Read Online Manufacturing Consent The Political Economy of the Mass Media Edward S Herman Noam Chomsky 9780375714498 Books

Product details Paperback 480 pages Publisher Pantheon; Reprint edition (January 15, 2002) Language English ISBN-10 0375714499

Manufacturing Consent The Political Economy of the Mass Media Edward S Herman Noam Chomsky 9780375714498 Books Reviews

• This book changed the way I see my country, and its place in history. The specific information it gives about US involvement in S. America clarified events that had been on my radar, but that I had never taken the time to read about specifically.
  The virtual side-by-side comparison of the media's treatment of the rape and murder of four US citizens working as nuns in the a US client state and the torture and murder of a Polish dissident priest is typical of the method by which they highlight how the media favors "worthy"victims, (coincidentally all murdered by regimes not friendly to us) and "unworthy" victims, sadly, unavoidably, somehow made victims of the disorder in our client states. Other examples include comparing media coverage of E. Timor to that of Kosovo, and how the media narratives and meta-narratives shifted over the course of US involvement in Vietnam and Cambodia.
  That said, the book was a challenge to read. I find history and politics quite interesting, but the authors belabored their points (as an academic might, understandably, need to) far beyond the patience of a person reading the book in his spare time might be willing to tolerate. I eventually finished it, but just this once I'm excusing myself from the appendices. I feel the points they had to make were well made by page 70, and while it was all informative and solidly researched, I'm nearly giddy to close the cover on this one.
• It's not a fun read by any means, but I am incredibly grateful to have read this book. It is dry and academic, yet the clarity of its reasoning, the horror implicit in its conclusions and the endless march of its shocking historical evidence leave an indelible impact.
  
  Much like when I learned the theory of evolution by natural selection, I am left unable to see the world the same way again. And much the same as Darwin, Chomsky's explanation requires no grand conspiracy of intelligent design, the result simply emerges naturally from the workings of the system.
  
  Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the modern world and who wants to consider how the future may be steered in a better direction.
• This is a must read for anyone and everyone who cares about Democracy. Democracy can not exist without a free and independent media; Noam Chomsky proves his case that our media is anything but free and independent. This was written in 1987 but is even more true today, now that, thanks to deregulation, only six companies own 98% of the total media. This book highlights many of the propaganda tactics used in order to demonize those countries which challenge U.S. policy and say nice things about despots who go along with U.S. policy. There is a large section on the Vietnam war which illustrates this very well.
• An extraordinarily illuminating read that details the myriad ways in which the mainstream media internalize the propaganda system of corporate and US government voices by (consciously or not) subtly and insidiously reframing the debate and the ethics that shade those debates. Using two main examples of wars in the 70s/80s in IndoChina and Central America, the authors present a coherent and detailed argument that the "spreading of democracy" is often genocide, but by failing to objectively report events or by dividing casualties into "worthy" and "unworthy" groups, the media is complicit in the fallout of US aggression genocide, famine, the suppression of democracy in client states (while claiming to spread freedom!). Almost invariably the US sides with a wealthy elite in any given country, and the poverty-stricken population fights back. We fund the suppressors with money and weapons, eradicating as much of the local population as we can even (into the hundred of thousands) until there's no dissent left. But you'd never read it that way in the newspapers of the day.
• Every American who thinks he knows what's going on in the world needs to read this book, and every American who has NO IDEA what's going on in the world needs to read it. Although Chomsky's examples may seem dated, the patterns they describe are as visible in 2017 as they were when he wrote the book.
• Warning - it's a very long but worthy read. It is not a "dumbed down" book. It assumes an intellect unafraid of multi syllable words, which will most likely eliminate a lot of people who really need to read and consider this work.
  Also if you're afraid of a critical assessment of the media this may not work for you.
• Understanding the propaganda model that this book explains is a life-changing eye-opener.
  
  "In a world of conflict, a world of victims and executioners, it is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners." - Albert Camus
• This book is essential to understand how the US government/military-industrial complex uses the mainstream media (mostly with their own complicity) to successfully control and manage public opinion to its own agenda for decades- especially in foreign policy. The Propaganda model is still very much in practice today. The evidence, logic and arguments are very thorough and scholarly. You will have a much better ability to understand the truth of what is really happening in the world today eg of how the US was and continues to be the real aggressors in many areas (eg Syria, Ukraine, Russia, Iraq, Libya)