Over Easter I was asked what motivates me to keep in touch with what is going on in the world and offer analysis, commentary and solutions. When asked a similar question in an interview with Radio Havana in October 2003 Noam Chomsky responded that privilege confers responsibility and that intellectuals are privileged. They have education, training, resources and opportunities. In England there is also no repression. So we have much more responsibility. After that, Chomsky said, it’s just a matter of choice. You just do these things naturally and automatically. It doesn’t merit any credit or applause. It’s just being a human being and using the opportunities you have.

It’s not quite that simple. Take repression. In England what intimidates is not the police but defamation. Departure from the conformist subservience to those in power is dealt with by tantrums, lies and endless vilification. Lies repeated long enough become truths…you become anti-Semitic or a Conspiracy Theorist to name two epithets thrown at dissidents and free thinkers. But this is nothing compared to what other people face around the world.

Noam Chomsky was asked by Bernie Dyer if a better world were possible. Possible certainly...but attainable is another question. If people undertake their responsibilities seriously a better world is very possible. But there is an inverse correlation between opportunity and commitment. Typically it’s the people who live under repression and deprivation and face serious penalties and lack privilege who are working hard to build a better world. Those who have the opportunity and every kind of privilege typically throughout history subordinate themselves to power.

People who are really sincere about the belief that a better world is possible will refuse to take power. In fact they will try to undermine institutions that even grant power. Maybe to some extent certain kinds of authority are required to delegate responsibility but one who is really interested in a decent world would want to reduce that to the absolute minimum…in fact to constantly be challenging authoritarian relationships and institutions and require them to justify themselves. Sometimes they can be justified but the burden of justification is always on authority and domination. It is never legitimate in itself. That’s true even if it’s a family or an international society.

Noam Chomsky was also asked whether popular movements were taking the place of the organised Left Political Parties in the task of building a new society and whether this explained the disarray of The Left. Well, he replied, I have never really thought that The Left was much in ‘array’ as far as political purposes were concerned. These new popular movements are not taking the place of anything. They’re really new.

The Left has never been anti-globalisation. What is happening now is really international with participation from a vast range of components from society: peasants, working people, environmentalists, intellectuals, poets etc. How far this will go? Who knows? There are a lot of disruptive forces inside and a lot of pressures outside. Maybe this one will fail but even if it fails it succeeds by laying the basis for something that comes next.

You don’t expect anything important to happen in a day…whether it is the elimination of slavery or women’s rights. These are things that take time. If you want to achieve something like an electoral victory that means something you have to spend decades organizing the basis of groups so all local communities can take part. It’s a lot easier in countries where there are more opportunities and wealth and less repression.