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4.4 AVERAGE
4.4 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
challenging
informative
medium-paced
medium-paced
Naomi Klein’s recent book, “the Shock Doctrine: the rise of disaster capitalism†is a remarkable and well-researched indictment on current neo-liberal economics. More to point, her book is not so much an attack on corporate globalization as it is an expose on the disturbing tendency of multinational corporations to infest and feed-off core functions of the state. Her book is the historic narrative of what she calls “Chicago School economics,†or radical free-market advancement. She documents how the disciples of Milton Friedman have promoted his extreme and rigid form of capitalism wherever they may gain influence—usually following a coup d'état, a war or natural disaster. Her point is that as an ideological framework, this dramatic reworking of a state’s control over its economy is prepackaged and ready for installation at the first public shock strong enough to distort reality and impede a disoriented public’s ability to resist. This book is carefully researched and provides an alternative analysis to many recent events as they have been reported through the corporatized and self-serving press.
Klein begins her book in New Orleans where she sets-up her protagonists and antagonists in a fluid and imaginative manner. Describing in minute-by-minute detail the experiences of Hurricane Katrina victims, Klein introduces and remarks on then Milton Friedman’s call for a new, privatized school system in New Orleans to replace what was destroyed by natural disaster. This is the opening example of what Klein will later refer to as “the shock doctrine.†From there the book follows the history of this ideology, of Friedman’s influence in recent events and the pain and torment his clout has caused. We start in the southern cone of South America and follow this ideology’s disastrous implementation through South Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia and then back to New Orleans—there declaring the potential end of his rhetorical canon, metaphorically represented with Freidman’s death in 2006.
In addition Klein uses as a thematic metaphor, the outmoded notion of “shock therapy†and, it more recent manifestation—shock torture—to describe the process by which whole nations and societies come under the influence of “free-market†ideologies espoused by reactionary graduates of “Chicago School economics.†Beginning with Pinochet in 1973 to New Orleans in 2005, Klein’s overall thesis is this: it takes a dramatic “shock†to the normal function of a society for reforms as consequential and far-reaching as those Friedman advocated to gain usage. Meaning that cuts to public spending, especially in areas of health, education and infrastructure, are extremely unpopular for civil society. But under extraordinary conditions, like an overthrow in government, a war or a natural disaster, these ideas are suddenly implemented.
Finally, Klein demonstrates the recent “hollowing†of government, in which core functions of the state are subcontracted to private corporations with little accountability and often operating in legal black holes, such as Guantánamo or Iraq. This too is part of the overall “shock doctrine,†in which extreme free-market ideologies are implemented in the “fog of war†when a public’s self-awareness is at its nadir. The Shock Doctrine explores in depth these historic examples and convincingly establishes this trend. She ends the book with nightmare, hypothetical scenarios in which the logic of Friedman economics are brought to full manifestation, with fortified suburbs and privatized emergency response units working in a corporatized dystopia. But her concluding chapter gives readers new hope in democratic socialism and cooperative movements in vogue in much of Latin America. The backlash against neo-liberalism there is a phenomenon Klein has reported about for a while, and her acquired expertise in this area leaves readers with optimistic prospects for the future.
Klein begins her book in New Orleans where she sets-up her protagonists and antagonists in a fluid and imaginative manner. Describing in minute-by-minute detail the experiences of Hurricane Katrina victims, Klein introduces and remarks on then Milton Friedman’s call for a new, privatized school system in New Orleans to replace what was destroyed by natural disaster. This is the opening example of what Klein will later refer to as “the shock doctrine.†From there the book follows the history of this ideology, of Friedman’s influence in recent events and the pain and torment his clout has caused. We start in the southern cone of South America and follow this ideology’s disastrous implementation through South Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia and then back to New Orleans—there declaring the potential end of his rhetorical canon, metaphorically represented with Freidman’s death in 2006.
In addition Klein uses as a thematic metaphor, the outmoded notion of “shock therapy†and, it more recent manifestation—shock torture—to describe the process by which whole nations and societies come under the influence of “free-market†ideologies espoused by reactionary graduates of “Chicago School economics.†Beginning with Pinochet in 1973 to New Orleans in 2005, Klein’s overall thesis is this: it takes a dramatic “shock†to the normal function of a society for reforms as consequential and far-reaching as those Friedman advocated to gain usage. Meaning that cuts to public spending, especially in areas of health, education and infrastructure, are extremely unpopular for civil society. But under extraordinary conditions, like an overthrow in government, a war or a natural disaster, these ideas are suddenly implemented.
Finally, Klein demonstrates the recent “hollowing†of government, in which core functions of the state are subcontracted to private corporations with little accountability and often operating in legal black holes, such as Guantánamo or Iraq. This too is part of the overall “shock doctrine,†in which extreme free-market ideologies are implemented in the “fog of war†when a public’s self-awareness is at its nadir. The Shock Doctrine explores in depth these historic examples and convincingly establishes this trend. She ends the book with nightmare, hypothetical scenarios in which the logic of Friedman economics are brought to full manifestation, with fortified suburbs and privatized emergency response units working in a corporatized dystopia. But her concluding chapter gives readers new hope in democratic socialism and cooperative movements in vogue in much of Latin America. The backlash against neo-liberalism there is a phenomenon Klein has reported about for a while, and her acquired expertise in this area leaves readers with optimistic prospects for the future.
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Klein's book could not be more timely as we move from post-9/11 shock, and its attendant PTSD, into the biggest economic shock since the Great Depression. Appalling and infuriating, but also essential reading if you want to comprehend what is happening in the U.S. and the world today, and how free market fundamentalism is inextricably linked to, and utterly dependent on, authoritarian rule.
A little outdated but was a recommendation from so many TikTok creators and it is super important especially right now. This book is a direct reflection of the model being used on us right now and I wish Naomi had an additional book with updated info as it is almost 20 years old. But it was still extremely informative and I really enjoyed and learned a lot.
I rank this book up there with "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn.
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced