On Power and Ideology consists of very well-edited transcripts of a series of four lectures given in Managua in 1986. His focus in these lectures is U.S. policy, as it relates to Central America.

The first three lectures address U.S. foreign policy directly, while the last lecture directly addresses the U.S. internal situation, and how corporate powers keep such foreign policy in place, despite the wishes of most Americans.

I've read a number of Chomsky's books, and seen him lecture twice. This book is the most well-written book I've read by him, and is his most academic description of how American foreign policy actually works.

In contrast, World Orders Old and New covers much wider ground, in terms of both U.S. and international affairs. Chomsky's lectures, which have now been released by Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles label, among others, gives an excellent sense of how he approaches his topics.

Noam, and South End Press did a spectacular job with this book. This is the book of his I return to most for an understanding of American policy in Central America.

From the book:

"Another feature of a capitalist democracy such as the United States is the inequality in distribution of resources, which translates into vast differences in the ability to participate in a meaningful way even in the narrow margin of decisions that remain within the political system. Furthermore, the political system, like every other aspect of capitalist democracy, must be dedicated to ensuring that the demands of the wealthy are satisfied, or the society will decline and collapse. The threat to withhold investment, or capital flight, can suffice to set very narrow limits for decisions within the political system..." - Noam Chomsky, On Power and Ideology, the Managua Lectures, South End Press.


Recommended: Yes