Understanding Power: the indispensable Chomsky by Noam Chomsky, John Schoeffel, Peter R. Mitchell Page A
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interpretation in the ideological institutions. That’s the opposite of conspiracy theory, it’s just normal institutional analysis, the kind of analysis you do automatically when you’re trying to understand how the world works. For people to call it “conspiracy theory” is part of the effort to prevent an understanding of how the world works, in my view—“conspiracy theory” has become the intellectual equivalent of a four-letter word: it’s something people say when they don’t want you to think about what’s really going on.
M AN : What role would you say the alternative media play in the “Propaganda Model”?
Well, it varies. I think to some extent the alternative media play a role within the “Propaganda Model.” So a lot of what’s called the “alternative media” in the United States is really just a kind of commercialization of freakishness—like 95 percent of the Village Voice , for example, or maybe 99 percent. I regard that as just another technique of marginalization of the public: it’s sort of another version of the National Enquirer , just for a different audience.
However, to a significant extent the alternative media play a very constructive role—often they present people with an alternative view of the world, and that does make a difference. For example, I travel around giving talks all over the country, and I’ve noticed that in places that have listener-supported radio, there’s just a different feel in the community—there’s a place that people can go to, and relate themselves to, and find out what’s going on, and hear other people, and contribute, and construct a different conception of the world and how it works on a continuing basis. I mean, you feel it right away if something like that is going on, and you feel it if nothing’s going on. The alternative political journals are the same.
But notice that anything that’s alternative is going to be lacking in resources and lacking in outreach—it’s like alternatives to automobile production: you can do it, but it’s going to be extremely difficult. So I don’t know the details, but I imagine that if you compare the resources behind, say, F.A.I.R. [Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting, a left-wing media-monitoring group] and A.I.M. [Accuracy In Media, a right-wing one], you’ll come out with a very good estimate of what’s involved. 58 And it’s only natural that powerful interests wouldn’t want to support genuinely alternative structures—why would an institution function in such a way as to undermine itself? Of course that’s not going to happen.
W OMAN : Recently on public television there was a series of programs about clandestine activities and the atomic bomb which brought out a lot of information that seemed to go against those powerful interests, though—it was very unusual, the kind of thing you almost never see. I’m wondering what you think its purpose might have been .
I was extremely surprised at the openness of what was being said: they mentioned Operation MONGOOSE, the assassination attempts on Castro, connections between the Kennedys and the Mafia; they talked about the U.S. recruiting some of the worst Nazis to work for us at the end of World War II. 59 I’m curious why those kinds of things are coming out now: why is it happening at this point, and in such a public forum? You were talking before about things sometimes slipping through the cracks—this is more than slipping through the cracks .
Well, is it really? How many people saw it? See, and these are pretty activist people, people who are attuned to that sort of thing. And it’s not the first time that this has happened—a lot of this material already appeared in the media, in 1975. So it would be interesting to know exactly why it is coming out now, but some things come to mind right off.
The first set of exposures was in 1975, which was right after Watergate; the second set of exposures is right now, which happens to
M AN : What role would you say the alternative media play in the “Propaganda Model”?
Well, it varies. I think to some extent the alternative media play a role within the “Propaganda Model.” So a lot of what’s called the “alternative media” in the United States is really just a kind of commercialization of freakishness—like 95 percent of the Village Voice , for example, or maybe 99 percent. I regard that as just another technique of marginalization of the public: it’s sort of another version of the National Enquirer , just for a different audience.
However, to a significant extent the alternative media play a very constructive role—often they present people with an alternative view of the world, and that does make a difference. For example, I travel around giving talks all over the country, and I’ve noticed that in places that have listener-supported radio, there’s just a different feel in the community—there’s a place that people can go to, and relate themselves to, and find out what’s going on, and hear other people, and contribute, and construct a different conception of the world and how it works on a continuing basis. I mean, you feel it right away if something like that is going on, and you feel it if nothing’s going on. The alternative political journals are the same.
But notice that anything that’s alternative is going to be lacking in resources and lacking in outreach—it’s like alternatives to automobile production: you can do it, but it’s going to be extremely difficult. So I don’t know the details, but I imagine that if you compare the resources behind, say, F.A.I.R. [Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting, a left-wing media-monitoring group] and A.I.M. [Accuracy In Media, a right-wing one], you’ll come out with a very good estimate of what’s involved. 58 And it’s only natural that powerful interests wouldn’t want to support genuinely alternative structures—why would an institution function in such a way as to undermine itself? Of course that’s not going to happen.
W OMAN : Recently on public television there was a series of programs about clandestine activities and the atomic bomb which brought out a lot of information that seemed to go against those powerful interests, though—it was very unusual, the kind of thing you almost never see. I’m wondering what you think its purpose might have been .
I was extremely surprised at the openness of what was being said: they mentioned Operation MONGOOSE, the assassination attempts on Castro, connections between the Kennedys and the Mafia; they talked about the U.S. recruiting some of the worst Nazis to work for us at the end of World War II. 59 I’m curious why those kinds of things are coming out now: why is it happening at this point, and in such a public forum? You were talking before about things sometimes slipping through the cracks—this is more than slipping through the cracks .
Well, is it really? How many people saw it? See, and these are pretty activist people, people who are attuned to that sort of thing. And it’s not the first time that this has happened—a lot of this material already appeared in the media, in 1975. So it would be interesting to know exactly why it is coming out now, but some things come to mind right off.
The first set of exposures was in 1975, which was right after Watergate; the second set of exposures is right now, which happens to
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