The Decision That Has To Be Made
Noam Chomsky warns, “There has to be some kind of Green New Deal if we’re going to survive. The human species is facing questions that have never arisen before. Is organized human life going to survive in any recognizable form? We’re approaching the level of global warming of roughly 125,000 years ago when sea levels were about 25 feet higher than they are now. You don’t have to have much of an imagination to know what that means. Well, shall we race towards it the way the Trump administration and the Republican Party want us to do? Shall we do something about it, the way Sunrise Movement and Extinction Rebellion and Ocasio-Cortez want to do? That’s the decision that has to be made.”
Interview by David Barsamian.
Recorded at the University of Arizona.
Speaker
Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky, by any measure, has led a most extraordinary life. In one index, he is ranked as the eighth most cited person in history, right up there with Aristotle, Shakespeare, Marx, Plato, and Freud. His contributions to modern linguistics are legendary. In addition to his pioneering work in that field, he has been a leading voice for peace and social justice for many decades. Chris Hedges says he is “America’s greatest intellectual” who “makes the powerful, as well as their liberal apologists, deeply uncomfortable.” The New Statesman calls him “the conscience of the American people.” He is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at MIT and Laureate Professor of Linguistics and Haury Chair in the Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona. At 97, though having health setbacks, he continues to inform and inspire people all over the world. He is the author of scores of books, including Masters of Mankind, Consequences of Capitalism, Chronicles of Dissent, and Notes on Resistance. He is co-author with Edward Herman of Manufacturing Consent. His latest books are The Myth of American Idealism: How U.S. Foreign Policy Endangers the World and Surviving the 21st Century.
yasuo –
What I wouldn’t give for Chomsky, who is the crown jewel intellectual. David Barsamian, who has helped disseminate Chomsky’s ideas and thinking through his radio programs, is a tough act to follow.
Joan Covici –
Wonderful information.
Kari Franzen –
A critical voice and analysis of the machinations that have driven our world to the point of existential crises. Humanity and all life is beneficiary to sharing our lives and time with this brilliant, and more importantly, deeply conscientious man. He connects critical far-flung dots so important to understanding our history and future on earth!