What We Say Goes: Conversations on U.S. Power in a Changing World

By Noam Chomsky and David Barsamian

An indispensable set of interviews on foreign and domestic issues with the bestselling author of Hegemony or Survival, "America's most useful citizen." (The Boston Globe)

In this new collection of conversations, conducted in 2006 and 2007, Noam Chomsky explores the most immediate and urgent concerns: Iran's challenge to the United States, the deterioration of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the ongoing occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, the rise of China, and the growing power of the left in Latin America, as well as the Democratic victory in the 2006 U.S. midterm elections and the upcoming presidential race. As always, Chomsky presents his ideas vividly and accessibly, with uncompromising principle and clarifying insight.

The latest volume from a long-established, trusted partnership, What We Say Goes shows once again that no interlocutor engages with Chomsky more effectively than David Barsamian. These interviews will inspire a new generation of readers, as well as longtime Chomsky fans eager for his latest thinking on the many crises we now confront, both at home and abroad. They confirm that Chomsky is an unparalleled resource for anyone seeking to understand our world today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Oct 2, 2007
• ISBN: 9781429918206

Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky is the author of numerous bestselling political works, including Hegemony or Survival and Failed States. A laureate professor at the University of Arizona and professor emeritus of linguistics and philosophy at MIT, he is widely credited with having revolutionized modern linguistics. He lives in Tuscon, Arizona.

Reviews for What We Say Goes

[reannon_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is my first Noam Chomsky, and it was probably not the best one to start with. This is a series of interviews with Chomsky, mostly on the topic of the US and how it relates to other countries. In parts it tends to assume some background knowledge. Without having read Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine I wouldn't have understood the term neoliberalism and the references to the Chicago boys.It is obvious that Chomsky has traveled widely in the world, and has read widely in what is happening in the rest of the world. The book is rather depressing because even Presidents I've admired, such as Kennedy, Carter, and Clinton, have done nasty things in other parts of the world in he name of the US. Part of the problem seems to be that in the US it is unthinkable that we are not the top dog in the world, or that we don't have the right to exploit the world's resources, no matter what the cost.Chomsky sees some reasons for optimism. He thinks speech in this country is freer now than it was in the 1960s, for example.How prescient or knowledgable is Chomsky? In one interview, in January 2007, he states there is good reason to think the housing market is a bubble and the housing market was already declining. That is just one example of his understanding of the world. He is remarkable for both the breadth and depth of his knowledge. In the interviews, he comments extensively on Latin America and Israel, among others, and he shows his depth in explaining how the situations there developed.Chomsky is another piece of the education of a US citizen in the reality of a world that the US media does not present. I plan to read more of his work.