Chomsky’s Linguistic Ideas And Political Thought

Noam Chomsky is one of the most distinguished linguists and the pioneer of transformational-generative grammar, but what makes him known to the world is not only his achievements in linguistics but also his involvement in left-wing political activities. Chomsky devotes all his academic life to the linguistic solution to the Platonic Problem and the political solution to the Orwellian Problem. With emphasis laid on the latter one, the thesis demonstrates that there is a subtle relation between the two, that is, the concept of human nature. The thesis then makes a thorough exploration into it from the following perspectives, namely, media critique in light of the Orwellian Problem, Chomsky’s criticisms of American democracy, freedom, and the concept of rogue states in the U.S. foreign policies. Based on this, the paper expounds Chomsky’s conception of ideal state and the responsibility we intellectuals should assume.