An eye-opening introduction to the timelessly relevant ideas of Noam Chomsky, "arguably the most important intellectual alive" (The New York Times ), this book is a penetrating, illusion-shattering look at how things really work Offering something not found anywhere else, How the World Works is pure Chomsky, but tailored for those who are new to his work. The book is made up of meticulously edited speeches and interviews, and every dazzling idea and penetrating insight is kept intact and delivered in clear, accessible, reader-friendly prose. Originally published as a series of short works— What Uncle Sam Really Wants ; The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many ; Secrets, Lies and Democracy ; and The Common Good —these volumes together sold nearly 600,000 copies. Now collected into one comprehensive anthology, How the World Works reveals how Chomsky’s then-revolutionary ideas have only become more relevant as time has gone by. From the concept that extreme wealth and democracy cannot exist side-by-side; to how the assumptions of mainstream media purposefully limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion; to the decline of unions and workers’ rights thanks to corporations and their unconstrained quest for profit, Chomsky’s prescient theories of the future—not only the future of the United States, but of the world—make it very clear that our society is paying the price now for not heeding him then.

A brilliant, shattering, and convincing account of United States-backed suppression of political and human rights in Latin America, Asia, and Africa and the role of the media in misreporting these policies The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism relentlessly dissects the official views of establishment scholars and their journals. The "best and brightest" pundits of the status quo emerge from this book thoroughly denuded of their credibility.

Noting that the current period has much in common with the Colombian Age of Imperialism, during which Western Europe conquered most of the world, Chomsky focuses on various historical moments in this march of imperial power, up to and including the current axis where the U.S., Germany, and Japan share world economic control with the U.S. reveling in a monopoly of military might.