Noam Chomsky: "Free Markets?"

Santarchy2 HN recommenders · 2014–2020
544K views · talk · evergreen · Uploaded 2011-02-03

A 1997 Noam Chomsky talk at Northeastern University about the gap between free-market rhetoric and practice. He argues that business relies heavily on state intervention, and he discusses trade, NAFTA and labour versus capital mobility.

Linked repeatedly in threads on monopolies, protectionism, and subsidies, usually as a source for the argument that free markets are an ideology more than a reality.

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20 comments from Hacker News

@vishnugupta2014 · in “Facebook Refused No-Poaching Agreement With Google”

This has been the case with several industries (manufacture, service to name a couple) ever since the capital was globalized beginning from late 80's. The difference is that the collusion is a part of some trade agreement (GATT etc.,) where labor movement between nations is severely restricted or banned altogether and capital movement is encouraged in the name of liberalization! This has resulted in industries being shut down at a massive scale in US where labor costs are higher and moved to a country where labor is cheap (China, India and so on) and also less regulated ("flexible" is the word used). As a bonus companies get to flout just about every environmental regulation which are non-existent in third world countries (think Bangladesh's textile manufacturing plants producing for luxury brands). The net result of this combination of "free capital movement + restricted labor movement" is reduced wages across nations and industries. And over the time you end up having no skilled labor in a company's nation of incorporation (Apple?). The supreme irony I see here is that the advocates of "free market" for capital tend to advance amazingly absurd arguments when it comes to having a similar free market for labor. I highly recommend watching this talk by Noam Chomsky titled "Free Markets?": [VIDEO]

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@Umn552014 · in “The world is not falling apart: The trend lines”

"How can we be better than we are now?" By getting informed on what is REALLY happening, i.e. if you are participating in electoral democracy, you're part of the misinformed set. Reasoning and the human brain doesn't work the way we thought it did: [LINK] Manufacturing consent [LINK] Most have no clue what's really going on in the world... the elites are afraid of political awakening. This (mass surveillance) by the NSA and abuse by law enforcement is just more part and parcel of state suppression of dissent against corporate interests. They're worried that the more people are going to wake up and corporate centers like the US and canada may be among those who also awaken. See this vid with Zbigniew Brzezinski, former United States National Security Advisor. [LINK] Brezinski at a press conference [LINK] The real news: [LINK] [LINK] [LINK] [LINK] Look at the following graphs: IMGUR link - [LINK] [LINK] And then... WIKILEAKS: U.S. Fought To Lower Minimum Wage In Haiti So Hanes And Levis Would Stay Cheap [LINK] [LINK] Free markets? [VIDEO] Free trade? [LINK] [LINK] "We now live in two Americas. One—now the minority—functions in a print-based, literate world that can cope with complexity and can separate illusion from truth. The other—the majority—is retreating from a reality-based world into one of false certainty and magic. To this majority—which crosses social class lines, though the poor are overwhelmingly affected—presidential debate and political rhetoric is pitched at a si

@Umn552015 · in “White Hat Hackers Would Have Their Devices Destroyed Under the TPP”

First realize what is going on and why, watch the science video, then manufacturing consent then the rest. The elites fear political awakening, thats why all this is happening. First, our brains are much worse at reality and thinking than thought. Science on reasoning: [LINK] The (mass surveillance) by the NSA and abuse by law enforcement is just more part and parcel of state suppression of dissent against corporate interests. They're worried that the more people are going to wake up and corporate centers like the US and canada may be among those who also awaken. See this vid with Zbigniew Brzezinski, former United States National Security Advisor. [LINK] Brezinski at a press conference [LINK] The real news: [LINK] [LINK] [LINK] [LINK] Protectionism for the rich and big business by state intervention, radical market interference. [VIDEO] Wikileaks [LINK] Manufacturing consent: [LINK] [LINK] The Citibank memo [LINK] [LINK] [LINK] US distribution of wealth [LINK] [LINK] The Centre for Investigative Journalism [LINK] Some history on US imperialism by us corporations. [LINK] From war is a racket: "I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil intersts in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown B

@Umn552015 · in “Why Video Games Have Launch Problems”

>I don't know what dedicated servers has to do with it? First see the science, I can tell you the facts and figures and you won't reason to the conclusion correctly. [LINK] If you wanted to avoid "back end problems" (aka problems with 'stressing servers' because of your desire for locked down games where the server code is never released to the public) then you should allow gamers to run their own servers using server software like what games did in the 90's - problem solved. The corporate world basically stole gamers ability to own and run servers and since most gamers are 100's of miles away from these game companies they get away with it. The free market simply cannot work when buyer and seller are 100's of miles away from each other, the seller has a huge advantage, all the outraged customers can't patrol outside the company and give the people there an earful for being corrupt criminal bastards. Free market is a fantasy held onto by people who don't know much about how the real world works and gullibly believe the false ideological propaganda in the universities. Protectionism for the rich and big business by state intervention, radical market interference. [VIDEO] Crisis of democracy [LINK] Manufacturing consent: [LINK] [LINK]

@Umn552015 · in “Did the FBI Pay a University to Attack Tor Users?”

"but that they were launching active attacks and using the results in an unethical manner, i.e. to conduct possibly-illegal criminal investigations." That's the history of the US in an nutshell. You really need to bone up on your history... [LINK] Our brains are much worse at reality and thinking than thought. Science on reasoning: [LINK] Protectionism for the rich and big business by state intervention, radical market interference. [VIDEO] Energy subsidies [LINK] Intereference in other states when the rich/corporations dont get their way [LINK] From war is a racket: "I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil intersts in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested."[p. 10] "War is a racket. ...It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives." [p. 23] "The general public shoulders the bill [for war]. This bill renders a horrible accounting. Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds. Broken hearts and homes. Economic instability. Depression and all its attendant mis

@Umn442016 · in “How to Fix Tech’s H-1B Problem”

I don't think you understand what he is getting at, the business classes are protected and subsidized by state power, the people who own society and the majority of businesses people work at are shielded from market competition by the state. The vast majority of the population however is not, individually they would want to protect their incomes and their jobs, the same way the upper class uses state power to protect themselves from competition from other states the masses via state subsidies. The state intervenes on behalf of employers to keep wages down. WIKILEAKS: U.S. Fought To Lower Minimum Wage In Haiti So Hanes And Levis Would Stay Cheap [LINK] Protectionism for the rich and big business by state intervention, radical market interference. [VIDEO] Energy subsidies [LINK]

@Umn442016 · in “The connection between modern slavery and ecological disaster”

>I've never even heard of this, Then you should read up on history. Our brains are much worse at reality and thinking than thought. Science on reasoning: [LINK] Overthrowing other peoples governments [LINK] Wikileaks on TTIP/TPP/ETC [LINK] Protectionism for the rich and big business by state intervention, radical market interference. [VIDEO] Energy subsidies [LINK] Intereference in other states when the rich/corporations dont get their way [LINK] From war is a racket: "I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil intersts in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested."[p. 10] "War is a racket. ...It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives." [p. 23] "The general public shoulders the bill [for war]. This bill renders a horrible accounting. Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds. Broken hearts and homes. Economic instability. Depression and all its attendant miseries. Back-breaking taxation for generations and generations." [p. 24] General Butler is especially

@Umn442016 · in “NSA data will soon routinely be used for domestic policing”

"But I'd much rather have this than every other social system, where the sociopaths fuck over the common people unchecked." You already live in that society, you're just unaware of it. The (mass surveillance) by the NSA and abuse by law enforcement is just more part and parcel of state suppression of dissent against corporate interests. They're worried that the more people are going to wake up and corporate centers like the US and canada may be among those who also awaken. See this vid with Zbigniew Brzezinski, former United States National Security Advisor. [LINK] Brezinski at a press conference [LINK] Major powers, and imposing control over the awakened masses. [LINK] Important: [LINK] First, our brains are much worse at reality and thinking than thought. AKA we can be manipulated to believe things against our interest. Science on reasoning: [LINK] "Intended as an internal document. Good reading to understand the nature of rich democracies and the fact that the common people are not allowed to play a role." Crisis of democracy [LINK] [LINK] Democracy Inc. [LINK] Testing theories of representative government [LINK] Protectionism for the rich and big business by state intervention, radical market interference. [VIDEO] Energy subsidies [LINK] Manufacturing consent: [LINK] [LINK]

@Umn442016 · in “Encryption, Privacy Are Larger Issues Than Fighting Terrorism”

"It's so disappointing to me to hear a quote like that from the President." Then you need to get informed how democracy works... Our brains are much worse at reality and thinking than thought. AKA we can be manipulated to believe things against our interest. Science on reasoning: [LINK] "Intended as an internal document. Good reading to understand the nature of rich democracies and the fact that the common people are not allowed to play a role." Crisis of democracy [LINK] [LINK] Democracy Inc. [LINK] Testing theories of representative government [LINK] Protectionism for the rich and big business by state intervention, radical market interference. [VIDEO] Energy subsidies [LINK] Manufacturing consent: [LINK] [LINK]

@Umn442016 · in “Launching the Electronic Frontier Alliance”

"There's nothing inherently wrong with a lobbyist. They're there to help inform representatives. " You are naive. "Intended as an internal document. Good reading to understand the nature of rich democracies and the fact that the common people are not allowed to play a role." Crisis of democracy [LINK] [LINK] Our brains are much worse at reality and thinking than thought. Science on reasoning: [LINK] Manufacturing consent (book) [LINK] Protectionism for the rich and big business by state intervention, radical market interference. [VIDEO] Manufacturing consent: [LINK] [LINK] Testing theories of representative government [LINK] Democracy Inc [LINK]

@fudgepack992017 · in “Comcast Tries to Derail Fort Collins Community Broadband”

Your post is so full of inaccuracies. The rich have always preached free market to the masses while taking state subsidies for themselves. The human mind does not see reality as it is, see the science: [LINK] Energy subsidies [LINK] Interference in other states when the rich/corporations dont get their way [LINK] Protectionism for the rich and big business by state intervention, radical market interference. Testing theories of representative government [LINK] [VIDEO] From war is a racket: "I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested."[p. 10] "War is a racket. ...It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives." [p. 23] "The general public shoulders the bill [for war]. This bill renders a horrible accounting. Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds. Broken hearts and homes. Economic instability. Depression and all its attendant miseries. Back-breaking taxation for generations and generations." [p. 24] General

@fudgepack992017 · in “Lost Einsteins: The Innovations We’re Missing”

>working as intended then ? Yes... the whole of education is to make society ignorant of reality. See here: [LINK] Then below... Our brains are much worse at reality and thinking than thought. Science on reasoning: [LINK] Protectionism for the rich and big business by state intervention, radical market interference. [VIDEO] Manufacturing consent: [LINK] [LINK] "Intended as an internal document. Good reading to understand the nature of rich democracies and the fact that the common people are not allowed to play a role." Crisis of democracy [LINK] Education as ignorance [LINK] Testing theories of representative government [LINK]

@fudgepack992017 · in “Lost Einsteins: The Innovations We’re Missing”

You don't understand what is happening, the elites are at war with all citizens of their respective states because they fear the free flow of information through their society. That is why are collecting everything. Go view the privacy video and skip to 1:02:30 and watch. So hear it from national security advisor of the united states. If you are the non fraction of the 1% you are the enemy, aka spying is aimed at politically controlling your perception because they know your brain doesn't see the world as it is. See the science: [LINK] Every citizen called a "global menace" here by Zbig: [LINK] Protectionism for the rich and big business by state intervention, radical market interference. [VIDEO] Government does not work for you [LINK] Book: [LINK] Privacy video [LINK]

@fudgepack992017 · in “The Google-Facebook Duopoly Threatens Diversity of Thought”

>The solution really is a revitalization of antitrust policy. It really isn't because the free market ideology never grasped the full complexity of how our world actually works. It's a false ideology that rulers preach to the masses, see here for a talk on "the free market". Protectionism for the rich and big business by state intervention, radical market interference. [VIDEO] I'll give you an example of what happed to PC videogames. Over the last 20 years corporations have taken full control over PC videogame software by a campaign of propaganada and selling games where they fraudulently take advantage of the publics ignorance and irrationality to steal game software by rebranding this software mmo/online. It's a way to cheat the population of owning their own software. Games like Overwatch and world of warcraft and diablo 3 all normalized basically taking freedom away from customers. Markets can't work in a post technological society because corporations have all the power in the relationship to force policies. The human brain never evolved to live in a high tech capitalist society which is why we now have videogame dystopia out in PC game land. In the 90's we had full blown level editors and server executables, post mass high speed internet. Game companies can simply take the software hostage and chain it to a backend server committing fraud on a mass scale. No law or anti trust can prevent this shit since most people are too technology illiterate to comprehend how they ar

@monster992019 · in “Amazon wants to control third-party sellers’ product pricing”

I don't believe in the ideologies of the time, call me a doubting thomas that the human race is actually intelligent. I know too much about how human beings and corporations actually function to believe in free market mythology. See here for if you want more acedemic take: [VIDEO] There are all sorts of things wrong in reality with how capitalism actually functions. The reality is most people are too irrational and too stupid for any market to function as a "market". The videogame "market" is a perfect example. For the first 20-30 years of PC game history, we were getting good software for a fair price. Then the masses got internet and shit went sideways. AKA people started buying software they didn't own, nor control, giving super powers to corporations to extort them and engage in all sorts of abusive practices and raise prices astronically because the internet now gave them access to people with addictive tendencies and impulse control problems 24/7 and in order to gather the worlds evolutionary unlucky regarding gambling addiction all games now have microtransactions. I watched my hobby be destroyed, my software robbed and my os infested with dishonest code because stupid got internet. Before the internet Microsoft and game companies had no incentive undermine software ownership because it was impossible to do so. The market for videogames today is a market for lemons, a total shit show of broken games, stolen games, etc. Because a rational game buyer would never buy a pi

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@som332020 · in “Anatomists of Melancholy in the Age of Coronavirus”

For those of us who are educated, the US and capitalism has never obeye it's own rules, the upper classes have always loved the nanny state and taken state subsidies. But the free marketeers like yourself always turn a blind side to the rich to promote nonsense. Free markets? Don't look too closely at what actually happens. [VIDEO]

@som332020 · in “Anatomists of Melancholy in the Age of Coronavirus”

He's uneducated, capitalism as the upper class preaches from the universities has never existed. [VIDEO]

@som332020 · in “Omega-3: Intervention for childhood behavioral problems? (2015)”

I wonder how much self deception exists in western society when the evidence suggests you live in a lawless oligarchy, one example from endless copyright extension. [LINK] But first HN, you can be told the facts and the figures and you won't reason to the right conclusion see the science: [LINK] Does the upper class and the business community believe in Free markets? [VIDEO] IMF subsidies for the rich and their corporations [LINK] subsidies So looking at all that free cash from the state, did the upper class really "earn" all that cash or could it be they own the government and can just rubber stamp whatever they like because the average HN poster and person on our planet is illiterate and well indoctrinated?

@som332020 · in “Four million parts, 30 countries: How an Airbus A380 comes together (2018)”

>It's not governed by economics. Except economics as you are taught it is bullshit, the rich have always taken state subsidies regardless of "economics". [VIDEO]

@som332020 · in “No Recent Automation Revolution”

>I'm saying that the state can't be trusted to manage the economy Except the state has always managed the economy, you have been lied to, the upper class has never applied its free market principles to itself. [VIDEO] Copyright and intellectual property are monopoly rights, aka things that need a state to enforce, they are entirely fictional and are government intervention in the economy.