Newt, Chomsky and history
This entry was posted on 11/18/2011 1:48 PM and is filed under Books, Philosophy, History.
Watching political news these days is a bit depressing. It isn't that I am just learning these thing, but screaming at the TV just isn't working.
I have believed for a very long time that the most important element of Noam Chomsky's view of the world of politics is his very simple and straight forward view of conspiracy. He often says that it is a conspiracy of interests rather than fact. This is indeed true. If I have different view it is only that he doesn't explicitly discuss the many levels of misunderstanding of those interests that are just as active in historical causation. Yes, it is a conspiracy of interests, but often it is a conspiracy of misunderstood commonality and interests.
Nowhere is this as obvious as in that individual human historical actor: Newt.
Professor of History: We misunderstand what this means, as perhaps does he. He has a degree in Modern European History. He wrote his dissertation on Belgian Education Policy in the Congo (1945-1960). This makes him a very narrow expert. That he studied history is a good thing--I did that myself. That he has a deep historical understanding of American history is greatly in doubt. Recently he spoke of his being hired by Freddie Mac for his advice as an historian. What Belgian education policy in the Congo has to do with housing in the US is beyond me. He is an historical expert on little else, one may safely assume he has a somewhat broader understanding of European history. He has experience, political experience, in the area of housing. It is not, nor will it ever be, an historical understanding of that specific issue. While any understanding of any history will help frame certain questions, that is not to be confused with being able to advise someone as an historian. His claims are absurd not because everyone knows that he was giving political advice, but because he is not even qualified to give the advice he claiming.
Running for President: No, never, are you kidding. He is running to add to his credentials as a political hack. To sell his books and dvds. Claiming historical expertise is important for this aim. The last thing he wants to do is to get the nomination, much less run and win that office. It doesn't pay well enough. Education policy in the Congo will not really help that much if he is the President, and he knows that. He isn't stupid, just an egomaniac. Rising in the polls, and inevitably falling helps his long term goals.
Newt's conspiracy of interests are as much illusion as real. The misunderstanding here is not that he misunderstands his interests, only that he desperately wants us to misunderstand them. He is the Wizard of OZ! He is trying to pull all the levers from behind the curtain of seeking the nomination. He is pulling the levers not of statecraft, but of speaking fees and publishing.
