There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.
When you look at a corporation, just like when you look at a slave owner, you want to distinguish between the institution and the individual. So slavery, for example, or other forms of tyranny, are inherently monstrous. The individuals participating in them may be the nicest guys you can imagine.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the distinction between an oppressive system and the individuals within it, emphasizing the morality of institutions versus personal character.
Noam Chomsky's quote draws a parallel between corporations and slave owners, arguing that while both represent oppressive institutions, individual behaviors can vary greatly. It suggests that the actions and character of individuals involved in such systems can be vastly different from the immoral nature of the institutions themselves, inviting reflection on how personal morality can exist within oppressive contexts.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about corporate ethics, you might say this quote to illustrate that corporate policies can be ethically questionable while individuals may not reflect those values.
More from Noam Chomsky
All quotes →The 'free-floating intellectual' may occupy himself with problems because of their inherent interest and importance, perhaps to little effect.
If you're teaching today what you were teaching five years ago, either the field is dead or you are.
There are very few people who are going to look into the mirror and say, 'That person I see is a savage monster;' instead, they make up some construction that justifies what they do.
The Republican Party has become overwhelmingly so extreme that it's hardly a traditional political party anymore.
There is still much debate about whether torture has been effective in eliciting information - the assumption being, apparently, that if it is effective, then it may be justified.
Similar quotes
Antiracists must acknowledge that patriarchy has long been a weapon of racism and cannot sit comfortably in any politic of racial transformation.
If I knew of something that could serve my nation but would ruin another, I would not propose it to my prince, for I am first a man and only then a Frenchman... because I am necessarily a man, and only accidentally am I French.
In a rabbit-fear I may hurl myself under the wheels of the car because the lights terrify me, and under the dark blind death of wheels I will be safe. I am very tired, very banal, very confused. I do not know who I am tonight. I wanted to walk until I dropped and not complete the inevitable circle of coming home.
The goal of a life free of dysphoria is a snare and a delusion. A better goal is of good commerce with the world. Authentic happiness, astonishingly, can occur even in the presence of authentic sadness.
The real cause of hunger is the powerlessness of the poor to gain access to the resources they need to feed themselves.
Our senses enable us to perceive only a minute portion of the outside world. Our hearing extends to a small distance. Our sight is impeded by intervening bodies and shadows. To know each other we must reach beyond the sphere of our sense perceptions. We must transmit our intelligence, travel, transport the materials and transfer the energies necessary for our existence.