Top Noam Chomsky 28 Audio Quotes Linguistics, Democracy, Politics

“ Descriptive grammar is an attempt to give an account of what the current system is for either a society or an individual, whatever you happen to be studying. ” – Noam Chomsky

“ If you want to achieve something, you build the basis for it. ” – Noam Chomsky

“ Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. ” – Noam Chomsky

“ If a child from an Amazonian hunter-gatherer tribe comes to Boston, is raised in Boston, that child will be indistinguishable in language capacities from my children growing up here, and vice versa. ” – Noam Chomsky

“ If you assume that there is no hope, you guarantee that there will be no hope. If you assume that there is an instinct for freedom, that there are opportunities to change things, then there is a possibility that you can contribute to making a better world.” – Noam Chomsky

“ The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum.” – Noam Chomsky

“ A language is not just words. It’s a culture, a tradition, a unification of a community, a whole history that creates what a community is. It’s all embodied in a language.” – Noam Chomsky

“ Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, it’s unlikely you will step up and take responsibility for making it so.” – Noam Chomsky

“ Our ignorance can be divided into problems and mysteries. When we face a problem, we may not know its solution, but we have insight, increasing knowledge, and an inkling of what we are looking for.” – Noam Chomsky

“ All over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume.” – Noam Chomsky

“ Democratic societies can’t force people. Therefore they have to control what they think.” – Noam Chomsky

“ Do you train for passing tests or do you train for creative inquiry?” – Noam Chomsky

“ Education is a system of imposed ignorance.” – Noam Chomsky

“ Everyone’s worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there’s really an easy way: Stop participating in it.” – Noam Chomsky

“ For the powerful, crimes are those that others commit.” – Noam Chomsky

“ How it is we have so much information, but know so little?” – Noam Chomsky

“ Hypocrites are those who apply to others the standards that they refuse to accept for themselves.” – Noam Chomsky

“ If it’s wrong when they do it, it’s wrong when we do it.” – Noam Chomsky

“ If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.” – Noam Chomsky

“ It is important to bear in mind that political campaigns are designed by the same people who sell toothpaste and cars.” – Noam Chomsky

“ It’s ridiculous to talk about freedom in a society dominated by huge corporations. What kind of freedom is there inside a corporation?” – Noam Chomsky

“ It’s only terrorism if they do it to us. When we do much worse to them, it’s not terrorism.” – Noam Chomsky

“ Science is a bit like the joke about the drunk who is looking under a lamppost for a key that he has lost on the other side of the street, because that’s where the light is. It has no other choice.” – Noam Chomsky

“ States are not moral agents, people are, and can impose moral standards on powerful institutions.” – Noam Chomsky

“ The general population doesn’t know what’s happening, and it doesn’t even know that it doesn’t know.” – Noam Chomsky

“ The world is a very puzzling place. If you’re not willing to be puzzled, you just become a replica of someone else’s mind.” – Noam Chomsky

“ There’s a good reason why nobody studies history, it just teaches you too much.” – Noam Chomsky

“ We shouldn’t be looking for heroes, we should be looking for good ideas.” – Noam Chomsky