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'A superb polemicist who combines fluency of language with a formidable intellect.' Observer 'Must be read by everyone concerned with public affairs.' Edward Said
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
In his national bestselling 1988 CBC Massey Lectures, Noam Chomsky inquires into the nature of the media in a political system where the population cannot be disciplined by force and thus must be subjected to more subtle forms of ideological control. Specific cases are illustrated in detail, using the U.S. media primarily but also media in other societies. Chomsky considers how the media might be democratized (as part of the general problem of developing more democratic institutions) in order to offer citizens broader and more meaningful participation in social and political life.
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Most helpful customer reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Necessary Illusions: Chomsky's tour de force,
This review is from: Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies (Paperback)
Of all the articles and books of Chomsky that I have read, Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies is without doubt the most exhaustively researched (and footnoted), the most logically structured, and the most convincing. Chomsky reminds us that the majority of the populace rely on the various media institutions for their information about political affairs; both domestic and foreign. One can only hold an opinion on a topic if one knows about the topic. So take, for example, the popular myth of the 'persistent Soviet vetoe' at the UN during the cold war. Why do people believe the USSR was constantly vetoeing any and every Security Council Resolution? Simple! When they did, it generated front page condemnation. When the US or the UK exercised their right of veteo: silence. As Chomsky notes, during the years of 1970 and 1989 the former Soviet Union veteod 8 resolutions. The US veteod some 56. This is what Chomsky refers to as Thought Control. Unless the public examine the factual record of the UN themselves, they will never come by this information, (at least not in the mainstream press). So although Chomsky's title may appear somewhat paradoxical, or oxymoronic, a moments reflection on such facts shows it to be, in fact, extremenly pragmatic and truthful. The question is, have you the honesty and sheer guts to question yourself and challenge the information which has contributed to your beliefs? The crux of Chomsky's argument is that propaganda is to a democracy what violence is to a dictatorship. Chomsky points out that, in fact, propaganda is, contrary to popular postulations, more important and vital to a democratic society because people still have some rights. That is, since people can talk, the powers that be must ensure that only the correct words come out of the peoples' mouths. In a dictatorship it does not really matter too much what people think; for whatever they may think, they have to do what they are told, by pain of death. In countries such as the US (and the UK) other, more subtle, methods are required. People often critisise Chomsky for the sources of his information (the copious footnotes). No such critique can be levelled at this work. Chomsky's sources are declassified internal planning documents, naval proceedings documents, and the very institutions he examines, New York Times, Washington Post etc. If there was one Chomsky book I would suggest you to read, this would be it.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Next time you see "B.C.", read "Before Chomsky",
By A Customer
This review is from: Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies (Paperback)
He's done it again. Chomsky's shown that we live in George Orwell's "1984", where only the Party is the true custodian of democracy; where we're trained to forget whatever to whatever is necessary to forget, to draw it back into memory at the moment when it is necessary, and then promptly to forget it again; to be aware of the complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies; to consciously induce unconsciousness, and then to forget the act of hypnosis we've just performed on ourselves...In "necessary illusions", Chomsky squeezes into 136 pages (excl. appendices) the whole theory of how the world works. The problem I have with this man is that his writings are an accurate description of reality. Another excellent work of his (which complements "necessary illusions") is "Year 501: the conquest continues", in which he scholarly describes the emperor's new birthday suit.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Eyeopener for newcomers, disappointment for Chomskyites,
By
This review is from: Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies (Paperback)
On the whole, this book is disappointing and greatly inferior to Chomsky's similarly theme-ed Manufacturing Consent. Necessary Illusions amounts to little more than an updating of media duplicity in mainstream coverage of Central America and Israel. From the title, I expected a more systematic analysis of methods, mechanics, and reasons that operate behind media coverage. Instead, Chomsky offers a loose model of journalistic propaganda and a few methods for detecting its presence, viz. the Comparison Method. However, the model is neither detailed nor a really very useful one. Thus at a time when tv's propaganda function, for one, is becoming clearer to the public, Necessary Illusions fails to deliver much beyond the usual case studies familiar to Chomskyites. Important as this empirical work may be, especially for newcomers to Chomsky, what is needed is a more thorough-going model of how raw news gets processed into self-serving policy reinforcement. In short, a better model of the communication industry's ideological function.It's surprising that someone as skilled at theorizing as Chomsky appears to shy away from this next logical step to his many invaluable case studies. Americans by and large recognise that despite being "free", the popular media is not to be trusted. Now we need be persuaded why this is so. Perhaps Chomsky doesn't want to risk credibility by pursuing more abstract formulations where researchable fact is less immediate. Whatever the reason, in this book he has clearly debunked some of America's most prestigious and self-serving institutions, which is always a worthwhile read.
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