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Democracy Quote by Noam Chomsky

“So take something that's been happening in recent years: devolution―that is, removing authority from the federal government down to the state governments. Well, in some circumstances, that would be a democratizing move which I would be in favor of―it would be a move away from central authority…” quote by Noam Chomsky
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““So take something that's been happening in recent years: devolution―that is, removing authority from the federal government down to the state governments. Well, in some circumstances, that would be a democratizing move which I would be in favor of―it would be a move away from central authority down to local authority. But that's in abstract circumstances that don't exist. Right now it'll happen because moving decision-making power down to the state level in fact means handing it over to private power. See, huge corporations can influence and dominate the federal government, but even middle-sized corporations can influence state governments and play one state's workforce off against another's by threatening to move production elsewhere unless they get better tax breaks and so on. So under the conditions of existing systems of power, devolution is very antidemocratic; under other systems of much greater equality, devolution could be highly democratic―but these are questions which really can't be discussed in isolation from the society as it actually exists.””

Noam Chomsky

About This Quote

Source Speech: Interview on devolution, date unknown

Devolution can democratize power but often transfers it to private interests, undermining democracy.

In simple terms: Devolution may help or hurt democracy.

Key Takeaway

Assess who truly gains power in decentralization.

Themes

politics decentralization democracy

Mood

skeptical thought‑provoking

Type

analysis philosophical

When to use this quote

  • policy reform
  • local governance
  • corporate lobbying
  • tax competition

Key Concepts

power dynamics corporate influence federalism

Questions to Reflect On

  • Who benefits from shifting authority?
  • Can true democracy exist without economic equality?
A Different Perspective

Privatization can replicate central control at a lower level.

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