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Noam Chomsky on the Responsibility of Intellectuals

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View the page of Noam Chomsky

‘It is the responsibility of intellectuals to speak the truth and to expose lies.’ Noam Chomsky lays out the idea that intellectuals’ relative privilege imbues them with greater responsibility—one that was to be the guiding principle of his intellectual life.

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Image courtesy of interviewee. February 7, 2023

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This video discusses the author's reflections on the Vietnam War, the representation of the conflict in mainstream discourse, and the role of intellectuals in shaping narratives around power. The author notes that much of the historical discourse frames the war as a defensive effort against North Vietnam, ignoring the significant destruction inflicted upon South Vietnam and Cambodia. This video revisionist perspective serves the interests of those in power by presenting the U.S. actions as justified.

The author emphasizes the failure to acknowledge U.S. aggression in Indochina and critiques mainstream scholarship that downplays the war's impact on Vietnam. The conversation transitions to the moral responsibilities of intellectuals, contrasting the roles of those who support or challenge state narratives. This video highlights that dissenting intellectuals often face marginalization or vilification, regardless of the societal context, whether in the U.S., Soviet Union, or elsewhere.

The author draws historical parallels, referencing the Dreyfus affair and other instances where critical voices were silenced or demonized. Ultimately, the text advocates for a commitment to truth-telling regarding political violence and the impact of war, asserting that those who challenge dominant narratives do so at their own peril.

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I would be happy to help with that! However, I need the specific video you would like me to summarize or analyze for key points. Please provide the video, and I'll extract the key points for you.

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Here are some key quotes extracted from the video, which reflect the main ideas and themes discussed:

1. **On the Perspective of War**:
- "Very important Journal... very acute commentary in what was happening in the world quite different from the standard pictures."
- "the almost total subordination of the intellectual classes to the official doctrines about the war which actually remains right up until today."

2. **On the Misrepresentation of the Vietnam War**:
- "Try to find anything in the mainstream which speaks of US aggression in Indochina. The US attacked Vietnam, Cambodia... virtually destroyed them."
- "It's interesting... the Vietnam element of the war is reformulated so that it's called a war against North Vietnam."

3. **On U.S. Actions in Vietnam**:
- "The main attack was against South Vietnam. South Vietnam was by far the target of the overwhelming US destructive force."
- "I would say approximately a hundred percent close to it of discourse puts it in the frame of a defensive war against North Vietnam."

4. **On Intellectual Responsibility**:
- "There’s also a moral responsibility. Tell the truth about what's going on."
- "If you do that, you're not treated very well. Not just in the United States, any society."

5. **On the Role of Intellectuals**:
- "Kissinger put it pretty well... the duty of intellectual policy intellectuals is to articulate the conceptions and opinions of the powerful."
- "Sometimes called stenographers for power."

6. **On Consequences of Dissent**:
- "That's traditional. That's the history of dissonant intellectuals in just about every country."
- "If you're in El Salvador, you can get your head your brains blown out by US-run security forces... that’s yourself endure."

These quotes encapsulate the speaker's critique on the portrayal of U.S. military actions, especially in Vietnam, the responsibilities of intellectuals, and the consequences faced by those who dissent from dominant narratives.

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Here are some articles that discuss themes similar to those in your video, including reflections on the Vietnam War, the role of intellectuals in shaping narratives, and the moral implications of war:

1. **"The Vietnam War and American Intellectuals"** - This article examines how American scholars and intellectuals reacted to the Vietnam War, highlighting both the support for the war and the significant dissenting voices that emerged and fought against mainstream narratives.

2. **"The Legacy of Vietnam: An Intellectual History"** - This piece explores the aftermath of the Vietnam War and how various historians and intellectuals have interpreted its significance, focusing on the politics of memory and the struggle over narratives about U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia.

3. **"Narratives of Power: The Media and the Vietnam War"** - This article analyzes the representation of the Vietnam War in media and its impact on public perception, emphasizing the role of media in shaping and sometimes distorting the official narratives of conflict.

4. **"Marginal Voices: Dissent and the Politics of Memory"** - This video discusses the importance of dissenting voices in historical discourse, drawing parallels between various political crises, including the Vietnam War, and the ways in which dissenters are often silenced or misrepresented.

5. **"Intellectuals and War: A Historical Perspective"** - This article provides an overview of how intellectuals have responded to military conflicts throughout history, examining case studies including the Vietnam War, the Dreyfus affair, and contemporary conflicts.

6. **"Truth-Telling and the Challenge of Historical Memory"** - This piece investigates the challenges faced by scholars and intellectuals when confronting established historical narratives, emphasizing the necessity of truth-telling in the convideo of wars and political violence.

7. **"Civic Responsibility and Dissent: The Role of Intellectuals in Society"** - This article discusses the ethical obligations of intellectuals to challenge state narratives, exploring instances of success and failure in various political convideos, including the Vietnam War.

These articles share common threads with your video regarding the examination of the Vietnam War, the representation of history, and the responsibilities of intellectuals in critiquing state power and narratives.

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When I was in undergraduate back in the

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40s, I was reading Dwight McDonalds

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politics.

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Very important Journal not many

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readers but very acute commentary

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in what was happening in the world quite different

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from the standard pictures that are

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being impact influence and in

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the 1960s. It was rethinking that

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with the

00:34.700 --> 00:35.900
expansion of the

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US Wars in Indochina and the

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almost total subordination of

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the intellectual classes to the

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official doctrines about the war which actually

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remains right up until today.

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up until today, we're reaching the 50th anniversary

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of the

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US final withdrawal from the

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so called peace treaty in 1975. Well

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73 when

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the agreement was made to pull out.

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to this day

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Try to find anything in

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the mainstream which speaks of us

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aggression in Indochina us

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attacked.

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Vietnam those Cambodia virtually destroyed

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them

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But it was just a mistake.

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In fact, the it's interesting even in scholarship.

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The Vietnam element of

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the war is

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reformulated

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so that it's called a war against North Vietnam.

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There was bombing of North Vietnam, but it

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was on the side.

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The main attack was against South Vietnam.

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South Vietnam was by far the target of

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the overwhelming us destructive

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force, but

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that doesn't look nice if you can frame it as a

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war against the North.

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You can give it a kind of defensive cast. You

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can say the US was trying to

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defend the South against North Vietnam North

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Vietnamese aggression so much

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more convenient picture makes it look defensive.

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If you tell the truth saying it's

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a war against South Vietnam, which virtually wiped

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it out.

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Which then spread the North Vietnam blouse and

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Cambodia doesn't look so pretty so

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therefore.

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I would say approximately a hundred percent close to

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it of discourse puts it

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in the frame of a defensive war

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against North Vietnam.

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Which is pretty remarkable revision of

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the facts, which are not obscure. Let's

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take a look at the military

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history.

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overwhelmingly against the South

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and in fact the US war against South

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Vietnam pretty much succeeded.

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the National Liberation Front which

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was the resistance force in

03:15.400 --> 03:16.400
South Vietnam, but

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what we call the vietcon.

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is virtually wiped out country was

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left so that the only forces that

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remained were the North Vietnamese which

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did withstand the

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Lesser American attack us could never

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go all out against North Vietnam.

03:38.900 --> 03:41.400
There were embassies foreign embassies in

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Hanoi commercial relations.

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Hit chips and I found Harbor they

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could be foreign ships. So there were some

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restraints it was pretty awful. But some parts

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of North Vietnam or literally moonscapes. I've

03:56.100 --> 03:57.500
seen them.

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But around Hanoi kind of somewhat protected.

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Despite Nixon's Christmas bombings, but

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the South was just devastated.

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And as then of

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course the worst bread to those in

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Cambodia.

04:16.700 --> 04:17.400
the loss

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hasn't been playing plane of chores in Northern

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Laos isn't Community scattered communities

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just wiped out in

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Cambodia.

04:31.200 --> 04:33.600
Isn't your said it accurately?

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transmitted an order from his

04:37.900 --> 04:40.800
half drunk was Richard Nixon

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the order was

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massive

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bombing campaign in Cambodia anything that

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flies against anything that moves

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pretty hard to find

04:56.600 --> 04:59.500
Anything like that in the archival record?

05:00.400 --> 05:02.500
So basically a call for Mass general.

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You can read the transcript Sunday. It's

05:06.300 --> 05:07.900
Declassified.

05:08.800 --> 05:09.600
speaking to

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Hague L Hague Air Force

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director and they're kind of laughing about it.

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Isn't this funny, you know wasn't funny for

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the cambodians.

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a kind of an official responsibility

05:25.100 --> 05:28.400
the moral responsibility and there at

05:28.400 --> 05:28.700
odds

05:29.500 --> 05:31.600
the official responsibility is

05:33.600 --> 05:36.400
actually Kissinger put it pretty well. Is it

05:36.400 --> 05:38.100
specialist in the

05:39.100 --> 05:40.300
and the genre

05:40.800 --> 05:44.100
said the duty of intellectual policy intellectuals

05:43.100 --> 05:47.100
is to articulate the

05:48.900 --> 05:52.000
conceptions and opinions of the powerful shape them

05:51.700 --> 05:54.300
frame them and put them in a

05:54.300 --> 05:54.700
proper form.

05:55.500 --> 05:58.400
Sometimes called stenographers for power.

05:59.200 --> 06:02.000
That's what you're supposed to do if you do that.

06:02.900 --> 06:05.600
You get tenure get a job

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respected.

06:07.600 --> 06:09.000
great articles

06:10.100 --> 06:13.400
and get called by Thomas Friedman to

06:14.300 --> 06:17.700
give your opinion on things like this morning's column.

06:17.700 --> 06:20.100
There's also a moral responsibility.

06:21.500 --> 06:23.200
Tell the truth about what's going on.

06:24.400 --> 06:27.900
He could lies. Oh bring people

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to understand help them

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try to understand the reality the world.

06:33.200 --> 06:34.300
You do that you're not.

06:35.600 --> 06:38.700
You're not treated very well. Not just

06:38.700 --> 06:40.800
in the United States any society.

06:41.600 --> 06:43.000
every society has

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upper Hutchings and isn't that's

06:47.200 --> 06:50.300
where we call them in

06:50.300 --> 06:53.800
the Soviet Union commissors and

06:53.800 --> 06:54.100
didn't

06:54.800 --> 06:57.400
Of course in the case of enemy States,

06:57.400 --> 07:00.800
we revile the commissars be

07:00.800 --> 07:03.900
honor the distance at home. The values

07:03.900 --> 07:04.900
are reversed.

07:05.900 --> 07:09.100
And that's a pattern that runs through history. I

07:08.100 --> 07:11.400
mean take the term intellectually itself.

07:12.300 --> 07:16.500
The term intellectual in the modern sense began

07:15.500 --> 07:18.400
to be used at the

07:18.400 --> 07:20.300
time of the Dreyfus trial in France.

07:21.100 --> 07:21.500
the

07:22.400 --> 07:23.900
image of the

07:24.800 --> 07:27.700
his group The dreyfusards that were

07:28.800 --> 07:31.400
critical disintellectuals

07:33.300 --> 07:36.300
where they treated well, I mean now we honor them

07:36.300 --> 07:38.400
of course not at the time.

07:39.100 --> 07:42.400
they were villified demonized and

07:42.400 --> 07:45.200
it was all himself had to flee

07:45.200 --> 07:48.500
the country The Immortals of

07:48.500 --> 07:48.700
the

07:49.800 --> 07:53.200
academy phone services great intellectuals

07:52.200 --> 07:55.300
bitterly condemned these

07:55.300 --> 07:59.000
writers and artists

07:58.400 --> 08:01.700
who dare to attack the Majesty of

08:01.700 --> 08:04.900
the states and our great institutions and

08:04.900 --> 08:05.200
so on.

08:05.900 --> 08:08.700
Come to Modern period you

08:08.700 --> 08:11.800
get people like mature Bundy.

08:13.300 --> 08:17.000
former Harvard Dean National Security advisor

08:16.300 --> 08:19.000
for Kennedy and Johnson

08:19.800 --> 08:22.900
In 1968, he wrote an interesting

08:22.900 --> 08:25.500
right after the article did of mine

08:25.500 --> 08:27.300
that you mentioned he wrote.

08:28.200 --> 08:32.000
according to article in foreign affairs main establishment Journal

08:32.700 --> 08:36.100
In which he said he can

08:35.100 --> 08:38.800
understand criticisms of

08:38.800 --> 08:41.500
our war in Vietnam. We made

08:41.500 --> 08:44.900
tactical errors things. We didn't understand and so

08:44.900 --> 08:44.900
on.

08:45.500 --> 08:48.000
And then he said there are the wild men in the

08:48.000 --> 08:48.400
wings.

08:49.500 --> 08:52.800
People like me for example who questioned

08:52.800 --> 08:55.300
her motives and strategy.

08:56.100 --> 08:59.100
Wild and in the wings can't have anything to do

08:59.100 --> 08:59.700
with him.

09:00.200 --> 09:03.600
Well, that's traditional. That's the

09:03.600 --> 09:06.700
history of dissonant intellectuals

09:06.700 --> 09:07.700
in just about every country.

09:08.600 --> 09:11.300
Of course, they reactions are different.

09:13.300 --> 09:13.900
if you're in

09:15.100 --> 09:16.200
El Salvador

09:17.100 --> 09:21.100
you can get your head your brains blown out by us

09:20.100 --> 09:23.900
Run Security Forces like the

09:23.900 --> 09:26.900
six leading Jesuit intellectuals who

09:26.900 --> 09:29.700
were murdered in 1989.

09:31.500 --> 09:32.400
That's yourself endure.

09:32.900 --> 09:35.700
If you're in Russia, you could say and

09:35.700 --> 09:38.400
check the Russian satellite to be

09:38.400 --> 09:39.000
put in jail.

09:39.900 --> 09:42.200
Sometimes worse the United

09:42.200 --> 09:45.000
States you're not sent to the gulag. You know,

09:45.300 --> 09:45.900
you're not killed.

09:46.600 --> 09:50.300
It just kind of marginalized that

09:49.300 --> 09:51.900
you're a wild man in the wings.

00:06 - When I was in undergraduate back in the 40s, I was reading Dwight McDonalds politics. Very important Journal not many readers but very acute commentary in what was happening in the world quite different

00:23 - from the standard pictures that are being impact influence and in the 1960s. It was rethinking that with the expansion of the US Wars in Indochina and the almost total subordination of the intellectual classes to the official doctrines about the war which actually remains right up until today.

00:51 - up until today, we're reaching the 50th anniversary of the US final withdrawal from the so called peace treaty in 1975. Well 73 when the agreement was made to pull out. to this day Try to find anything in the mainstream which speaks of us aggression in Indochina us

01:20 - attacked. Vietnam those Cambodia virtually destroyed them But it was just a mistake. In fact, the it's interesting even in scholarship. The Vietnam element of the war is reformulated so that it's called a war against North Vietnam. There was bombing of North Vietnam, but it

01:47 - was on the side. The main attack was against South Vietnam. South Vietnam was by far the target of the overwhelming us destructive force, but that doesn't look nice if you can frame it as a war against the North. You can give it a kind of defensive cast. You can say the US was trying to defend the South against North Vietnam North

02:16 - Vietnamese aggression so much more convenient picture makes it look defensive. If you tell the truth saying it's a war against South Vietnam, which virtually wiped it out. Which then spread the North Vietnam blouse and Cambodia doesn't look so pretty so therefore. I would say approximately a hundred percent close to it of discourse puts it

02:44 - in the frame of a defensive war against North Vietnam. Which is pretty remarkable revision of the facts, which are not obscure. Let's take a look at the military history. overwhelmingly against the South and in fact the US war against South Vietnam pretty much succeeded. the National Liberation Front which

03:12 - was the resistance force in South Vietnam, but what we call the vietcon. is virtually wiped out country was left so that the only forces that remained were the North Vietnamese which did withstand the Lesser American attack us could never go all out against North Vietnam. There were embassies foreign embassies in

03:41 - Hanoi commercial relations. Hit chips and I found Harbor they could be foreign ships. So there were some restraints it was pretty awful. But some parts of North Vietnam or literally moonscapes. I've seen them. But around Hanoi kind of somewhat protected. Despite Nixon's Christmas bombings, but the South was just devastated. And as then of

04:11 - course the worst bread to those in Cambodia. the loss hasn't been playing plane of chores in Northern Laos isn't Community scattered communities just wiped out in Cambodia. Isn't your said it accurately? transmitted an order from his half drunk was Richard Nixon

04:40 - the order was massive bombing campaign in Cambodia anything that flies against anything that moves pretty hard to find Anything like that in the archival record? So basically a call for Mass general. You can read the transcript Sunday. It's Declassified. speaking to

05:10 - Hague L Hague Air Force director and they're kind of laughing about it. Isn't this funny, you know wasn't funny for the cambodians. a kind of an official responsibility the moral responsibility and there at odds the official responsibility is actually Kissinger put it pretty well. Is it specialist in the

05:39 - and the genre said the duty of intellectual policy intellectuals is to articulate the conceptions and opinions of the powerful shape them frame them and put them in a proper form. Sometimes called stenographers for power. That's what you're supposed to do if you do that. You get tenure get a job respected.

06:07 - great articles and get called by Thomas Friedman to give your opinion on things like this morning's column. There's also a moral responsibility. Tell the truth about what's going on. He could lies. bring people to understand help them try to understand the reality the world. You do that you're not. You're not treated very well. Not just

06:38 - in the United States any society. every society has upper Hutchings and isn't that's where we call them in the Soviet Union commissors and didn't Of course in the case of enemy States, we revile the commissars be honor the distance at home. The values are reversed.

07:05 - And that's a pattern that runs through history. I mean take the term intellectually itself. The term intellectual in the modern sense began to be used at the time of the Dreyfus trial in France. the image of the his group The dreyfusards that were critical disintellectuals where they treated well, I mean now we honor them

07:36 - of course not at the time. they were villified demonized and it was all himself had to flee the country The Immortals of the academy phone services great intellectuals bitterly condemned these writers and artists who dare to attack the Majesty of the states and our great institutions and

08:04 - so on. Come to Modern period you get people like mature Bundy. former Harvard Dean National Security advisor for Kennedy and Johnson In 1968, he wrote an interesting right after the article did of mine that you mentioned he wrote. according to article in foreign affairs main establishment Journal In which he said he can

08:35 - understand criticisms of our war in Vietnam. We made tactical errors things. We didn't understand and so on. And then he said there are the wild men in the wings. People like me for example who questioned her motives and strategy. Wild and in the wings can't have anything to do with him.

09:00 - Well, that's traditional. That's the history of dissonant intellectuals in just about every country. Of course, they reactions are different. if you're in El Salvador you can get your head your brains blown out by us Run Security Forces like the six leading Jesuit intellectuals who were murdered in 1989.

09:31 - That's yourself endure. If you're in Russia, you could say and check the Russian satellite to be put in jail. Sometimes worse the United States you're not sent to the gulag. You know, you're not killed. It just kind of marginalized that you're a wild man in the wings.

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