In 'Internationalism or Extinction' Chomsky talks about the twin existential threat to humanity, the Nuclear holocaust and the climate change. The book also includes a chapter about the threat to Democracy and how this threat is linked to our ability to prevent a nuclear holocaust and the climate change. These threats are not new , but Chomsky creates a sense of urgency. He claims that we have escaped nuclear conflict by luck and brings few examples to demonstrate. Regarding the climate crisis, Chomsky is critical of lack of political decisive steps to curb planet warming. He feels that threats to Democracy that we see during the pandemic are preventing nations and societies to address the two existential threats. Chomsky’s activism, attitude reflect his belief that we can affect our trajectory of our own history. He argues for a ‘calm deliberation, exchanges of perspectives, clearly formulated arguments and concepts, unadorned historical narratives, strategic questioning and collective engagement to persuade...’ Chapter 2 in the book is about Wally Shawn’s interview of Chomsky. A central question posed in this interview is :’How do we convince people who were not in the room to care and to take action?’
Chomsky's answer is : ‘we convince people to care and act by presenting them with facts and opportunities’; ‘ History is in our hands , our creativity and our limits’