American Power and the New Mandarins
Encyclopedia
American Power and the New Mandarins is a book by the US academic Noam Chomsky
, largely written in 1968, published in 1969. It was his first political book and sets out in detail his opposition to the Vietnam War
.
He develops the arguments, laid out in The Responsibility of Intellectuals
, that the American intellectual and technical class, in universities and in government (the New Mandarins
) bear major responsibility for the atrocities perpetrated by the United States in Vietnam
.
Chomsky argues, however, that US policy in Vietnam was largely successful. In Chomsky's view US policy was to destroy the nationalist movements in the South Vietnamese peasantry rather than to defend South Vietnam from North Vietnamese aggression. He holds that the former was accomplished rather successfully even if at the expense of the latter.
His fundamental point on the New Mandarins is that we should not uncritically accept the claim that technocratic approaches are neutral and beneficial. Chomsky writes: 'Quite generally, what grounds are there for supposing that those whose claim to power is based on knowledge and technique will be more benign in their exercise of power than those whose claim is based on wealth or aristocratic origin? On the contrary, one might expect the new mandarin to be dangerously arrogant, aggressive and incapable of adjusting to failure, as compared with his predecessor, whose claim to power was not diminished by honesty as to the limitations of his knowledge, lack of work to do or demonstrable mistakes.'
He also suggests that common presumptions about the greatness of the West and the modern age are misguided. He writes that these assumptions are created automatically regardless of real social conditions: 'one would expect any group with access to power and affluence to construct an ideology that will justify this state of affairs on the grounds of the general welfare.'
The book was reprinted by New Press in 2002 and contains a new foreword by Howard Zinn
, an American historian and the author of A People's History of the United States
.
Several chapters of this book are available online. See external links below.
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
, largely written in 1968, published in 1969. It was his first political book and sets out in detail his opposition to the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
He develops the arguments, laid out in The Responsibility of Intellectuals
The Responsibility of Intellectuals
"The Responsibility of Intellectuals" is an essay by the US academic Noam Chomsky which was published as a special supplement by The New York Review of Books on the 23 February 1967....
, that the American intellectual and technical class, in universities and in government (the New Mandarins
Mandarin (bureaucrat)
A mandarin was a bureaucrat in imperial China, and also in the monarchist days of Vietnam where the system of Imperial examinations and scholar-bureaucrats was adopted under Chinese influence.-History and use of the term:...
) bear major responsibility for the atrocities perpetrated by the United States in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
Chomsky argues, however, that US policy in Vietnam was largely successful. In Chomsky's view US policy was to destroy the nationalist movements in the South Vietnamese peasantry rather than to defend South Vietnam from North Vietnamese aggression. He holds that the former was accomplished rather successfully even if at the expense of the latter.
His fundamental point on the New Mandarins is that we should not uncritically accept the claim that technocratic approaches are neutral and beneficial. Chomsky writes: 'Quite generally, what grounds are there for supposing that those whose claim to power is based on knowledge and technique will be more benign in their exercise of power than those whose claim is based on wealth or aristocratic origin? On the contrary, one might expect the new mandarin to be dangerously arrogant, aggressive and incapable of adjusting to failure, as compared with his predecessor, whose claim to power was not diminished by honesty as to the limitations of his knowledge, lack of work to do or demonstrable mistakes.'
He also suggests that common presumptions about the greatness of the West and the modern age are misguided. He writes that these assumptions are created automatically regardless of real social conditions: 'one would expect any group with access to power and affluence to construct an ideology that will justify this state of affairs on the grounds of the general welfare.'
The book was reprinted by New Press in 2002 and contains a new foreword by Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn was an American historian, academic, author, playwright, and social activist. Before and during his tenure as a political science professor at Boston University from 1964-88 he wrote more than 20 books, which included his best-selling and influential A People's History of the United...
, an American historian and the author of A People's History of the United States
A People's History of the United States
Chapter 7, "As Long As Grass Grows or Water Runs" discusses 19th century conflicts between the U.S. government and Native Americans and Indian removal, especially during the administrations of Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren....
.
Contents
- Foreword by Howard Zinn (2002 edition only)
- Introduction
- Objectivity and Liberal ScholarshipObjectivity and Liberal ScholarshipObjectivity and Liberal Scholarship is the title of an essay by the US academic Noam Chomsky. It was first published as part of Chomsky's American Power and the New Mandarins. Parts of the essay were delivered as a lecture at New York University in March 1968, as part of Albert Schweitzer Lecture...
- The Revolutionary Pacifism of A. J. Muste: On the Backgrounds of the Pacific War
- The Logic of Withdrawal
- The Bitter Heritage: A Review
- Some Thoughts on Intellectuals and the Schools
- The Responsibility of IntellectualsThe Responsibility of Intellectuals"The Responsibility of Intellectuals" is an essay by the US academic Noam Chomsky which was published as a special supplement by The New York Review of Books on the 23 February 1967....
- On Resistance
- Supplement to On Resistance
- Epilogue
Several chapters of this book are available online. See external links below.
External links
- Book chapters available online: Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 6, Chapter 7
- Debate between Noam Chomsky & William F. Buckley, Jr., on Firing Line, over the book