Since the 1960s, Noam Chomsky has been one of the foremost public intellectuals on the international left. Rising to prominence for his opposition to the Vietnam War, Chomsky became arguably the most vociferous and effective critic of US foreign policy in the West, his work a thorn in the side of presidents from Lyndon Johnson to Reagan, Clinton, Bush, and Obama.

Although a linguistics professor by trade, Chomsky’s contributions to politics have influenced generations of activists — from his “propaganda model” explanation of corporate media domination to his critiques of capitalist globalization, the limits of liberal democracy and the failures of Western intellectuals to defend the principles they proclaim. It is this breadth of contribution that has made him one of the most cited academics alive today.

In this interview, Noam Chomsky speaks at a moment when socialists across the world are looking to the United States and the Bernie Sanders campaign for inspiration. He discusses the barriers facing a potential Sanders presidency, the importance of the labor movement to any prospect of meaningful change — and why the US business class will bitterly resist any attempt at social-democratic reform.