“I am not a committed pacifist. I would not hold that it is under all imaginable circumstances wrong to use violence, even though use of violence is in some sense unjust. I believe that one has to estimate relative justices. But the use of violence and the creation of some degree of injustice can only be justified on the basis of the claim and the assessment-which always ought to be undertaken very, very seriously and with a good deal of scepticism that this violence is being exercised because a more just result is going to be achieved.”

American intellectual, philosopher and linguist

Noam Chomsky is an American intellectual, philosopher, linguist, political activist, and social critic. He is widely known for his work in modern linguistics, and is sometimes called the father of that field. He has also played a major role in analytic philosophy and is regarded as one of the founders of cognitive science. Chomsky has held academic posts at the University of Arizona and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he is institute professor emeritus. His work spans language, philosophy, politics, and social criticism, and his writing often reflects those wide-ranging interests.