What Kind of Creatures Are We?

In a very short space, Chomsky (emeritus linguistics, Massachusetts Inst. of Technology) develops a well-defined political theory (centered on the question: "What is the common good?") seemingly from scratch. He does this by first defending a particular theory of language that will be identifiable by anyone familiar with Chomsky's work, namely that generative grammar-concepts frame language as a feature of our biology. Out of an understanding of language, the philosopher develops a new theory of meaning and understanding, with an emphasis on the evolutionary development of our cognitive capacities. Finally, since we have developed language and understanding as social creatures, Chomsky argues, we are in a position to comment on the distinctively dissonant social theory in America that is at once both libertarian in its ideals and socialist in its structure.