The book is more than a decade old, but it does a couple of things well – provide an introduction and in a way, synopsis of Chomsky’s worldview, and do that in an engaging manner because this is based on media interactions. The book was published in 2011, and while the topics might seem dated, the beauty is that his insights are timeless.
The book doesn’t answer the question – the authors make that obvious right at the start. But what it does offer is framing and perspectives, delivered with interesting anecdotes. An engaging read, though having been written in 2012, it doesn’t factor in the implications of social media.
Caste, different from class, but still an artificial construct of human value that deems one set of humans to be superior to another. In addition to the breaking down the origin and building blocks, the book alsohas some very interesting stories – the origin of ‘Caucasian’, eugenics in the US, lynching scenes-based tourism and so on.
In addition to the familiar themes of rogue capitalism and class prejudices, we now have the conversion of India from a democracy to a fascist state. The book has nine essays that cover recurring topics – Kashmir, NRC, CAA, RSS – all of which hold a mirror to those of us who can afford to live in bubbles. And yes, the Azadi here is not from India, but in India.
Meritocracy began as a remedy, and its earliest proponents aimed to ensure mobility across societal hierarchies if not equality. Unfortunately, we are now in a world where privilege just exacerbates the disadvantages of those less fortunate. Education is no longer an answer, and efficiency is the discourse as opposed to what is morally right or wrong. In a polarised world, this is an important conversation to have. Great narratives, well articulated.