- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Hamish Hamilton Ltd (1 Jun 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0241143233
- ISBN-13: 978-0241143230
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.8 x 3.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 446,060 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Failed States
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
The US government has routinely cited the threat of 'failed states' to global security, asserting the right to intervene with military force to prevent their further collapse. 'Failed states' are those on the peripheries of the global system, with either weak, nonexistent or dictatorial governments, allegedly incapable of satisfying the basic needs of their citizens and considered a danger to the world and to their own people. In this ground-breaking new book, celebrated thinker Noam Chomsky argues that America itself is a failed state, and is as such a danger to its people and, increasingly, to the world. He draws attention to the inescapable irony that the United States, long involved in democracy-building adventures around the world, desperately needs to revitalize democracy far closer to home.
About the Author
Noam Chomsky is the author of numerous bestselling political works, from American Power and the New Mandarins in the 1960s to Hegemony or Survival in 2003 and Imperial Ambitions in 2005. A professor of Linguistics and Philosophy at MIT, he is widely credited with having revolutionized modern linguistics. He lives outside Boston, Massachusetts.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
76 of 78 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
When trying to sum up 'Failed States', as with other books by Noam Chomsky, the words that spring to mind are 'thought provoking'. In this latest work professor Chomsky argues that America, whilst commonly accusing other nations of being failed states, can be fairly judged to be a failed state itself, or at least share some of the qualities that define a failed state. He bases this argument on America's demonstrable inability or unwillingness to protect its citizens from violence and possible destruction and its tendency to consider itself beyond domestic and international law. He also argues that America suffers from a 'democratic deficit' which is another indicator of a failed state. Each of these arguments, along with others, are discussed in detail and presented with Chomsky's usual clarity.
My early fears that Failed States would contain little that hadn't already been discussed in the excellent Hegemony or Survival were proven false as the book went on to cover fresh ground, including 'just war theory', an up to date analysis of the invasion of Iraq and the present chaotic situation, and possible future developments in the middle east and south America. Chomsky does discuss certain principles which will be familiar to those who have read him before, and which are central to his, and surely any right thinking persons, beliefs such as the principle of universality. This is understandable as keeping such principles in mind is important when considering the issues which the book discusses.
Professor Chomsky polarizes opinion like few others and there is a tendency for people to either dismiss him and his views entirely or to consider his every word and opinion to be the unequivocal truth. Maintaining an open mind, a topic which the book made me think deeply about, is clearly essential when reading Failed States.
Whatever your own thoughts on the many weighty issues may be, the book will make you think and force you to ask questions. Most importantly for me, Failed States made me think about the primary motivations that determine how the world works, be it in business, international relations or even at the level of the individual. Understanding these motivations will go some way to explaining why those in power behave, and have always behaved, the way they do.
My early fears that Failed States would contain little that hadn't already been discussed in the excellent Hegemony or Survival were proven false as the book went on to cover fresh ground, including 'just war theory', an up to date analysis of the invasion of Iraq and the present chaotic situation, and possible future developments in the middle east and south America. Chomsky does discuss certain principles which will be familiar to those who have read him before, and which are central to his, and surely any right thinking persons, beliefs such as the principle of universality. This is understandable as keeping such principles in mind is important when considering the issues which the book discusses.
Professor Chomsky polarizes opinion like few others and there is a tendency for people to either dismiss him and his views entirely or to consider his every word and opinion to be the unequivocal truth. Maintaining an open mind, a topic which the book made me think deeply about, is clearly essential when reading Failed States.
Whatever your own thoughts on the many weighty issues may be, the book will make you think and force you to ask questions. Most importantly for me, Failed States made me think about the primary motivations that determine how the world works, be it in business, international relations or even at the level of the individual. Understanding these motivations will go some way to explaining why those in power behave, and have always behaved, the way they do.
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Failed States is Professor Noam Chomsky's latest state of the nation address, a critical snapshot of where the United States is right now.
The approach he takes is that 'Failed States' is a phrase used within the U.S. establishment to justify certain exercises of power, from financially supporting opponents of failed states, to regime change and invasion. 'Failed states', like 'rogue states' and 'states of concern' before it, is a vague term, perhaps deliberately so but Chomsky identifies some defining features of a failed state, among them, a failure to adequately protect its citizens from terrorism, a failure to provide reasonable health care for all, regardless of an ability to pay, a tendency to break international law and act regardless of treaties and conventions, a lack of representative democracy in its political processes.
Chomsky argues that a fundamental moral truism is that an individual or a country should judge oneself by the same standards that you apply to others, if not to a higher standard if you are completetly honest with yourself. Therefore, the United States should be examined on the basis of the criteria briefly laid out above. Chomsky undertakes this task and finds that the U.S. is sorely lacking in many crucial respects and indeed shares many of the key aspects of countries that are currently demonised by those who stalk the corridors of power.
As is probably familiar to readers of Chomsky, I approached this book with a little caution, fearing that Chomsky was simply going to rehash many of his familiar arguments and cases through this new prism; I was pleased to find that, whilst there is obviously some overlap with previous texts, there is a great deal of fascinating contemporary material in this highly detailed book. Those who are cautious about purchasing another Chomsky text, concerned about over-familiarity, need worry no more. Read alongside his previous excellent book, Hegemony or Survival, Failed States is yet another classic.
The approach he takes is that 'Failed States' is a phrase used within the U.S. establishment to justify certain exercises of power, from financially supporting opponents of failed states, to regime change and invasion. 'Failed states', like 'rogue states' and 'states of concern' before it, is a vague term, perhaps deliberately so but Chomsky identifies some defining features of a failed state, among them, a failure to adequately protect its citizens from terrorism, a failure to provide reasonable health care for all, regardless of an ability to pay, a tendency to break international law and act regardless of treaties and conventions, a lack of representative democracy in its political processes.
Chomsky argues that a fundamental moral truism is that an individual or a country should judge oneself by the same standards that you apply to others, if not to a higher standard if you are completetly honest with yourself. Therefore, the United States should be examined on the basis of the criteria briefly laid out above. Chomsky undertakes this task and finds that the U.S. is sorely lacking in many crucial respects and indeed shares many of the key aspects of countries that are currently demonised by those who stalk the corridors of power.
As is probably familiar to readers of Chomsky, I approached this book with a little caution, fearing that Chomsky was simply going to rehash many of his familiar arguments and cases through this new prism; I was pleased to find that, whilst there is obviously some overlap with previous texts, there is a great deal of fascinating contemporary material in this highly detailed book. Those who are cautious about purchasing another Chomsky text, concerned about over-familiarity, need worry no more. Read alongside his previous excellent book, Hegemony or Survival, Failed States is yet another classic.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
For followers of Chomsky, it seems so long ago that he challenged BF Skinner and his behaviourist theory of language acquisition and broke new linguistic ground with his deep structures and transformational grammar; having turned the linguistic world on its head, he underwent various personae, emerging as a consistent political commentator on the United States. He is an Institute Professor and Professor (Emeritus) of in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT and has worked there for over fifty years.
"Failed States", with a sub-heading of "The Abuse of Power and the Assault of Democracy", seems to hint at other countries, e.g. the Middle East, Central America or Eastern Europe. It is the United States.
In part one, he deals with ways in which the United States state power is used in in violation of international law. In part two, he looks at ways in which democracy functions and examines ways in which the United States political system is not functioning democratically.
To many, Chomsky has become a loose-cannon, firing off randomly but consistently at a great national superpower attempting to bring freedom and democracy to other nations of the world; to others, he is a unique voice arguing rationally from a deeply intellectual,scholarly and well-researched position against an aggressive and overtly imperialist world power.
A "marmite" character though he may be, over many years he has been a consistent, thoughtful critic who cannot be ignored.
"Failed States", with a sub-heading of "The Abuse of Power and the Assault of Democracy", seems to hint at other countries, e.g. the Middle East, Central America or Eastern Europe. It is the United States.
In part one, he deals with ways in which the United States state power is used in in violation of international law. In part two, he looks at ways in which democracy functions and examines ways in which the United States political system is not functioning democratically.
To many, Chomsky has become a loose-cannon, firing off randomly but consistently at a great national superpower attempting to bring freedom and democracy to other nations of the world; to others, he is a unique voice arguing rationally from a deeply intellectual,scholarly and well-researched position against an aggressive and overtly imperialist world power.
A "marmite" character though he may be, over many years he has been a consistent, thoughtful critic who cannot be ignored.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
awesome
Shows you what really goes on, this book is an unfiltered masterpiece (unlike tv or newspapers)
A must read just like all his other works
A must read just like all his other works
Published on 23 Aug 2009 by Mr. Scott Pattinson
READ AND READ AGAIN
This book should be bought by all those ignorant people that think America has and continues to spread democracy around the world. Read more
Published on 11 Aug 2009 by Mr. T. E. Samad
Always good for a good debate...
Typically, Professor Chomsky asks Americans to stop condemning 'failed states' (note the quotes) and "to look honestly in the mirror" instead. Read more
Published on 23 Sep 2006 by Historian
limiting government power vs people's power
For the most part of civilizations, nearly all governments in all nations claimed universal rights though in somewhat different manners. Read more
Published on 2 Aug 2006 by researcher-China/Asia
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
