On Monday, around 2,300 people crammed into the Riverside Church - a building steeped in historical significance- to celebrate the 20th anniversary of independent news channel Democracy Now!

Democracy Now! first aired February 19th, 1996, on the eve of the New Hampshire primary. Rooted in radio, Democracy Now! has rapidly expanded and now airs on over 1,400 television and radio stations all over the globe.

Political dissident and activist Noam Chomsky was among those present for the celebration. Initially beginning his academic career in linguistics, over the past fifty years, Noam Chomsky has become one of the most prominent anti-establishment intellectuals in the world.

Chomsky is renowned for both his outspoken commentary on various US governments and his criticism of traditional media in creating political agendas.

At the Democracy Now! anniversary conference, Chomsky discussed president-elect Donald Trump.

Chomsky began by stating that young people will be "facing problems that have never arisen in the 200,000 years of human history", bemoaning that there will be an ongoing struggle to "save the human species from a pretty grim fate".

The institute emeritus professor at the Massachusetts Institution of Technology continued, invoking parallels between the spread of fascism across Europe in 1939-the year he first wrote about political discourse-to the spread of fascism across the globe in 2016.

Chomsky's comments came mere hours after Italian Prime Minster Matteo Renzi resigned following a comprehensive defeat in a referendum to reform Italian constitution.

59% of Italians voted against the proposed reforms as the Eurozone's third biggest economy descended into chaos.

The victory has galvanized the populist Five Star Movement and the xenophobic Northern League-both of whom lead the opposition to the proposed reforms. Upon the election of Donald Trump, Five Star Movement leader Beppe Grillo exuberantly exclaimed that Trump' ascension represented a giant "fuck you" to the political establishment.

Again, the recent events in italy are a rejection of establishment Politics that have alienated a significant proportion of the electorate.