"...an impressive range of sources, a thought-provoking analysis." --Kingston Whig Standard

In March 1986, Noam Chomsky had the opportunity to visit Managua and lecture at the Universidad Centroamericana. These lectures consisted of a morning series, devoted to the problems of language and knowledge, and an afternoon series, devoted to contemporary political issues, from which this book is transcribed. Participants included a wide range of people, including members of the Nicaraguan academic community and visitors from Costa Rican universities. The lectures, delivered in English and translated into Spanish, were also broadcast.

On Power and Ideology consists of five lectures on U.S. international and security policy. The arguments are concise; the information overwhelming; the presentation particularly moving.

The first two lectures examine the persistent and largely invariant features of U.S. foreign policy, the overall framework of order. The third lecture discusses Central America and its place in the foreign policy pattern. The fourth looks at U.S. national security policy and the arms race, and the fifth and final lecture examines U.S. domestic policy – how it fashions foreign and national policies and how they can be changed. The lectures are followed by discussion and questions from the audience.

Noam Chomsky is professor of linguistics at MIT and one of the best known critics of U.S. foreign policy. His other books include: Pirates & Emperors, Radical Priorities, The Fateful Triangle, and Turning The Tide.

Table Of Contents

Preface

Lecture 1: The Overall Framework Of Order

Lecture 2: Containing Internal Aggression

Lecture 3: Our Little Region Over Here

Lecture 4: National Security Policy

Lecture 5: The Domestic Scene

Bibliography