THEORY AND PRACTICE: Conversations with Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn

Two of the most venerable figures on the American Left--Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky--converse with Sasha Lilley about their lives and political philosophies, looking back at eight decades of struggle and theoretical debate. Howard Zinn, interviewed shortly before his death, reflects on the genesis of his politics, from the Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam war movements to opposing empire today; as well as history, art and activism. Noam Chomsky discusses the evolution of his libertarian socialist ideals since childhood, his vision for a post-capitalist society, and his views on the state, science, the Enlightenment, and the future of the planet.

"In the spring of 1965, which was a moment of impotant escalation in the Vietnam War, we had a rally on the Boston Common against the war. I spoke, Herbert Marcuse--the political philosopher--spoke. A hundred people came. It wasn't a very big turnout. I tell people about that when people get disconsolate. A hundred people. But then it grew and grew. Three and a half years later, another meeting on the Boston Common, and 100,000 people were there." -- Howard Zinn, from the DVD