Why Noam Chomsky Is Wrong
By: William Thode
Noam Chomsky is a hypocrite. Immediately, the Noam Chomsky disciple, who I shall from now on refer to as Bob*, will scream, “Prove it!” plus, if anonymous, various expletives. The problem with this claim is that Bob assumes that Noam Chomsky is God. In other words, Noam Chomsky is somehow infallible and thus a speaker of completely objective truth. This is obviously inaccurate, as Noam Chomsky is a human, and thus fallible. Being fallible, Noam Chomsky’s ideas include assumptions that cannot be considered part of an objective truth. While his thoughts may be “informed opinions,” it does not change the fact that whatever he says can never be objective truth. This leads Bob to assume there cannot be any objective truth. Bob is partially correct.
Assumptions are the required opinions everyone must have to see the world without society becoming, to paraphrase Jimmy Voltaire, an octopus flailing in lava. Bob will be persistent and ask to prove society exists. Society is any number of people, down to the individual, that form anything from a friendship to a global community. The assumption underlying this is that everyone has what is known as human nature, primarily the self-evident fact that each person seeks his or her own self-interest. Bob asks for proof again. Defining self-interest as a measurable benefit to oneself that results from one’s actions, no one would consciously do anything if it did not benefit them in some way. In essence, I am claiming true conscious altruism cannot exist, something psychology established a long time ago.
With all of that clearly established, let’s get back to Chomsky. Noam Chomsky, in laymen’s terms, hates America. Specifically, he hates our government and even calls it “the leading terrorist state,” which is based on so many assumptions I don’t have the time or space to address. Additionally, he hates the American version of capitalism. That makes him a hypocrite. “Why?” Bob asks, visually frustrated at this point. Ignoring the fact that Noam Chomsky’s “solutions” to fix America would fly in the face of both human nature and basic economics, Noam Chomsky is a success because of America. He is, in essence, a man paid for only his ideas. As a man with no actual power (as in he’s not President,) he never actually has to prove his ideas with application as he lacks the ability to actually enact them directly. Bob then argues that because people are fallible, Noam Chomsky’s “perfect” ideas could never be implemented correctly by anyone else. This is insane. Bob has once again ignored that Noam Chomsky is fallible. That makes his ideas imperfect by definition. Bob then asks for proof, at which point I just walk away in disgust.
Bob, as with all disciples, tends to see only what he wants to see about his adored figure and ignoring most rational evidence to the contrary. This is why Bob likes Noam Chomsky to begin with. Chomsky’s grand design about the “problems” plaguing America just fly in the face of even basic understanding that to like Chomsky is to see only what one wants to see. In other words, Bob is predisposed to believe Chomsky to begin with. Which is my point: to make the arguments Bob is making, he has to make no sense. In other words, Noam Chomsky has become a god in his mind. At that point, science ends and faith begins.
If Bob chooses to continue his life believing in the works of Noam Chomsky, that is his right as an American citizen. Similarly, if you or I wish to disagree with him, that is our right. Ultimately, I cannot judge his motives as I am an avid follower of a few people and concepts as well. If Bob concludes that this somehow doesn’t change anything, he can’t possibly understand why I’m even writing for the Lehigh Patriot to begin with.
