There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.
Noam ChomskyRead
I mean, what's the elections? You know, two guys, same background, wealth, political influence, went to the same elite university, joined the same secret society where you're trained to be a ruler - they both can run because they're financed by the same corporate institutions.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques the similarity between political candidates and the influence of corporate financing in elections.
Noam Chomsky highlights the lack of genuine choice in elections, suggesting that candidates are often cut from the same cloth, sharing similar backgrounds and financial backers. This commentary underscores concerns about democracy, where political influence may be skewed by the interests of the wealthy and powerful rather than truly representing the people's will.
Themes
ElectionsPoliticsCorruptionCandidatesDemocracyInfluencePower
In practice
Example use cases
During a political debate, one could quote this to discuss the similarities between the candidates.
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.
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
Every man is as heaven made him, and sometimes a great deal worse.
Miguel De CervantesRead
We establish a connection with the unknown through the act of giving something and, paradoxically, the act of destroying something. That is what is behind sacrifice. What you offer and what you destroy, it is that surplus which is life itself.
Roberto CalassoRead
I think it can be shown that the law makes ten criminals where it restrains one.
Voltairine De CleyreRead
There is something precious in our being mysteries to ourselves, in our being unable ever to see through even the person who is closest to our heart and to reckon with him as though he were a logical proposition or a problem in accounting.
Rudolf BultmannRead
If a man has lost a leg or an eye, he knows he has lost a leg or an eye; but if he has lost a self—himself—he cannot know it, because he is no longer there to know it.
Oliver SacksRead
We have abundant reason to rejoice that in this Land the light of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry and superstition, and that every person may here worship God according to the dictates of his own heart. In this enlightened Age and in this Land of equal liberty it is our boast, that a man's religious tenets will not forfeit the protection of the Laws, nor deprive him of the right of attaining and holding the highest Offices that are known in the United States.
George WashingtonRead