Noam Chomsky on the Future of Marxism & Anarchism - Economic Update with Richard Wolff

We'll have a new episode of Economic Update for you next week. In the meantime, take a look back to the start of the year, when Noam Chomsky joined the program.

Chomsky: "Take the common thread of left Marxist and anarchist thinking: working people should control the work environment and the enterprises in which they work. That's an old American view, so common that it was the slogan of the Republican party under Abraham Lincoln. It was the main driving force for the most effective radical movements in American history: knights of labor, and the populist movement of the late 19th century. I don't think that's very far below the surface and I think that can be recovered."

This is a clip from Economic Update: Noam Chomsky on Prospects & Tasks as 2021 Begins
[S11 E01]

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Learn more about Prof Wolff's NEW BOOK, "The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us from Pandemics or Itself"
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“A blueprint for how we got here, and a plan for how we will rescue ourselves.”
- Chris Hedges, American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, New York Times best-selling author

Check out Prof. Wolff's other books "Understanding Socialism" and "Understanding Marxism"
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[PonyTrotsky]

All these years in activism have made Noam Chomsky incredibly concise. He can sum up complicated ideas in the simplest of terms, and then toss in some casual history to back it up. Thank you!

[georgesais]

That interview I must say is heart warming. Thank you Richard and Noam. I realised though that in England and in Australia the Labour/ Labor parties have dropped the word socialists, in Australia we take a lot from the U S and call what may be described as the left, progressives. This I feel falls in the hands of the ruling right-wing oligarchs where they can stigmatise socialism. Yet, the parties defend themselves by saying they are not but what they should ask: socialism or barbarism?

[g.c]

I couldn't agree more. Many US people are so sensitive to these labels, you can't communicate any idea if you mention a "trigger word".

Can't believe Noam is already 92 though! Still sharp and clear :)

[oomenacka]

Im reading "The Socialist Manifesto" by Bhaskar Sunkara and whenever my dad walks near my room I have to frantically hide the cover to conceal a frightening trigger word. But there's nothing particularly disagreeable in the book. It opens with a hypothetical worker cooperative system in New Jersey in the year 2036. Had the system not been labeled "socialist", I can easily imagine my father agreeing with the idea of worker ownership. But that's where we're at right now.

[piccalillipit]

*AMERICA* the answer to the question "What happens if we stop educating people...???"

[amans]

Random facts -
In the state of Kerala in india, a communist party just formed the govt. second time few days back in a perfectly democratic electoral victory.
Kerala also happens to be the most literate state in india.

[RussCR]

This is an indictment of public intelligence in the U.S. The education system here doesn't teach people HOW to think. It teaches people WHAT to think, and this kind of learning has apparently become a lifelong habit for the majority. So we grab a snack, get comfortable on the couch, click on the evening news, and uncritically accept whatever propaganda the rich corporate owners and their buddies want us to hear. "We the people" snooze, "we the people" lose.

[piccalillipit]

*CAN SOMEONE PLEASE* get a move on with life extension technology BEFORE we lose this great world asset forever...

[TheBrightBarber]

anarchy and socialism is an American past time THAT we must bring back. have the conversation with your co workers and move as many people as you can. even those who historically dont vote.

[jdcjr]

I get it now. The US agora is the most intolerant one around.

[potenviking]

Is there a full interview? Noam is an amazing thinker - sharp as a diamond blade even after so many year!

[amans]

One of the reasons for outcasting some ideology or way of thinking in US(and now to other countries as well ) i.e. socialism, communism and to some extent right wing thoughts as well is - serious lack of dicussion about politics in masses.
Its almost silently forbidden to discuss politics in workplaces under the impression that it might be offensive to other person.
Result is repeated reinforcement of same ideas that you carry.Discussions leads to knowing about other prespective rather than youtube feeding your confirmation bias.

[thinkbeyond]

This is correct and why Bernie lost. Drop the term/label of socialism while still pushing the policies which give power back to the working people.

[GlassesAndCoffeeMugs]

With good health and a life spent challenging ones own ideas, I hope to be as concise and well spoken as Chomsky at 92 years.

[szymborska]

I'd like to see Chomsky and Kissinger debate on who was more correct in voting for Biden.

[wermcfamily]

Where is the rest of this discussion between these leaders?

[mouselander]

Chomsky is the soul of the american left ♥️

[mtnwriter]

Just changes the terms, give it a different face, then go ahead with what needs doing (or what shouldn't be done). Isn't that politics in a nutshell? -- We need Chomsky more than ever today.

[dimitristsagdis]

Any reference to the text where these Abraham Lincoln views are stated?

[wangwei]

Did this interview take place before or after he died?