Thread by @NewStatesman

In a wide-ranging interview, Noam Chomsky, speaks to @georgeeaton about Brexit, the war in Ukraine and the return of Donald Trump.

Noam Chomky retains the moral fervour of a young radical – more preoccupied with the world’s mortality than his own, says @georgeeaton.
newstatesman.com/encounter/2022…

🔴On the war in Ukraine: “It’s monstrous for Ukraine…Why did he do it? There are two ways of looking at this question. One way, the fashionable way in the West, is to plumb the recesses of Putin’s twisted mind and try to determine what’s happening in his deep psyche.”

🔴On Trump’s return: “I remember listening to Hitler’s speeches on the radio. I didn’t understand the words...but I understood the mood. And it was frightening and terrifying. And when you watch one of Trump’s rallies that can’t fail to come to mind. That’s what we’re facing.”

🔴On the Republican Party: “Because of Trump’s fanaticism, the worshipful base of the Republican Party barely regards climate change as a serious problem. That’s a death warrant to the species.”

🔴On Brexit: “I think it’s a disaster. What does it mean for the Conservative Party? I imagine they can lie their way out of it, they’re doing a good job of lying about a lot of things and getting away with it.”

🔴On Keir Starmer: “He’s returning the Labour Party to a party that’s reliably obedient to power, that will be Thatcher-lite in the style of Tony Blair and that won’t ruffle the feathers of either the US or anyone who’s important in Britain.”

🔴On hope for the future: “There are plenty of young people who are appalled by the behaviour of the older generation, rightly, and are dedicated to trying to stop this madness before it consumes us all. Well, that’s the hope for the future.”
newstatesman.com/encounter/2022…

More from Noam Chomsky on the future of Brexit and what it means for the Tories: newstatesman.com/encounter/2022…