Photographer: Ann Basu (Source: Flickr)

Noam Chomsky appeared on this week’s episode of the Useful Idiots podcast with hosts Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper. A wide variety of political topics were discussed, as Chomsky shared his thoughts on the coronavirus, healthcare in the United States, and his assessment of Bernie Sanders’ campaign.

Regarding the coronavirus, Chomsky discusses how the United States is ill-prepared to deal with the global pandemic due to the longstanding pattern of the U.S. Government prioritizing corporate interests over providing affordable and widely accessible healthcare. Specifically he states, “What our leaders are good at, and have been very good at for the last 40 years, is pouring money into the pockets of the rich and the corporate executives while everything else crashes.”

Chomsky details how approaching healthcare through a business framework results in neglecting preparedness for a potential health crisis. Pondering the question of why hospitals do not have enough beds for the expected surge in coronavirus patients, Chomsky explains how hospitals emphasize being economically sound and extremely efficient. Therefore, this business practice translates to hospitals maintaining just enough beds for what is commonly needed and disregarding being properly prepared for a future crisis.

Touching upon the ongoing Democratic Primary, Chomsky assesses the Bernie Sanders’ campaign and articulates the key lessons we can take away from the campaign. Chomsky mentions how since the start of Sanders’ campaign he was always skeptical of his chances of winning due to the presence of overwhelming establishment opposition.

One fault of the campaign according to Chomsky is the decision for Bernie Sanders to openly run and identify as a socialist despite a uniquely American contempt towards the term socialism. Instead Chomsky believes a better strategy for Sanders may have been to identify as a New Deal Democrat. An attempt to brand himself as an old fashioned New Dealer and express a desire to pursue and expand upon policies present during the New Deal Era like affordable healthcare and free education may have been a more successful campaign strategy according to Chomsky.

Chomsky notes a central component of Sanders’ campaign was free education and a single payer healthcare system, but when identifying as a socialist it becomes harder for Sanders to break ideological walls. Campaigning as a New Dealer and a return to a former period within American society may help breach an ideological gap.

Chomsky also goes on to articulate how something has to be done to really educate Americans and attempt to reverse the ingrained neoliberal ideology of classifying taxes as theft. In his opinion, the hatred of taxes in the United States is remarkable as Americans somehow are comfortable with paying twice as much to a private corporation or insurer in the case of healthcare rather than paying for the service through taxes. To combat this flawed philosophy, Chomsky advocates for the need of education at the grassroots level to effectively convey how a universal healthcare program will cut back private expenses by far more than it raises taxes.

To listen to the full podcast episode, click here.