Requiem for the American Dream

The American linguist, philosopher and activist Noam Chomsky is one of the most influential intellectuals of our time. In a series of long interviews – recorded over a period of four years – he describes the end of the American Dreamanideal that he believes was partly symbolic and partly realistic. “During the Great Recession there was a real sense of hopefulness,” he asserts. “There isn’t today.” He claims the difference between the 1930s and the present is that today’s inequality results from the concentration of wealth, which erodes democracy. Whereas in previous centuries society was in the hands of traders and manufacturers, nowadays financial institutions and multinationals reign supreme. Chomsky lists “the 10 principles of concentration of wealth and power,” which he believes are the underlying cause of this phenomenon, and describes the shift from a natural solidarity to individualism. He explains how the democratization movement of the 1960s, in which he was a left-wing activist, suffered a subsequent backlash and how a “precariat” is emerging in American society. Watching is like attending a powerful lecture by a leading intellectual, one who doesn’t hesitate to point the finger.