Liberal Democrat

Liberal Democrat
Individual Freedom For Everyone

Monday, September 2, 2013

Omer Bozdogan: CNBC’s Phil Donahue Noam Chomsky Debate on Foreign Policy in 1994

This piece was originally posted at FRS FreeStates on WordPress: Omer Bozdogan: CNBC’s Phil Donahue Noam Chomsky Debate on Foreign Policy in 1994

They are discussing the Yugoslavian civil war from the early and mid 1990s probably in 1993-94. In the early days of the Clinton Administration right before America and Europe got involved in the Yugoslavian civil war. In September, 1995 and they were debating exactly if anything could be done about the situation in Yugoslavia.

Pre-1995, it was very hard to say what exactly was the Bill Clinton Administration’s foreign policy. There really wasn’t anything that could be called the Clinton Doctrine back then. Part of that had to do with Bill Clinton’s lack of foreign policy experience. And the other part had to do with the ending of the Cold War. And Russia now basically a developing country without much of a military that could really threaten anyone outside the European Union. And a failing economy trying to become a private enterprise economy and move away from Marxism. America was on top militarily and everything else. The question now became what is our role in the world.

This is really interesting, because Phil Donahue is about as left-wing, or Far-Left as anyone could be short of being a Marxist. And he’s making the liberal internationalist argument here that America and Europe should act to save the Bosnians and Croats, from being murdered by the Serbians. Who were still in control in Belgrade and running Yugoslavia. Instead of making the dovish argument that, ‘this is none of our business and if we were to act militarily, more innocent people would just get killed.’ Instead Donahue was making the liberal hawkish smart power argument here. With Professor Noam Chomsky essentially saying there no positive options here.

As far as the Vietnam War. I’m against that even though America was officially out of Vietnam before I was born in 1975. And I was born in 1975 just after that war was over. But this is where I disagree with Professor Chomsky on this. America went into Vietnam to assist and then later unfortunately fight the Vietnam War for the Democratic South against the Communist North. We didn’t invade Vietnam. The South wanted our help and resources and for us to be there. And unfortunately we did that instead of building up the South so they could defeat the North themselves.

It sounds like to me anyway and Donahue and Vladimir Pozner saw this as well, that Professor Chomsky was making an argument here that America really doesn’t have a free media. Meaning we don’t have a private media, because we have a corporate media. And even arguing that the corporate media are really just agents of the propagandists in government. I mean of course we have a private media that is separate from government. And they report things that goes against the government. Meaning the current administration all the time. Whether it is a Democratic or Republican administration.

New Economic Thinking: Rob Johnson: Who is John Maynard Keynes

New Economic Thinking: Rob Johnson: Who is John Maynard Keynes

Just from this quote alone someone whose fairly familiar with Franklin Roosevelt at least, but perhaps not so much with Economist John Maynard Keynes, would have to assume that John Keynes was way to the Left of Franklin Roosevelt on economics. At least in President Roosevelt’s first term as President of the United States. President Roosevelt, did send an Economic Bill of Rights to Congress in 1944-45. Where he essentially made the case that no American should go without. Meaning what people need to live well and live a good life. Education, employment, health care, housing, health insurance, retirement, food, etc.

Franklin Roosevelt was a Progressive Capitalist. He believed that individuals needed economic freedom as well as organizations. But that it had to be balanced with a strong safety net for people who fall down. And need help up, as well as a strong regulatory system to protect innocent consumers and workers, as well as companies from predatory behavior. Along with a strong modern infrastructure system so more people benefit from Capitalism. He never believed that capitalism and private enterprise should disappear and be outlawed. But that it had to be regulated and you needed an insurance system for when capitalism fails and people need help.

As radical as the New Deal might have been in the 1930s, it was actually pretty moderate compared with what else was being offered to help deal with the Great Depression. From Communists way over as Far-Left as you can get who wanted to see American industries be nationalized and private property to be confiscated by the Federal Government. To Democratic Socialists, who didn’t want to see private enterprise ended, but that we should have a much more generous public social insurance system than we have. Which is where John Keynes was and where people like Democratic Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders is today. Private enterprise, with a generous welfare state and strong regulatory state. To balance out the private enterprise system.