--- title: "8 Core Quotes By Noam Chomsky" description: "8 Core quotes by Noam Chomsky. Plus more from Noam Chomsky and more Core sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cf/noam-chomsky-42_abstract_nothing-in-these-abstract-economic-model_335257.jpg" --- > [Nothing in these abstract economic models actually works in the real world. It doesn't matter how many footnotes they put in, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/nothing-in-these-abstract-economic-models-actually-works-in-the-real/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cf/noam-chomsky-42_abstract_nothing-in-these-abstract-economic-model_335257.jpg) > [... an essential feature of a decent society, and an almost defining feature of a democratic society, is relative equality of outcome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/an-essential-feature-of-a-decent-society-and-an-almost-defining/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e8/noam-chomsky-42_adam_an-essential-feature-of-a-decent-society_875707.jpg) > [ In some ways, \[the student anti-sweatshop movement\] is like the anti-apartheid movement, except that in this case its striking at the core… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/in-some-ways-the-student-anti-sweatshop-movement-is-like-the-anti/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/noam-chomsky-42_apartheid_in-some-ways-the-student-anti-sweatshop_1118522.jpg) > [Modifying the core institutions of the society is no small challenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/modifying-the-core-institutions-of-the-society-is-no-small-challenge/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/noam-chomsky-42_challenges_modifying-the-core-institutions-of-the-s_2274087.jpg) > [To pay attention to the actual core of the movement - that would be pretty hard. Can you concentrate for example on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/to-pay-attention-to-the-actual-core-of-the-movement-that-would-be/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a5/noam-chomsky-42_attention_to-pay-attention-to-the-actual-core-of-t_2578372.jpg) > [I'm no expert on pornography. The core element of it, I think, is degradation of women, whatever else goes on. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-m-no-expert-on-pornography-the-core-element-of-it-i-think-is/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/noam-chomsky-42_core_i-m-no-expert-on-pornography-the-core-el_2943178.jpg) > [Obama's primary constituency was financial institutions. They were the core of the funding for his campaign. They expect to be paid back.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/obama-s-primary-constituency-was-financial-institutions-they-were-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/noam-chomsky-42_back_obama-s-primary-constituency-was-financi_3009674.jpg) > [I think it's just been a core part of the Cuban revolution to have a very high level of internationalism. I mean,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-think-it-s-just-been-a-core-part-of-the-cuban-revolution-to-have-a/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/noam-chomsky-42_angola_i-think-it-s-just-been-a-core-part-of-th_3112428.jpg) ## Other authors on Core ## More by Noam Chomsky > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ I wrote an article about the marine landing \[in Haiti\] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-landing-in-haiti-right-away-but/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This is class war on an international scale, and power is in the hands of those who control the international economic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/this-is-class-war-on-an-international-scale-and-power-is-in-the-hands/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's plenty to criticize about the mass media, but they are the source of regular information about a wide range of topics. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/core/noam-chomsky/#itemlist", "name": "8 Core Quotes By Noam Chomsky", "numberOfItems": 8, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nothing in these abstract economic models actually works in the real world. 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Much of this was initiated by Charlie Kernaghan of the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/in-some-ways-the-student-anti-sweatshop-movement-is-like-the-anti/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/noam-chomsky-42_apartheid_in-some-ways-the-student-anti-sweatshop_1118522.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/noam-chomsky-42_apartheid_in-some-ways-the-student-anti-sweatshop_1118522.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/noam-chomsky-42_apartheid_in-some-ways-the-student-anti-sweatshop_1118522.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In some ways, [the student anti-sweatshop movement] is like the anti-apartheid movement, except that in this…” — Noam Chomsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Modifying the core institutions of the society is no small challenge.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/modifying-the-core-institutions-of-the-society-is-no-small-challenge/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/noam-chomsky-42_challenges_modifying-the-core-institutions-of-the-s_2274087.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/noam-chomsky-42_challenges_modifying-the-core-institutions-of-the-s_2274087.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/noam-chomsky-42_challenges_modifying-the-core-institutions-of-the-s_2274087.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Modifying the core institutions of the society is no small challenge.” — Noam Chomsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To pay attention to the actual core of the movement - that would be pretty hard. Can you concentrate for example on either the policy issues or the creation of functioning democratic communities of mutual support and say, well, that's what's lacking in our country that's why we don't have a functioning democracy - a community of real participation. That's really important. And that always gets smashed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/to-pay-attention-to-the-actual-core-of-the-movement-that-would-be/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a5/noam-chomsky-42_attention_to-pay-attention-to-the-actual-core-of-t_2578372.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a5/noam-chomsky-42_attention_to-pay-attention-to-the-actual-core-of-t_2578372.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a5/noam-chomsky-42_attention_to-pay-attention-to-the-actual-core-of-t_2578372.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To pay attention to the actual core of the movement - that would be pretty hard. 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I don't think it should be outlawed, but I'm not in favor of the degradation of anybody.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-m-no-expert-on-pornography-the-core-element-of-it-i-think-is/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/noam-chomsky-42_core_i-m-no-expert-on-pornography-the-core-el_2943178.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/noam-chomsky-42_core_i-m-no-expert-on-pornography-the-core-el_2943178.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/noam-chomsky-42_core_i-m-no-expert-on-pornography-the-core-el_2943178.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm no expert on pornography. The core element of it, I think, is degradation of women, whatever else goes…” — Noam Chomsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Obama's primary constituency was financial institutions. They were the core of the funding for his campaign. They expect to be paid back. And they were. They were paid back by coming out richer and more powerful than they were before the crisis that they created.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/obama-s-primary-constituency-was-financial-institutions-they-were-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/noam-chomsky-42_back_obama-s-primary-constituency-was-financi_3009674.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/noam-chomsky-42_back_obama-s-primary-constituency-was-financi_3009674.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/noam-chomsky-42_back_obama-s-primary-constituency-was-financi_3009674.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Obama's primary constituency was financial institutions. They were the core of the funding for his campaign…” — Noam Chomsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think it's just been a core part of the Cuban revolution to have a very high level of internationalism. I mean, these cases you've mentioned are cases in point, but the most extreme case was the liberation of Africa. Take the case of Angola for example, and there are real connections between Cuba and Angola-much of the Cuban population comes from Angola.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-think-it-s-just-been-a-core-part-of-the-cuban-revolution-to-have-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/noam-chomsky-42_angola_i-think-it-s-just-been-a-core-part-of-th_3112428.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/noam-chomsky-42_angola_i-think-it-s-just-been-a-core-part-of-th_3112428.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/noam-chomsky-42_angola_i-think-it-s-just-been-a-core-part-of-th_3112428.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think it's just been a core part of the Cuban revolution to have a very high level of internationalism. 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