Reading Noam Chomsky

Why It’s So Hard to Think for Yourself

Discover your self-worth and dignity by tuning out the noise

Photo by Daniela Paola Alchapar on Unsplash

I’m a big Noam Chomsky fan. He has an impressive biography, and is still relevant today, at the age of 94.

Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historical essayist, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called “the father of modern linguistics”, Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science.

I was originally drawn to Noam Chomsky’s books because I was dissatisfied with my situation at work. Management was unresponsive to any employee concerns about unfair labor practices, and about racist and sexist conditions in the workplace.

The bosses would go through the motions of making a report, but nothing ever changed. If the business turned a profit, nothing else really mattered at the end of the day.

And what really amazed me, was that my fellow employees seemed to be okay with the answer of, “Well, that’s just the way things are,” when their concerns were basically ignored; as though it were totally acceptable for employers to treat employees as though they owned them body and soul.