Regarding the ‘gatekeeper’ discussion we had recently regarding his proposed oppression of vaccine hesitant people, this inclines me more to the view that he is not a gatekeeper but has taken a view on the coronavirus based on ignorance - which after all is what you get if you mainly read the Washington Post and the New York Times. And the Guardian and the BBC.
It’s still astonishing that with his former mastery of the dynamics of the media, he hasn’t detected an overwhelming bias in the media coverage in the mainstream - but then, neither have many others on what used to usefully be called the Left. For both Chomsky and the Left, this perhaps has taken root in a longstanding reluctance to comment on areas that are supposed to require genuine expertise to understand. Having failed to keep up for so long, and unable to offer any insight other than Big Pharma Makes Too Much Money, they are suddenly put under the spotlight and asked for a detailed view.
Thank you for posting. He mainly discusses historical issues which are uncontroversial.
As for the analysis of Asian affairs there is nothing I could see that was novel about his discourse, archetypal NYT editorial indeed.
New Green Deal? Check.
He implies that China is an emerging superpower. No shit Sherlock.
As for the fanboi stuff about how great Taiwan is…? He was being interviewed by a cutout “Taiwanese” magazine, so no surprises there. Some of us recall thirty years ago when Taiwan was one of very few supportive allies of apartheid South Africa. Another one has this distinctive six point star as a motif.
Chances are that while the US can bluster all it wants Formosa is going. If Noam is still among us when that happens he will shriek along with all the other Good People. Won’t amount to a hill of beans.
“Leftist intellectual”? What could be more damning an epithet these days?
Yeah wouldn’t set the heather alight among left scholars, but still better than the ‘China threat’ drumbeat going around at the moment to justify aggressive western nuclear expansion, so he hasn’t ‘crossed over’ on the old spectrum though he’s at the wrong end of the new one.
I didn’t know anything about Formosa thanks. ‘Intellectual’ is one burden I’ve always been free of!
Update after seeing the full @Rippon exchange - nothing could excuse his insulting tone and aggressive pretence that he had actually answered anything at all of what Rippon said.