Noam Chomsky – renowned linguist, academic and activist – repeated his assertion in an interview with the BBC that the modern U.S. Republican Party is the most dangerous organization in human history, adding that, as an organization, they pose a greater danger to the world than groups like Daesh (ISIS) or North Korea’s leadership – the chief bogeymen of the U.S. establishment.
The basis for Chomsky’s statement revolved around the Republican Party’s refusal to express an interest in resolving climate change, a stance that Chomsky said is akin to “trying to destroy the prospects for organized human existence.” However, he neglected to touch upon the Democratic Party’s own commitment to fossil fuel use and expanding the industry, as the Democrats – while verbally condemning the phenomenon – have done next to nothing to resolve the problem themselves.
Chomsky has apparently fallen into an ideological trap that has long defined U.S. politics – the left vs. right paradigm. Per the paradigm, U.S. voters are given two choices to choose from in elections, though parties invariably follow the same longstanding agendas in both foreign and domestic policy issues.
In this interview, Chomsky has chosen to condemn just one of the organizations that are part of the U.S. political establishment as a whole, which is the real culprit in expanding fossil fuel use and perpetuating imperialism and endless war. His argument is also based on political rhetoric alone, not policy.
If climate change is the most critical issue to Chomsky, it would be wise of him to note that the U.S. Department of Defense is the world’s largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions as it consumes more fossil fuels than any other institution in the world. Both the Republican and Democratic parties – as institutions – unequivocally support militarism and the expansion of the military – and by extension, a continued increase in carbon emissions.
In addition, both parties have ensured over the years that the U.S. military will remain exempt from all international climate change agreements.
Watch Chomsky’s recent interview with BBC NewsNight
While Chomsky has chosen to dwell on a particular subset of U.S. establishment politicians as the gravest threat to humanity, another prominent activist recently called out a different organization that may be more fitting of the title.
Julian Assange, the founder of transparency organization WikiLeaks and a political prisoner, told RT in an email on Tuesday that “the CIA is the world’s most dangerously incompetent spy agency. It has armed terrorists, destroyed democracies and installed and maintained dictatorships the world over.”
Assange’s comments came after a harsh response from the CIA regarding WikiLeaks’ “Vault 7” releases, which detail a secret arsenal of top secret CIA hacking tools that the agency not only lost control over but used to eviscerate consumer privacy.
Assange makes several good points about the U.S. intelligence agency. The CIA has proven itself incompetent on numerous occasions throughout its history and has been involved in innumerable examples of regime change, the destabilization of entire countries and assassinations.
While those sympathetic to the U.S. establishment may defend such action as being necessary to preserve democracy or prevent the spread of communism, evidence shows that the CIA often carries out such action at the behest of U.S. corporate interests, endangering innocent civilians and ruining entire countries’ hopes for self-determination in the process.
Were Chomsky’s ideal government to emerge in the U.S. or elsewhere with a real plan to tackle climate change and end fossil fuel consumption, history shows that it would be the CIA that would step in to overthrow them – particularly if U.S. corporate or military interests were threatened.
While Chomsky may find Republican rhetoric reprehensible, actions speak louder than words and, in that sense, the CIA is the loudest of all U.S. institutions.
Feature photo | Julian Assange (left) with American linguist, philosopher Noam Chomsky on the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Yui Mok | PA
