The Manufacture of Consent

Chomsky argues that US policies are shaped by and in turn shape a 'framework of possible thought'. This framework consists of various tacit doctrines, (such as the idea underpinning US foreign policy that Nicaragua poses a threat to the US). These doctrines are all the more effective in 'engineering consent' because they are not debatable; certain terms (e.g. 'peace', 'security') seem so persuasive and self-evident that opposition to them is unthinkable. Chomsky claims that dissident views are so easily relegated to the periphery in US policy making precisely because these views are not able to communicate with policy makers within the framework of possible thought, and are therefore dismissed as impossible or morally dubious ('anti-peace', 'anti-security').

This highlights the necessity of understanding the framework and terms within which policy is made thinkable, if one is to challenge a policy consensus.