Requiem for the American Dream- Noam Chomsky

What is in it for me and my thesis/project proposal

One of the storylines in my upcoming graduation film is based on some of the theory of Chomsky. The main 9th principle, manufacturing consent is.....

Summary

Requiem for the American Dream by Noam Chomsky is a book and a documentary. The film is made by directors Peter D. Hutchison, Kelly Nyks, Jared P. Scott. My notes are based on both the book and the film. The theory is similar, but the book has more details. Trailer:

Chomsky is old enough to remember the depression of the 30s, a lot of unemployed family from the working class. But there was one thing, there was hope. This is the biggest difference with our situation now, Chomsky doesn't have any hope. Back then people were willing to work together, now people are focussed on themselves and the equal differences between people is too big, it's worse than ever in history. But it. It is remarkable that the biggest difference is a fraction of 1% who is extremely wealthy and the 0,01 are even richer than rich. As the last thirty years, the middle class of society hardly had any extra income. This inequality has a massive impact on democracy.

The base of democracy is that the public opinion is from great influence on the power, something this elite is not happy with. Normal citizens could take their power from them.

Chomsky takes us through the history and the downfall of The American Dream. He explains to us how the concentration between health and power works in a structure of 10 principles. It is a vicious circle we can't get out.Especially that the cost of elections are so high that it's hard to fight the running elite without relying on big companies. This influence makes that all of the decisions are beneficial for the rich and wealthy.

Principle 1. Reduce Democracy

There has always been a clash between the Elite on top who wants to control the majority and the people under them. This goes back to James Madison, one of the most developers of the constitution. His opinion was that the power should be in the hands of the rich as they were more responsible The problem of democracy is that if the majority could go against the elite and take their wealth. Therefore they must create something to avoid this situation. Madison's solution was less democracy.

This goes against what Aristoteles, who agreed with the dilemma, wrote in his bookPolitica. His solution was to reduce inequality by helping the poor.

Principle 9. Manufacture Consent

In the Essay Moral, Political, Literary by David Haume (1741) he wrote

(chapter in docu is a @ 54.55min)

Obsessive consumers are not born, they're molded by advertising. The goal of directing people to superficial consumption as a means of keeping people in their place was explicit and has been reached. In a market economy, Chomsky says, informative advertisements would result in rational decisions. But actual advertisements provide no information and promote irrational choices. Here Chomsky is talking about, not just ads for automobiles and soap, but also election campaigns for candidates.