A libertarian socialist, Chomsky is a prominent critic of capitalism, the role of western media and the foreign policy of the U.S. government, dealing with such issues in bestsellers like Manufacturing Consent (1988), Hegemony or Survival (2003) and Failed States (2006).

Throughout the book, Chomsky discusses what the Occupy movement is and what it is demanding, as well as advocating ways in which it could gain greater support and achieve governmental reforms, using historical examples as evidence.

Different local groups have different foci, but among the prime concerns is the claim that large corporations and the global financial system control the world in a way that disproportionately benefits a minority, undermines democracy and is unstable.

The book's original publisher, Zuccotti Park Press, was founded by Adelente Alliance, a Brooklyn-based non profit cultural and advocacy organization devoted to the Spanish-speaking community.

Proceeding to look at corruption among the 1%, he makes reference to both Citigroup and Alan Greenspan, before discussing the role that worker sit-ins and industry takeovers could play in democratizing the U.S. economy, as well as the threat posed by both nuclear war and environmental catastrophe, both problems exacerbated by the current capitalist system.

"[5] The third section of the book, entitled "After thirty years of class war", comprises the text of an interview with Chomsky conducted at MIT on January 6, 2012, by a New York University student, Edward Radzivilovskiy].

[6] Responding to Radzivilovskiy's questions, Chomsky lays out what the Occupy movement represents, and what its demands are, arguing that it is primarily a popular protest against income stagnation for the majority and the increasing concentration of wealth among an elite minority.

He contrasts it with the Tea Party movement, which he argues only represents the interests of a small Euro-American minority, being backed by the corporate support that Occupy rejects.

Rejecting the idea that Occupy is an anarchist movement, he notes that its primary demands require reform rather than revolution, advocating governmental support for economic growth over austerity measures.

[7] Section four, "InterOccupy", contains the transcript of a conference call with Chomsky chaired by Mikal Kamil and Ian Escuela on January 31, 2012, in which he answered pre-selected questions from the Occupy community.

He considers one of the primary achievements of Occupy to have been to bring together communities to discuss and debate in a democratic forum, thereby rejecting the ideologies of selfishness proposed by the likes of Ayn Rand.

He rounds off this chapter with a discussion of the nature of the Republican and Democratic parties, the work of Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci and the role of the U.S. housing bubble in the global depression.

Chomsky discusses how the Occupy movement could hope to influence and control the foreign policy of the United States, directing it away from its support for autocratic regimes and military interventionism.

Praising America Beyond Capitalism (2004), a book by the political economist Gar Alperovitz, he then discusses ways in which the Occupy movement can influence the public discourse into accepting and understanding their views and arguments.

According to Chomsky, while the wealth has been increasingly focused in the socio-economic elite who control the financial sector, the rest of the population have suffered higher workloads, unsustainable debt, a weakening benefits system and stagnating incomes and real wages, causing them to be "angry, frustrated, [and] bitter".

More specifically, he argues that their precise demands include greater regulation of financial transaction taxes, and reversing the rules of corporate governance that have led to the current situation.

He noted a similar situation that occurred in a suburb of Boston in the early 21st century, when a multinational decided to close down a manufacturing facility because it was not producing sufficient profit.

[21] Writing in the New Statesman, George Eaton stated that he was surprised by the moderate stance that Chomsky took in Occupy, remarking that the "self-described anarchist sounds very much like a social democrat", offering the "cautious, provisional response one might expect from a Labour shadow cabinet minister" rather than the words of a radical revolutionary.