The mechanisms of indoctrination that have evolved in the United States are entirely different from those that operate in the totalitarian societies of the world. Force is rarely used to ensure obedience, though it is well to remember that resort to direct force is not excluded. Recent revelations of the activities of the FBI in disruption and harassment of groups working for social change or even civil rights, the provocation of arson and bombings, incitement of gang warfare, support and direction for a secret terrorist army, and even in one case direct complicity in political assassination, simply remind us of the long and ugly history of the Bureau, which regularly functions as a national political police, enforcing political conformity and obedience. Nevertheless, the primary mechanism employed is not direct force, but rather ?the engineering of consent?, which is achieved through the domination of the flow of information and the means for expressing opinion or analysis. The system has been effective, and these successes too must be understood if one hopes to comprehend the nature of contemporary American society and its political processes.
The mechanisms of indoctrination that have evolved in the United States are entirely different from t…
Noam Chomsky (born on December 7, 1928, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historical essayist, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science. He is a Laureate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Arizona and an Institute Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and is the author of more than 150 books. He has written and lectured widely on linguistics, philosophy, intellectual history, contemporary issues, and particularly international affairs and U.S. foreign policy. Chomsky has been a writer for Z projects since their earliest inception, and is a tireless supporter of our operations.