Western, particularly U.S., political, diplomatic, military, and cultural policies. This is also the original intention behind introducing this book. Of course, as a Western scholar with a unique perspective, the author's views and approaches on certain issues may differ from ours. We believe readers will understand and grasp this. The term "terrorism" first appeared in the late 18th century, primarily referring to violent acts taken by governments to ensure public obedience. In terms of this concept alone, it is of little use to the perpetrators of state terrorism, as they hold power and are in a position to control the systems of thought and expression. Therefore, this original meaning has been abandoned, and "terrorism" has begun to be primarily used to describe "small-scale terrorism" carried out by individuals and groups. Originally, this term was used to refer to monarchs who harmed their own citizens and the entire world, but now it is limited to describing bandits who harass those in power. Of course, this restriction is not entirely complete; it can still be used to describe hostile monarchs, and its scope can be adjusted according to the needs of power and ideology.