The Claim Game

Chomsky is the master of making claims and then, subsequently, following up with evidence to support his claim. However, Chomsky makes use of these initial claims in order to preview other claims he has yet to make. For example, in Principle 6, Chomsky begins discussing the disadvantages of having a “revolving door”, or a movement of personnel between roles as regulators or legislators. During his claim, Chomsky brings up the idea of lobbying, which just so happens to be the topic of his next claim. “So you’re a legislator and you become a lobbyist, and as a lobbyist, you want to control legislation”. (Chomsky) By previewing his new claim, Chomsky not only gives new evidence to his old claim, but also allows the reader to relate his new claim with his previous claim. By doing so, he gives his readers a chance to better understand the relationship between two topics and how the balance on each other. Chomsky uses this technique of transitioning on multiple accounts across the book. For example, Chomsky transitions to claims from lobbying to deregulation and financial crashes at the end of his lobbying section by saying “With this, deregulation began with a real ferocity.” (Chomsky)

Aside from using transitions as a way to introduce new claims, Chomsky uses a variety of techniques to back up his claims. In the “lobbying” section, Chomsky explains part of the process of a lobbyist in order for the reader to better understand and evaluate their decision on the matter. Aside from definitions, Chomsky uses historical information to allow the reader to fully develop an opinion on the matter. While he does not use empirical data in this particular section, Chomsky still uses his own analysis to emphasize certain ideas. In the lobbying section, he explains the events that led up to a more wide-spread use of lobbying across the nation. Even though he does not have stated sources, we still believe him because he has shown us on multiple occasions that, for lack of a better term, he “knows what he is talking about” from his life experiences. By using his own experiences in life, Chomsky builds his reputation as well as his argument and claims. Chomsky’s use of various ways to support claims allows him to build stronger arguments in his writings.