Summary of Noam Chomsky's lecture

In his lectura,  Noam Chomsky draws the dramatic and in my opinión true, contours of global order.

He starts making reference to the current democracy  uprisings that have taken place in many different parts of the world. Some of them to fight for authentic democracy like the ones in the Arab world, and others to defend the rights people had been won in long struggles. These last ones belong to the group of countries which  have dominated  the world all through the recent history.

Since the world war II, US have been delineating  what they have called a “Grand Area” where US was going to exert the hegemony  that had been exerted by the British empire until then. The main target of this grand area has been and still is  the Middle East where the most important energy  resources are located. Control of the energy reserves would give anyone the control of the world and so the US. The program of domination  implyed  the use of military forces, sanctions against those countries which were not willing to accept US rules and even, support dictatorial regimes if the establisment  of democracy there wouldn´t benefit their interests. Now, the growing Chinese economy and military forces, as well as the nuclear Iranian development program are being threatening new chess pieces in the stabilization  and destabilization world game.

Related to the political issues, Chomsky refers to financial issues, as well. In the last years wealth and power have been narrowly linked and  concentrated in the hands of a few. Corporations  are increasingly having more financial power on which political power depends. While the powerful do whatever they want,  population in general is encouraged to consumerism, remaining apathetic and  blind eye to how they have to get by with lower salaries and increasing work hours; and  to how xenophobia is increasing in society due to state-corporate policies.  

 

Finally, he finishes his lecture mentioning an issue which has nothing to do with economy or market systems:environment. Nevertherles, it is small wonder that  the same financial power supports propaganda campaigns to convince the population that the global warming and all the environmental problems that are menacing  the planet, are a hoax. They just want to maximize profit, if necessary, by cutting funding for measures that mitigate an environmental catastrophe.