Zinn and Chomsky on The Lord of the Rings

Chomsky: Now, at the Council of Elrond, we have the Middle Earth equivalent of a television broadcast. It’s one guy sitting in a tall chair and talking at twenty other people. This is how information is spread in this culture. But, you know, it doesn’t have to be this way. Imagine that, right now, you have the people in Gondor with a palantir, the people in Rohan with a palantir, the people in the Woodland Realm with a palantir. And everyone could be standing around it, talking to one another, sharing a conference in which the people have an equal interest and stake in what decisions are made.

Zinn: Technology that Gandalf already knows is available. But do we see a single Orc?

Chomsky: Oh, of course not. Of course not. Because everyone here has a vested interest in keeping the Orcs down.

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2003/04/22fellowship.html

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