'US Response to Coronavius Has Been Shocking': Chomsky
Coronavirus is dramatically spreading in the U.S., now the world's epicenter in confirmed cases. Noam Chomsky has spoken exclusively to Edu Montesanti about the tragic Trump regime's response to one of the worst evils in contemporary history.
"Under neoliberal dogma, its role is to subsidize private power, not to interfere with it," says Chomsky, the world's most renowned analyst, author of innumerable books.
Noam Chomsky is considered ''The Father of Modern Linguistics," a major figure in analytic philosophy, and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science - the most cited person after Bible and Shakespeare.
Edu Montesanti: Professor Doctor Noam Chomsky, I'd love to find words to express my gratitude and deep honor for having you, once again, in my publications. What are your thoughts about the Washington regime's response to the spread of coronavirus?
Noam Chomsky: The US response has been shocking. It was known for years that a pandemic was likely.
Why didn't the pharmaceutical industry provide medicines before the spread of the virus?
Drug companies weren't interested in preparing: no profit.
And Trump never did anything to interfere...
The government can't step in: under neoliberal dogma, its role is to subsidize private power, not to interfere with it.
Trump made it worse by smashing all the defenses, eliminating the pandemic division, cutting back on medical funding.
The Trump regime is blaming China for the spread of coronavirus. Your view, please, Professor Doctor Noam Chomsky.
China notified the World Health Organization in early January that unexplained pneumonia cases in Wuhan Province were traced to a new coronavirus and shared its genetic sequence for countries to use in developing specific diagnostic kits.
What was, then, the West's response, especially Washington's?
The West ignored all this, Trump most all, so much so that by now the US is the only major country that cannot even provide data on the spread of the disease because of the abysmal lack of testing.
I can understand, then, that you believe like me, Dr, Chomsky, that the U.S. toll of coronavirus infections is much higher than has been announced.
You're right.
From the Portuguese version of Pravda.Ru
Por Marcello Casal Jr/ABr - https://web.archive.org/web/20030203065653/http://sn-01.radiobras.gov.br/fotos/anteriores/Default_2701.htmPorto Alegre, 27/1/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - 3º Fórum Social Mundial - Lingüista norte-americano Noam Chomsky. (Foto: Marcello Casal Jr. - ABr - hor - 66), CC BY 3.0 br, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29800