Noam Chomsky Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old Noam Chomsky quotes, Noam Chomsky sayings, and Noam Chomsky proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.'

Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so. Noam Chomsky
I like the cold weather. It means you get work done. Noam Chomsky
If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all. Noam Chomsky
Tough love is just the right phrase: love for the rich and privileged, tough for everyone else. Noam Chomsky
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously. Noam Chomsky
You never need an argument against the use of violence, you need an argument for it. Noam Chomsky
Organization and education, when they interact with each other, they strengthen each other, they are mutually supportive. Noam Chomsky
The internet could be a very positive step towards education, organisation and participation in a meaningful society. Noam Chomsky
As a research tool, the internet is invaluable. Noam Chomsky
Like most technology, the internet has mixed effects. It's a neutral instrument. Noam Chomsky
The internet is an élite organization; most of the population of the world has never even made a phone call. Noam Chomsky
A basic principle of modern state capitalism is that costs and risks are socialized to the extent possible, while profit is privatized. Noam Chomsky
Everybody's worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there's a really easy way: stop participating in it. Noam Chomsky
Citizenship means every four years you put a mark somewhere and you go home and let other guys run the world. It's a very destructive ideology. Noam Chomsky
Libertarian socialism is properly to be regarded as the inheritor of the liberal ideals of the enlightenment. Noam Chomsky
Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state. Noam Chomsky
It's perfectly obvious that there is some genetic factor that distinguishes humans from other animals and that it is language-specific. The theory of that genetic component, whatever it turns out to be, is what is called universal grammar. Noam Chomsky
Descriptive grammar is an attempt to give an account of what the current system is for either a society or an individual, whatever you happen to be studying. Noam Chomsky
Historical grammar is a study of how, say, modern English developed from Middle English, and how that developed from Early and Old English, and how that developed from Germanic, and that developed from what's called Proto-Indo-European, a source system that nobody speaks, so you have to try to reconstruct it. Noam Chomsky
The probability of apocalypse soon cannot be realistically estimated, but it is surely too high for any sane person to contemplate with equanimity. Noam Chomsky
Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky
It's dangerous when people are willing to give up their privacy. Noam Chomsky
Nationalism has a way of oppressing others. Noam Chomsky
Debt is a social and ideological construct, not a simple economic fact. Noam Chomsky
If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all. Noam Chomsky
There are all the activist groups on every imaginable topic - solidarity groups, environmental and feminist groups - sectors of these movements do very valuable work. Noam Chomsky
Concentration of wealth yields concentration of political power. And concentration of political power gives rise to legislation that increases and accelerates the cycle. Noam Chomsky
If we choose, we can live in a world of comforting illusion. Noam Chomsky
The worst drug of all by far is tobacco; the death toll from tobacco is just overwhelming. Noam Chomsky
In the moral calculus of currently prevailing state capitalism, profits and bonuses in the next quarter greatly outweigh concern for the welfare of one's grandchildren, and since these are institutional maladies, they will not be easy to overcome. While much remains uncertain, we can assure ourselves, with fair confidence, that future generations will not forgive us our silence and apathy. Noam Chomsky