I maybe missing a larger point your making about how Chomsky's "anti-theory" stance fits with "Anglo-American mega-trend of empiricism/positivism," but his ideas in linguistics are of a rationalist variety, not empiricist, and he is quite explicit about tracing their origins beyond himself to various precursors from Enlightenment era thought.
Arash
^^^^^^
CB: Oh yea, rationalists. I have a book where Chomsky says he's a Cartesian.
Both rationalists and empiricists are part of the Robinsonade/individualist, I guess subjective idealist thing. That's the term I want, "subjective idealist". "_I_ think, therefore _I_am." Humans are the social(ist) animal.