Noam Chomsky in Jacobin Magazine
On Energy & Oil:
Limited time on climate change; US going in wrong direction
Economist Robert Pollin's work on a Green New Deal is the best I know. But the task ahead is enormous, and there is not much time. The challenge would be great even if states were committed to overcoming it. Some are. But it is impossible to overlook
the fact that the most powerful state in human history is under the leadership of what can only be accurately described as a gang of arch-criminals who are dedicated to racing to the cliff with abandon.
Source: Harrison Samphir interview in Jacobin magazine
Jul 12, 2019
On Energy & Oil:
Market can't solve climate change, structural changes needed
Q: How do we move away from neoliberal frameworks that prioritize consumerist freewill to a model that targets, for example, the one hundred companies that are responsible for 71% of global emissions?
CHOMSKY: It's not just a matter of curbing major polluters. Major structural changes are necessary to deal with what is in fact an existential crisis: efficient mass transportation to mention only one example.
Far more substantial efforts in decarbonization, to mention another. Here the market is sending all the wrong signals, lethally in this case.
Venture capital can make more profit with new apps for iPhones than in long-term investment for decarbonization, which is starved for funds.
Source: Jacobin magazine, 2019 interview series
Jul 12, 2019
On Energy & Oil:
Task ahead enormous & there is not much time
Q: If emissions remain unchanged, by 2100 sea levels could rise by more than eight feet. Can we avoid this?CHOMSKY: If anything like that happens, the calamity will be on a scale that is almost imponderable, most severe for the poorest and most
vulnerable, but awful enough for the rest of society as well. And it is not the most threatening current projection. Is there a chance to avoid such catastrophes? No doubt. But the task ahead is enormous, and there is not much time.
Source: Jacobin magazine, 2019 interview series
Jul 12, 2019
On Foreign Policy:
Israel relies on support from reactionary fundamentalists
The New Left in fact was overwhelmingly Zionist but beginning to be mildly critical of some of the policies of the occupation and illegal settlement. It is becoming more and more clear that Israel is losing control over
liberal public opinion and is compelled to rely for support on the most reactionary elements and the fundamentalist Evangelical movement, which combines fervent support for the most extreme Israeli actions with unparalleled antisemitism.
Source: Jacobin magazine, 2019 interview series
Jul 12, 2019
On Foreign Policy:
Establish a nuclear weapons free zone in Middle East
There is a straightforward way to end any imagined Iranian nuclear threat: establish a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East, with adequate inspections. The idea was proposed decades ago by the Arab states. It is strongly supported by Iran but
is regularly vetoed by the United States. The reason is it would mean acknowledging the existence of Israel's huge nuclear weapons arsenal -- which would render military aid to Israel illegal under US law.
Source: Jacobin magazine, 2019 interview series
Jul 12, 2019
On War & Peace:
No-nuke zone in Middle East would end military aid to Israel
There is a straightforward way to end any imagined Iranian nuclear threat: establish a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East, with adequate inspections. The idea was proposed decades ago by the Arab states. It is strongly supported by Iran,
G-77, and virtually every other country, but is regularly vetoed by the United States. It would mean acknowledging the existence of Israel's huge nuclear weapons arsenal - which would render military aid to Israel illegal under US law.
Source: Harrison Samphir interview in Jacobin magazine
Jul 12, 2019
Page last updated: Aug 15, 2024