Pirates and Emperors: Old and New

Pirates and Emperors begins with an anecdote told by St. Augustine. This is a dialogue between Alexander the Great and the pirate he captured: “Alexander said to the pirate, 'How dare you strike fear into the seas?' he asks. The pirate said, 'How dare you instill fear in the whole world?' He replies and continues: 'I am considered a thief just because I do this with a small ship, whereas you are called Emperor because you do the same thing with a huge navy.'”

The story told by Augustine well summarizes the relations of the modern “Emperor” USA and its loyal allies with the so-called “terrorist” states and sheds light on the modern Western use of the concept of “international terrorism”. In this world of meaning, all acts of violence resorted to by the Emperor and his vassal states are evaluated as "self-defense", "just war", "retaliation" or "preventive action", while countries including Cuba, Central American countries and Palestine, that is, "they Any action of " is directly included in the scope of "terrorist attack".

In Pirates and Emperors, Chomsky explains that in creating this climate of perception, the processing of the news in the media, the two-faced attitude of the media that changes depending on who the perpetrator of the incident is, the studies produced in the academy in order to legitimize state policies, and even the studies taken by international organizations that, for some reason, do not have any binding effect on the Emperor and his allies. He demonstrates with great skill the role played by non-existent decisions. By examining how "international terrorism" is presented within a conceptual framework that suits the Emperor within the dominant system, and how words are stripped of their real meaning in a way that is reminiscent of Newspeak, the fictional language of George Orwell's novel 1984, through single events and news published in reputable newspapers. , once again puts the USA, which he declared as "the world's leading terrorist state", on the target board with his well-known ironic style.

(From the Promotional Bulletin)

Dough Type: 2nd Dough

Size: 13 x 19.5

First Print Year: 2018

Number of Printings: 1st Edition