Chomsky's Second Asshole!
Noam Chomsky has a new book out--Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance. If you'd like to see someone rip Chomsky a new asshole, read Amir Taheri's review in Asharq Alawsat (English edition). A sample:
Chomsky ends up by shooting himself in the foot.
He shows that the US today enjoys less of an economic "dominance" in the world than it did in 1945. He also reminds us that even before the Second World War the US had been "by far the largest economic power anywhere in the world."
In 1945 the US accounted for almost 50 per cent of the global gross domestic product (GDP). By 1975 that share had fallen to 25 per cent. In 2000 it was down to 18 per cent, slightly lower than the European Union. Even in terms of foreign investment per head of the population the relative share of the US has declined. That figure for the Dutch is almost twice that of the US while Britain and Japan, Taiwan and South Koreas are also catching up.
All the new economic powers of the post-war world were helped by the US in the crucial phases of their economic take-off, and emerged as its trading partners: Western Europe, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and today China. Even the current "economic miracle" in India is, to some measure, due to massive investments of American capital and technology.
But the biggest problem with Chomsky's book is that he offers no alternative to "evil" America. He vaguely speaks of "world public opinion", by which he means the peace-marchers and the Porto Allegre crowd, as "the second superpower", and says that a majority of mankind believe that US "dominance" is the main threat to the world. Even if that were the case, we have to note that it is not enough for something to be believed by large numbers of people, or, indeed by the entire humanity, for it to be true.
Chomsky ends up by shooting himself in the foot.
He shows that the US today enjoys less of an economic "dominance" in the world than it did in 1945. He also reminds us that even before the Second World War the US had been "by far the largest economic power anywhere in the world."
In 1945 the US accounted for almost 50 per cent of the global gross domestic product (GDP). By 1975 that share had fallen to 25 per cent. In 2000 it was down to 18 per cent, slightly lower than the European Union. Even in terms of foreign investment per head of the population the relative share of the US has declined. That figure for the Dutch is almost twice that of the US while Britain and Japan, Taiwan and South Koreas are also catching up.
All the new economic powers of the post-war world were helped by the US in the crucial phases of their economic take-off, and emerged as its trading partners: Western Europe, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and today China. Even the current "economic miracle" in India is, to some measure, due to massive investments of American capital and technology.
But the biggest problem with Chomsky's book is that he offers no alternative to "evil" America. He vaguely speaks of "world public opinion", by which he means the peace-marchers and the Porto Allegre crowd, as "the second superpower", and says that a majority of mankind believe that US "dominance" is the main threat to the world. Even if that were the case, we have to note that it is not enough for something to be believed by large numbers of people, or, indeed by the entire humanity, for it to be true.
