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Essay / Rhetorical Analysis of Noam Chomsky's Prospects for Survival
Noam Chomsky is a man well respected for the extensive work he has done in linguistics and philosophy. Chomsky is "one of the most influential public intellectuals in the world" (UA), he has published over a hundred books and numerous articles that people refer to all the time for information, because they know how of knowledge Chomsky possesses on these subjects. Perspectives on Survival is something that Chomsky wrote and presented to a crowd of people and was later published. In this essay, Chomsky argues that it is because the human species is so intelligent that this is the reason we commit suicide and have outlived the lifespan of our species. In this essay, Chomsky talks about nuclear weapons, climate change and neoliberals. Chomsky uses numerous historical facts to support his claims. The purpose of this essay by Chomsky is to primarily inform young students about these events that have happened and are currently happening so that they can do more research on these very important topics. He is trying to bring out the fear in these people in the hopes that they will be proactive and make a change. Chomsky uses different modes of persuasion to convince the audience of his argument. These three arguments are ethos, pathos and logos. Chomsky uses them in a way to bring out the emotions of the audience and also to use some logic. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In the essay, Chomsky begins by talking about different types of species and uses information he obtained from one of the leading biologists Ernst Mayr. Mayr studies life on Earth and says that the most successful organisms are those that have little intelligence, such as bacteria that mutate quickly, and as you move up the species intelligence scale, the lifespan of species with more intelligence is much lower than that of those not as high. Chomsky uses a quote from Mayr that “it is better to be smart than stupid.” This is something that forms the main idea throughout the essay and Chomsky wants the audience to keep this in mind and he provides evidence to prove this. Chomsky then addresses his first piece of evidence: the development of nuclear weapons. He says the end of World War II was one of the most important moments in human history. This is because it was a time of joy for people around the world due to the dark times that the war brought to so many. But he also says it was a bad time in human history "with the dawn of the nuclear age, an era overshadowed by the grim realization that human intelligence had created the means of terminal destruction ". People didn't know it at the time, but the radioactive elements that were spread all over the earth because of these nuclear weapons would only harm the earth and the human species. Chomsky explains how the United States was economically and militarily superior. The war gave the United States enormous power without any threat from other countries because of the power they held. Chomsky points out that American citizens were in danger of total destruction because other countries were afraid of the power the United States held. But all this could have been announced when Stalin, the leader of Germany at the time, proposed that the United States end the Cold War. His proposal was rejected and Chomsky believes that if there were peace, wewould not face the current threat. Chomsky uses the idea of nuclear weapons to argue that, thanks to the intelligence of the human species, we have developed weapons capable of wiping out our entire species. Chomsky then moves on to the second threat facing the human species: climate change. Chomsky doesn't talk much about this subject because he considers it common sense: "anyone with open eyes must be aware that the dangers are grave and imminent." One of the worst contributors to this problem according to Chomsky is the United States. Chomsky uses a report from the American business press: "The number of oil and gas rigs in the United States has almost doubled... As two dozen countries coordinate to reduce oil production and control the global supply glut ". Chomsky says that while most countries around the world are taking steps to address this looming crisis, only a few very rich and powerful people are moving in a different direction for their own benefit. This problem of climate change goes hand in hand with Chomsky's argument that intelligence threatens species because humans have developed many amazing things such as cars, factories, and many other things, but most of these things we have created only harm us because of their effects. on climate change. Chomsky says one of the most important events took place when almost all nations met in Morocco to try to agree on the Paris Accords, but the US Republican Congress would not agree to them. accept. This was a big thing because if they agreed, then changes would have been made by all nations to try to address climate change. With all this evidence showing that climate change is a real problem, it regularly gets pushed to the back burner. The Department of Energy is expected to lose $900 million to its budget, and "even mention of climate change is banned, while regulations are dismantled and every effort is made to maximize the use of fossil fuels." Chomsky only briefly talks about climate change because he believes it's a matter of common sense and if people don't realize this, we will find ourselves in a very difficult situation. Climate change and the rise of nuclear weapons are the two “hammers” that threaten the human race. but Chomsky also talks about neoliberalism, that is, policies that take money from the poor and give it to rich leaders. Chomsky explains that in 1979, when the neoliberal experiment was just beginning to take off, Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve, testified before Congress about the economy he was running. He told Congress that “workers are too intimidated to demand decent wages, benefits and working conditions.” These were signs of good economic health by neoliberal standards. One of the main reasons Chomsky brings up neoliberalism in his essay is because he states that "neoliberal policies are specifically aimed at undermining the regulatory power of government, thereby undermining the ability to prevent mass coups." He says these policies reduce the government's power in regulating things like nuclear weapons and climate change, and with that less power, it's harder to solve these problems and since they're looming, we can't avoid them with neoliberal policies. With Chomsky's arguments about the two main hammers that pose threats to humans, he.