The Responsibility of Intellectuals

With the publication of 'The Responsibility ofIntellectuals' half a century ago, Noam Chomsky burst onto the US politicalscene as a leading critic of the war in Vietnam. Privilege, he argues, brings with it the responsibility to tell the truthand expose lies, but our intellectual culture only pays lip-service to thisideal. The essay has been described as 'the singlemost influential piece of anti-war literature' of the Vietnam war period. Since then,Chomsky has continued to equip a growing international audience with the factsand arguments needed to understand - and change - our world. According to The New York Times, Chomsky 'may be the most widely read Americanvoice on foreign policy on the planet today.' This bookrevisits 'The Responsibility of Intellectuals' half a century on. It includes sixnew essays written to celebrate Chomsky's famous intervention and explore itsrelevance in today's world. Nicholas Allott, Chris Knight, Milan Rai and NeilSmith have studied and written about Chomsky's thought for many years, whileCraig Murray and Jackie Walker describe the personal price they have paid for speaking out. The bookfinishes with Chomsky's recollectionsof the background to theoriginal publication of his essay, followed by extensive commentary from him onits 50th anniversary.Praise for The Responsibility of Intellectuals 'The Responsibility of Intellectuals' is a collection of essays subtitled 'Reflections by Noam Chomsky and others after 50 years'. Although there are similar themes running through the essays, they need to be read and analysed individually. Most of them express admiration for Chomsky's activism or political viewpoint, but each represents the individual author's work or thoughts.The Weekly WorkerThe six essays in this book, complemented by Chomsky's own replies and commentary during a question-and-answer session held at a University College London conference in 2017, explore what has changed over the last half century and assess the role of the intellectual in our contemporary Orwellian world, where revealing truth has to contend with newspeak and fake news. The Morning StarNow 90 years old, Noam Chomsky remains one of the best-known intellectuals and critics of American foreign policy in the world. One of his first major interventions, from the time of the Vietnam War, was his celebrated essay The Responsibility of Intellectuals. At least for those sympathetic to his politics, it remains a classic statement of the case for academics and others to speak truth to power and to resist the ever-present pressures and temptations of being co-opted. The essay formed the subject of a conference at UCL marking its 50th anniversary in 2017, at which activists and academics explored what we can still learn from it as well as where it needs rethinking. The results have now been published in a collection, edited by Nicholas Allott, Chris Knight and Neil Smith, The Responsibility of Intellectuals: Reflections by Noam Chomsky and Others after 50 Years... Times Higher Education'... a rich collection ... and one of the most remarkable essays is ['The abdication of responsibility'] by Craig Murray.' Labour Briefing