Noam Chomsky on Anarchism, Human Nature and Joe Biden
About this episode
Noam Chomsky grounds his anarchism in his linguistics work: language reveals a human creative capacity tied to an instinct for freedom and resistance to illegitimate authority. He defines anarchism as the demand that every structure of authority justify itself, defends workers' control of enterprises, and treats wage labor as coercion disguised as free contract. They discuss how advertising manufactures consent, whether capitalism's innovation incentives justify its costs, and how automation could free people for more fulfilling work. On current politics, Chomsky praises Biden's domestic program while crediting popular activism, argues for labor-based political coalitions, says the climate crisis can be solved through the right kinds of growth, and dismisses China as a major geopolitical threat while warning about nuclear escalation.