'We’re approaching the most dangerous point in human history': Noam Chomsky on climate change and nuclear war

Renowned author, social critic, and philosopher Noam Chomsky believes that human civilization is rapidly "approaching the most dangerous point" in its collective history, citing a conflagration of global crises that threaten to shatter the foundations of modern society.

Chomsky, a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Arizona and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, explained in an interview with The Statesman that was published on Wednesday that climate change and the specter of nuclear war pose an immediate existential threat to the future of life on Earth.

Over the last three decades, the GOP has become the proud home of climate deniers, many of whom are bankrolled by the fossil fuel industry. Chomsky, however, blames the broader anti-science dogma that has overtaken the Republican Party on former President Donald Trump, whose single term in the White House was in part defined by the gutting of environmental protections.

“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," Chomsky said, although he stressed that he has not abandoned optimism.

“There are plenty of young people who are appalled by the behavior of the older generation, rightly, and are dedicated to trying to stop this madness before it consumes us all," he added. "Well, that’s the hope for the future.”

Meanwhile, the looming possibility of a clash of the world's nuclear superpowers stems from Russian President Vladimir Putin's "monstrous" war in Ukraine. His saber-rattling has prompted worldwide fears that a miscalculation – or his growing desperation as his war continues to go poorly – could result in him triggering atomic Armageddon.

“We’re approaching the most dangerous point in human history," Chomsky told New Statesman Senior Editor George Eaton. "We are now facing the prospect of destruction of organized human life on Earth.”

Watch below via The New Statesman:

Read Chomsky's full interview here.