Noted academics and political commentators Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky spoke at a fundraiser for the Homeless Empowerment Project, publisher of spare change news, and addressed the question, "Is there hope in this desperate time?" Each spoke for about 20 minutes and answered questions for over an hour. At the beginning, Zinn jokingly said that he would speak about hope and let Chomsky deal with desperation. Both Zinn and Chomsky spoke about how political and social matters had improved for the better during the past century and that today's times were not as desperate as in the past.During the Q&A period, it was pointed out that both Zinn and Chomsky have the same approach to the presidential election as Bernie Sanders, a socialist, and Sam Webb, a communist. The question of voting for the "lesser of two evils" was addressed, as well as the myth of elections being the zenith of democracy.
Howard Zinn is a former Boston University professor and author of A People's History of the United States, which examines historical grassroots movements and their impact on American society. Noam Chomsky is a renowned professor of linguistics at M.I.T. and an analyst of U.S. foreign policy.
This speech was recorded on September 27, 2004, at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston.