This was my first time reading Chomsky, after hoping to get to him for some time. His writing is direct and often embellished with quick wit and sarcasm; were the subjects not so dire, there were times I may have laughed.

Failed States was written in the mid 2000s, firmly in Bush’s presidency. There are sobering predictions Chomsky makes that have borne their fruit: the decay of the democratic public forum, the increasing lean into partisan politics, the sabotage of public services, the growing international discontent - things that, by nature of their prediction, lend weight to Chimsky’s analysis. There are places where I remained skeptical of his arguments, but he succeeded in arguing his central point: the United States exhibits many of the signatures of a fail(ing) state.

I remain curious as to Chomsky’s public polling that he references. The large percentages that called for change around climate and foreign policy were incredible, especially considering when this book was written. I wonder if the public still has such consensus after decades of misinformation and misdirection.

This is a book I’d love to re-reference and delve into specific issues it brought up. A great launch pad, especially for investigating the United States’ horrific use of power to ignore human rights law. 4/5 stars.