There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.
Noam ChomskyRead
The Great Seal was an early proclamation of 'humanitarian intervention,' to use the currently fashionable phrase.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Chomsky highlights how the concept of humanitarian intervention has historical roots.
In this quote, Noam Chomsky reflects on the concept of 'humanitarian intervention' as an idea that dates back to the Great Seal, suggesting that interventions typically framed as benevolent or altruistic have often served as justifications for underlying political agendas. The phrase underscores the complexity and sometimes the hypocrisy of international actions presented as moral imperatives.
Themes
HumanitarianInterventionPoliticsMoralityHypocrisy
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a debate about the ethics of military interventions.
More from Noam Chomsky
All quotes βThe 'free-floating intellectual' may occupy himself with problems because of their inherent interest and importance, perhaps to little effect.
Noam ChomskyRead
If you're teaching today what you were teaching five years ago, either the field is dead or you are.
Noam ChomskyRead
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.
Noam ChomskyRead
The Republican Party has become overwhelmingly so extreme that it's hardly a traditional political party anymore.
Noam ChomskyRead
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.
Noam ChomskyRead
Similar quotes
Iβve worked in an economy that rewards someone who saves the lives of others on a battlefield with a medal, rewards a great teacher with thank-you notes from parents, but rewards those who can detect the mispricing of securities with sums reaching into the billions.
Warren BuffettRead
Consider no one a stranger. Learn to feel that everybody is akin to you.
Paramahansa YoganandaRead
Until the legacy of remembered and reenacted trauma is taken seriously, black America cannot heal.
Bell HooksRead
For people raised and programmed on the patriarchal religions of today, religions that affect even the most secular aspects of our society, perhaps there remains a lingering, almost innate memory of sacred shrines and temples tended by priestesses who served in the religion of the original supreme deity. In the beginning, people prayed to the Creatress of Life, the Mistress of Heaven. At the very dawn of religion, God was a woman. Do you remember?
Merlin StoneRead
My belief is that the various religious traditions have great potential to increase compassion, the sense of caring for one another, and the spirit of reconciliation. However, I believe that a human being, without religious faith, can be a very good person - sincere, a good heart, having a sense of concern for others - without belief in a particular religious faith.
Dalai LamaRead
City life is millions of people being lonesome together.
Henry David ThoreauRead