I have rather mixed opinions of Chomsky, but think he is on the mark in this OpEd.
The US Elections: Outrage, Misguided
truthout
17 November 2010
Noam Chomsky
The U.S. midterm elections register a level of anger, fear and disillusionment in the country like nothing I can recall in my lifetime. Since the Democrats are in power, they bear the brunt of the revulsion over our current socioeconomic and political situation.
More than half the “mainstream Americans” in a Rasmussen poll last month said they view the Tea Party movement favorably – a reflection of the spirit of disenchantment.
The grievances are legitimate. For more than 30 years, real incomes for the majority of the population have stagnated or declined while work hours and insecurity have increased, along with debt. Wealth has accumulated, but in very few pockets, leading to unprecedented inequality.
These consequences mainly spring from the financialization of the economy since the 1970s and the corresponding hollowing-out of domestic production. Spurring the process is the deregulation mania favored by Wall Street and supported by economists mesmerized by efficient-market myths.
Phi Beta Iota: Emphasis added above. The chapter on “Legitimate Grievances” in ELECTION 2008: Lipstick on the Pig (EIN, 2008) comes in two parts–domestic grievances warranting state nullification of federal abuse, and state consideration of secession if the legitimate Constitutionally-derived Republic cannot be restored; and global grievances occasioned by a century of unilateral militarism, virtual colonialism, and predatory capitalism working in unison to loot the commonwealths of all nations–our elite corrupted the other elites, and between them they have come very close to destroying what should be a prosperous world at peace.
Structured Reading on Reality:
Worth a Look: Book Review Lists (Negative)
Worth a Look: Book Review Lists (Positive)
Journal: Up to 90 percent of US paper money [in large cities] contains traces of cocaine
Review: Failed States–The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy (American Empire Project)
Review: Imperial Ambitions–Conversations on the Post-9/11 World (American Empire Project)
Review: Hegemony or Survival–America’s Quest for Global Dominance (The American Empire Project)
Review: The Umbrella of U.S. Power–The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Contradictions of U.S. Policy
Review: Profit Over People–Neoliberalism & Global Order
Review: Manufacturing Consent–The Political Economy of the Mass Media
