The Responsibilities of Privilege: an Interview with Noam Chomsky on the Role of the Public Intellectual

Abstract

The interview below was conducted on January 16th 2015. The purpose of this research is to understand how Professor Noam Chomsky became a prominent public intel-lectual. In particular, it explores his early political interventions, and his own reflections on his role within the anti-Vietnam War movement. Furthermore, it explores Chomsky’s insights into the responsibilities and privileges that intellectuals are afforded within socie-ty. In this respect, the interview contributes to the sociological literature aimed at under-standing the role that academics can play outside of the ivory tower.