Review: The Shock Doctrine

Klein (Fences and Windows: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Globalization Debate, 2002, etc.) tracks the forced imposition of economic privatization, rife with multinational corporate parasites, on areas and nations weakened by war, civil strife or natural disasters. The author follows John Perkins (Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, 2004) and others in pointing an alarmed finger at a global "corporatocracy" that combines the worst features of big business and small government. The difference is that Klein's book incorporates an amount of due diligence, logical structure and statistical evidence that others lack. As a result, she is persuasive when she links past and present events, including the war in Iraq and trashing of its economy, to the systematic march of laissez-faire capitalism and the downsizing of the public sector as both a worldview and a political methodology. Klein fully establishes the influence of U.S. economist Milton Friedman, who died in November 2006, as champion of the free-market transformations that occurred initially in South America, where Friedmanite minions trained at the University of Chicago in the 1960s worked their wiles on behalf of some of the 20th century's most repressive regimes. On to China's Tiananmen Square, then to the collapsed Soviet Union, where oligarchs soared and the underclass was left to starve in the 1990s. More recent developments include forcing private development on the tsunami-ravaged beachfronts of South Asia and junking the public-school system in favor of private charter schools in post-Katrina New Orleans. Just as provocative is Klein's analysis of the Bush administration's rampant outsourcing of U.S. government responsibilities, including the entire "homeland security industry," to no-bid corporate contractors and their expense-laden chains of subcontractors. Her account of that methodology's consequences in Iraq, as mass unemployment coincided with the disbanding of a standing army whose soldiers took their guns home, leaves little doubt as to why there is an enduring insurgency. Required reading for anyone trying to pierce the complexities of globalization.

C'est le livre que je dois lire!

Review: The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

I won't give you a real summery, instead here is a personal analogy that I think relates to this book. I grew up in a Muslim household, and growing up I was certain Islam was the one true religion and ... Consulter l'avis complet

Review: The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

There are many detailed and eloquent reviews of this book already; however, I still feel like I have to write a review about this important book. I've wondered for years why the world is the way it is ... Consulter l'avis complet

Review: The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

Updated - June 18, 2012 - see link at bottom This was a very illuminating work about how chaotic situations are used, and sometimes created, as cover for the imposition of drastic economic and ... Consulter l'avis complet

Review: The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

Colour me green but this is revolting. No wonder so many still think that Bush had a hand in 2001, or that China and Russia smirk at the hypocrisy of US pointing the finger and shouting 'human right ... Consulter l'avis complet

Review: The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

Naomi Klein is a solid journalist and interesting writer. She brings humanity to the cold, heartless world of selfish politics. It's a rare journalist that can actually bring out the horror of ... Consulter l'avis complet

Review: The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

A very disturbing book indeed. I can't decide whether I feel that her paranoia got out of control, or whether it is indeed a fair representation of US foreign policy over the last 30-40 years. A lot ... Consulter l'avis complet

Review: The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

Three recent articles in The Guardian are particularly interesting in the light of Naomi Klein's conclusions in this book. On the one hand, "'Day of Wrath' brings Russians on to the streets against ... Consulter l'avis complet

Review: The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

There is a kind of history that gets overlooked, that doesn't get taught in schools or universities aside from a fourth-year optional course that no one bothers to take. It's a history that is ... Consulter l'avis complet