00939nam a2200097   4500008004100000100003900041245011400080260003300194300003400227520058000261260513b           ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d  aKorada, Pavan and Sen, Raj Shekhar  aWhat does intelligence excuse?: Chomsky, Epstein, and the ‘necessary illusions’ of the intellectual class  aEconomic & Political Weekly   a61(16), Apr 18, 2026: p.13-17  aNoam Chomsky’s repeated ties to Jeffrey Epstein challenge his moral authority. Chomsky’s defence—which relies on legal formalism and a “clean slate”—contradicts his lifelong critique of systemic power. He fails to recognise the political nature of private predation due to a Cartesian rationalism that privileges abstract intellect over embodied suffering. The article proposes a “resource extraction” model for Chomsky’s legacy: retain his analytical tools but reject the intellectual bewitchment shielding the powerful from accountability. –Reproduced