Noam Chomsky: Edward W Said Lecture: Violence and Dignity -- Reflections on the Middle East

Professor Noam Chomsky, delivering the 2013 Edward W Said Lecture: Violence and Dignity -- Reflections on the Middle East at Friends House in London on 18th March 2013. This video shows the full lecture, with introductions by Omar Al-Qattan and Mariam C Said.
The annual Edward W Said London Lecture is part of a series of cultural events and exhibitions programmed in association with The Mosaic Rooms (mosaicrooms.org) and the A M Qattan Foundation (qattanfoundation.org) to improve cultural and intellectual understanding of the Arabic world, and provide a platform for discourse and debate. The lecture is sponsored by The London Review of Books (lrb.co.uk).

[@bjl34565]

33:25 In all of chomsky's lectures spanning from Buckley in the 60's to today. Never have I seen him so emotional. I could swear i heard him weep just then. Truly moving.

[@Johnconno]

Chomsky does NOT do weeping in public! Capiche?

[@ianhenry1294]

I don't always understand or agree with Chomsky, but his voice is fucking soothing I like to listen to it while working.

[@JessleJess]

I've listened to over 10,000 minutes of Chomsky lectures and I've never heard him get get so emotional during a lecture. It's heartbreaking.

[@arinarinarin]

Chomsky starts at 7:48, but the intro is worth listening to.

[@fredbazoo]

A little off topic. I believe this to be the most well done and professionally video graphed talks that Noam has given. Cameras steady with several set up for varying angles. Sound quality excellent.

[@jesseshadrack9326]

Holds true today

[@RezaSyedIslam]

Ive followed both Robert Fisk and Chomsky for years. Must have missed the intro from Chomsky to Fisk, link would be appreciated! Thanks

[@olliephelan]

Try Pilger and Edward Said / Gore Vidal / Amy goodman Thats "War geoplitics and the Media " with the Chomsky intro . Just make sure ye get "part 1 " . The Chomsky intro is very general . Probably the best talk Ive seen , but I had read the 1500 page book before watching it . Its about Fisks book "Great War for Civilisation " . It should be required viewing/reading for every politician . Ive watched it , and read the book several times . Its heavy , but Brilliant !

[@JessleJess]

@32:10 Chomsky tells a story that I can't listen to without choking up.

[@barryhillman3644]

One of the greatest minds there ever existed on the side of justice. There was a time when President Obama or the then Senator Obama used to feel Professor Said made a lot of sense.Yeah, but then at the time the president himself was for the most part on the side of justice and not the drone-hugging leader of the "free world". Besides when did zionism & justice go together? (Contd.)

[@conthegreatgrapeape]

His speech is objective and factual. Its not bigoted and hate filled like you. Its people like him who can solve these issues. People like you perpetuate them, although you don't see it.

[@olliephelan]

Whats her name ? giving the introduction ? Is she the same reporter that was featured in Colberts White House dinner speech ? Anyone ?

[@cindyandjoey]

At about 31:30, forgot for a moment he was talking about the Palestinians. Sounded so much like Iraq under American occupation.

[@soldaat1947]

One Nation Solemnly Promised To A Second Nation The Country Of A Third. The 1917 Balfour Declaration declared that the British favored a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

[@nukenfry]

Chomsky needs no entry *proceeds to introduce Chomsky*

[@DaisyCim]

I would like this even more if a voice over commentary was done by Morgan Freeman

[@JessleJess]

Those minutes helped me make all those things much better. Except the poking the eyes out. Now go smell your fingers and remember, you ain't nobody's gamer.

[@khaliddurrani6432]

Words are just as incapable of capturing the personality and stature of the tallest men of our times as they are to express the atrocities of US backed Israelis in Palestine.

[@justinhon1774]

she was introduced as mariam, aka mariam said, edward said's wife.

[@AwakeningMindHeart]

I was reading Lawrence Keely's book on "War Before Civilization" and saw that he documents quite extensively the prevalence of war before states and modern countries. In many cases war and warfare were continuous and accepted as a normal part of life. They were also very inhumane from a modern perspective and sensibilities. On the other hand, one of Dr. Brian Ferguson seems to recognize that , while there was warfare in tribal societies, the presence of modern civilization exacerbated this and modified the social reasons for going to war. Will we always have a small segment of society trying to control the rest? Will we always have war and violence? May it depend on how psychological and cultural development can counteract innate biopsychological violent tendencies? While I agree with Dr. Chomsky's analysis that oligarchs and major corporations have gone too far and are controlling the political process and politicians undemocratically to their advantage, and that closed-minded, poorly conceived international actions (influenced not only by a mentality of being a country of exception to multilateralism but also by pressure and inertia from the mechanics of the military-industrial complex) generate a greater rise of extremism, I also see that modernity, liberalism, scientific thinking and it's normally associated economic system of capitalism have -generally speaking - improved the lives of people overall (especially when it is protected to unfold basically as Adam Smith intended and not as he's been wrongly re-interpreted by neoliberal apologists). Perhaps Dr. Chomsky starts his analysis from a personal level of psychological development which is egalitarian and he is able to correctly criticize the distortions on classical liberalism due to the abuse of power. His form of anarcho syndicalist socialism is highly humanitarian and, as Steven Pinker observed, possibly in essence, idealistic - a la Rousseau - about human nature. However, Dr. Chomsky perhaps fails to notice that other analysis (like those of optimist Dr. Matt Ridley and modern scientific rationalist Pinker) regarding the long term improvement of humanity on many fronts due to modern, rational, scientific, liberal progress are also valid. The inclusive constructive coming together of different perspectives like this, along with an evolutionary developmental approach on human psychology and correlated cultures and social systems (perhaps like that of Ken Wilber's who shows that the expected evolutionary diminution of bipolar thinking could diminish the violent aspects of political conflict), besides what cognitive and moral psychology would illustrate more completely what is really behind the creation of our political lives. In this regard, the work of Dr. Jonathan Haidt on moral psychology and political psychology also ought to be considered and, perhaps all of it in a conversation that combines sociobiology (the evolutionary influences of our past as a species) with evolutionary-developmental (improvement) psychological research would give us a better idea of what we are capable of changing for the better as a species.

[@urdisturbing]

If he works at MIT he has a greater responsibility to criticize it. People always should be more concerned with there own faults than the faults of others.

[@borninvincible]

yeah, we should just shut up and worry about ourselves. people like you steal oxygen and will b extinct after we finish this revolution

[@johnnonamegibbon3580]

0:19:15 I love the way that he mentions how strangely genocidal English speaking countries tend to be. Spain, for example, has a lot of colonies, but Spanish whites tend to prefer Oligarchy over non-Europeans. English speaking countries tend to try to replace the population with whites completely.

[@jimhendirx]

bill hicks brought me here

[@urdisturbing]

He criticizes the military industrial complex, and MIT is the single largest recipient of research money from the US military. I was responding to eitan01231's comment

[@JCResDoc94]

no it isnt, they are all as bad as each other in the redbrick & older. MIT was one of the first & had some breakthrus, so what. u criticize chomsky for not criticizing mit (which he does) & youre still american. wats up w that?

[@olliephelan]

He doesnt need any intro There is a slavish idolotry to chomsky . Its a pity to see those academics giving BIG intros just to try be linked with him in some lecture . The best intro , was CHOMSKYS intro to Robert Fisk (war ,civilisation )

[@TehChiken]

He criticizes MIT?

[@johnnonamegibbon3580]

lol Well, Spain gave us (Americans) BBQ because they didn't exterminate the Puerto Rican Natives (Arawak). Then they brought it to the Southwest from there, after they had mixed it with Spanish ingredients (like BEEF!). It made our food AWESOME.

[@olliephelan]

oh , thanks ...she didnt sound like a "practiced" speaker

[@1828tolstoy]

730 Chomsky

[@adamwatson7669]

Firstly, he doesn't blame the military industrial complex for all ills. Secondly, he's not responsible for where MIT gets its funding. In other words, wrong on both counts. Better luck next time eh buddy?

[@audience4u2]

Chomsky promotes dialogue and intellectual rigor as far as the transparency and availability of the documents he seeks to form his commentary allow. He rarely declines an invitation to speak or debate. Those who ad hominem call him names or insult his message method or manner are: 1) lazy or scared or self-entitled egoist drones 2) unable to rigorously and rationally dialogue with NC's commentary, and then they fall back into # 1 above. Does Hyrper dialogue freely and all transparent?

[@azadslivany1911]

azad slivany duhok kurdstan hallo our job is very simple to provide protection for mankind and humanity.

[@nauort23]

... and bad food.

[@SminaBamBina]

Your response is the equivalent of saying: "what do you think of the West, America and Christianity?" every time an innocent Iraqi is killed. Again, stop being so angry lol

[@Canuck516]

Harper has ruined Canada's reputation in the world.

[@Kevo216666]

Chompsky's delivery is vocal chloroform.

[@Deidlebugable]

Short attention span, eh? Maybe you require dazzling pyrotechnics every minute or so.

[@UnchainedWispy]

You know nothing Jon Snow.

[@paullarochelle8642]

if you could spell, maybe, just maybe people might think you were a human, please go get a dictionary or use spell check