ABSTRACT
This chapter presents some closing thoughts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book looks at Chomsky's linguistics and his politics separately. It also looks at the connections between the two sides of Chomsky's work, and tries to assess his achievements as a whole. The book notes that Chomsky's libertarian socialist views about what a just society would be like rest on his views about human nature. It shows that the empiricist David Hume held backward and oppressive views about Ireland. The more important issue, however, concerns the political implications of modem, rather than historical, empiricist and rationalist views. The book shows many intellectuals have been 'unable to hear' Chomsky's political views, so strong are the grip of the official line. It focuses on Chomsky's ideas, his impact on linguistics and other fields, and some of the reactions, positive and negative, to his views.
