[R-G] Golinger-Chomsky interview

[Anthony Fenton]

A Revolution is Just Below the Surface
September 28th 2007, by Eva Golinger

On September 21, 2007, I had the extraordinary opportunity to  
interview Noam Chomsky in his office at Massachusetts Institute of  
Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The interview will be aired  
on Venezuelan and Latin American television as part of the promotion  
for the III International Book Fair in Venezuela, which this year  
focuses on the theme: "United States: Is Revolution Possible?" The  
transcription of the interview follows.

EVA: I read a quote of yours which said power is always illegitimate  
unless it proves itself to be legitimate. So in Venezuela right now  
we are in the process of Constitutional reform. And within that  
reform the People's Power is going to gain Constitutional rank, above  
in fact all the other state powers, the executive, legislative and  
judicial powers, and in Venezuela we also have the electoral and the  
citizen's power. Would this be an example of power becoming  
legitimate? A people’s power? And could this change the way power is  
viewed? And change the face of Latin America considering that the  
Bolivarian Revolution is having such an influence over other  
countries in the region?

CHOMSKY: Your word, the word "could", is the right word. Yes it  
"could" , but it depends how it is implemented. In principle it seems  
to be a very powerful and persuasive conception, but everything  
always depends on implementation. If there is really authentic  
popular participation in the decision-making and the free association  
of communities, yeah, that could be tremendously important. In fact  
that's essentially the traditional anarchist ideal. That's what was  
realized the only time for about a year in Spain in 1936 before it  
was crushed by outside forces, in fact all outside forces, Stalinst  
Russia, Hitler in Germany, Mussilini's fascism and the Western  
democracies cooperated in crushing it. They were all afraid of it.  
But that was something like what you are describing, and if it can  
function and survive and really disperse power down to participants  
and their communities, it could be extremely important.

[...]

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