Optimism Over Despair

Optimism Over Despair

Summary

An essential overview of the problems of our world today -- and how we should prepare for tomorrow -- from the world's leading public intellectual

We have two choices. We can be pessimistic, give up, and help ensure that the worst will happen. Or we can be optimistic, grasp the opportunities that surely exist, and maybe help make the world a better place. Not much of a choice.

From peerless political thinker Noam Chomsky comes an exploration of rising neoliberalism, the refugee crisis in Europe, the Black Lives Matter movement, the dysfunctional US electoral system, and the prospects and challenges of building a movement for radical change.

Including four up-to-the-minute interviews on the 2016 American election campaign and global resistance to Trump, this Penguin Special is a concise introduction to Chomsky's ideas and his take on the state of the world today.

Reviews

  • Highly informative ,deftly organized... Noam Chomsky teaches us-yet again-so much on a huge range of issues... If you haven't read Chomsky before, this book will open your eyes. Even if you have, reading this book will make you realize that you still have more eyes to be opened. A beacon in this turbulent and darkening world
    Ha-Joon Chang, author of '23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism'

About the authors

Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky is a political theorist, activist and linguist. Chomsky is internationally recognised as one of the most critically engaged public intellectuals alive today. He is the author of numerous bestselling political works, which have been translated into scores of languages worldwide. Among the books are Optimism Over Despair, On Palestine, The Precipice, Chronicles of Dissent, On Anarchism and Hegemony or Survival.
Learn More

C J Polychroniou

Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more