Afterword: Failed States by Noam Chomsky

The afterword to Chomsky's recent book, Failed States, goes through four major crisises confronting the world today: Nuclear war, environmental devastation, disastrous U.S. foreign policy, and a growing lack of truely democratic institutions. Chomsky places these crisises in the context of the war in Iraq, the increasing economic and political clout of nations such as China and India in Asia, and the exapnding connections between Latin American nations outside of the U.S. sphere of influence. Click here to read the article. Chomsky's conclusion is rather hopeful and useful for those of us who grasping for a breath of fresh air in the currently stale American climate.

"Though it is natural for doctrinal systems to seek to induce pessimism, hopelessness and despair, reality is different. There has been substantial progress in the unending question for justice and freedom in recent years, leaving a legacy that can easily be carried forward from a higher plane than before. Opportunities for education and organizing abound. As in the past, rights are not likely to be granted by benevolent authorities, or won by intermittent actions attending a few demonstrations or pushing a lever in the personalized quadrennial extravaganzas that are depicted as "democratic politics." As always in the past, the tasks require dedicated day-by-day engagement to create -- in part re-create -- the basis for a functioning democratic culture in which the public plays some role in determining policies, not only in the political arena from which it is largely excluded, but also in the crucial economic arena, from which it is excluded in principle. There are many ways to promote democracy at home, carrying it to new dimensions. Opportunities are ample, and failure to grasp them is likely to have ominous repercussions: for the country, for the world, and for future generations."