Introduction

The political journalist, Alexander Cockburn, observed that the two greatest disasters to befall the American state in the 20th century both occurred on December 7th. Indeed, George Scialabba has described Chomsky as “America’s most useful citizen.” Many years ago, the activist intellectual Cynthia Peters added to the conversation about Chomsky’s relevance to activism with a comradely critique pithily formulated in an essay, “Talking Back to Chomsky.” A sharp focus on working-class issues and labor organizing provides the universalizing "glue" that can help these movements cohere, especially in an era in which the US working class has been feminized and people of color are increasingly exercising leadership from within its ranks. Humanity’s volition, their capacity to understand and change the world, is explored by Chomsky through several avenues of inquiry. The authors approached a dozen activist thinkers who have worked with Chomsky over the years to learn how he has impacted their activism.