On Fri, 27 Feb 1998, Brett Murphy wrote:

> I would sooner participate in the capitalist system because that way I
> have a better chance of making an impact.It is not selling out.It is
> commonsense.You cannot fight the establishment with welded together
> scraps of metal.

Chomsky, 2/26/98:

       Suppose we focus on "the root of the problem," not the suffering
       and travail of innumerable human beings here and abroad, and what
       we might try to do about it. They'll really thank us, while we are
       contemplating our navels.
       There is no such thing as "the root of the problem." There are
       lots of problems, and lots of roots. "The root of the problem"
       can't be "capitalism," because nothing remotely resembling that
       exists, as the CATO Institute will be happy to explain
       (correctly). Nor could it exist (as they won't explain). We can
       say, if we like, that "the root of the problem" is the
       socioeconomic system, or the structure of illegitimate power, or
       other formulas, and we can even sketch these out with more or less
       perception. But for people who live in this world, and want to do
       something useful in this world, such abstract analyses do not
       suffice unless they lead to concrete action, and that brings us
       back where we were: in the present case, what do we do about the
       fact that the US/UK are likely to bomb Iraq, that hundreds of
       thousands of Iraqis are dying from sanctions (that do not affect,
       perhaps even strengthen, Washington's old friend Saddam Hussein),
       etc. More to the point, we can analyze the background of the
       current crisis, so as better to understand what is at stake and
       what we can do. There's also nothing wrong with investigating "the
       root of the problem." Last night I gave a talk to an huge audience
       at MIT on "corporations and democracy," which gets closer to the
       root of the problem, and indeed has implications for just about
       every current crisis. But isn't it the case that we really know
       all this already?
       To say that the current crisis is "perpetuated by
       Trans-National-Corporations" is, in my opinion, false. It is true
       that in the background lie questions of state capitalist power
       about control over Middle East oil reserves, but I'd be willing to
       wager that the CEOs of TNCs are more opposed to the use of force
       in this case than liberal congressmen/women and journalists. In
       fact, some of the most sensible reactions have come from the far
       right, even the "Wall Street Journal." Formulas for any occasion
       are easy, but should be regarded with caution.
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