PRECIPICE: Neoliberalism, the Pandemic

The linguistics and philosophy professor from MIT is an elder statesman of a resurgence left. From meditations on human nature to strategic advice for the Trump era, Chomsky remains the thinker who shaped a generation and is a beacon of hope in the darkest of times. The book begins with his razor-sharp analysis of neoliberalism, imperialism, the EU, the role of religion in politics, and class polarisation. He looks at the flawed nature of US democracy, fascism, showmanship and hypocrisy and with Robert Pollin discusses political barriers to free education and a new green deal. Chomsky focusses on the Trump presidency and lays out the long history of US foreign policy as well as topics such as healthcare, global warming and education, that Trump's economic 'boom' is a sham, that moral depravity defines US politics and that Trump was willing to dismantle democracy to hold on to power, protecting profits amid protests and pandemic, and that COVID-19 has exposed the US under Trump as a 'failed state'. Finally he looks at various alternatives - anarchism, communism and socialism in this excellent collection of interviews that highlights Chomsky's encyclopaedic knowledge of the key issues of our day. A Penguin paperback special, 352pp.