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A review by clacksee
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein
challenging
dark
informative
tense
4.75
I've recently read a number of books that set out how colonialism and empire caused so many of the problems the world faces today: racism, wealth inequality, patriarchy, etc.
In many ways, this book picks up where those left off, showing us just how much the US has interfered in the running of other countries, basically using them as laboratory experiments.
Until I read this book, I thought the various crises around the world were caused by unfettered capitalism. I assumed that, in the absence of regulations, the very powerful had found ways to benefit. I didn't understand that so many of those crises had actually been engineered in order to destabilise economies and/or governments. I didn't know that so many unstable countries around the world were in the predicaments they were precisely because American economists wilfully and systematically broke them.
I do have two complaints about this book. Firstly, it's so long that it's hard to maintain the anger it to rightly stirs up. It's exhausting listening to planned catastrophe after planned catastrophe – to the point where the atrocities start to lose impact. Yes, it's all absolutely vital info. But it might be more meaningful split into two.
Secondly, I have to take issue with the language employed throughout the book. Klein repeatedly talks about how this is Adam Smith's principals of laissez-faire in action – this is what the free market does. Except it's not and she demonstrates that over and over and over again. This is very much not hands-off; it's the opposite.
What the author has shown is that the markets are being prevented – through strict controls and deadly force – from acting freely. Calling this laissez-faire is like building a dam to change the course of a river and then claiming that's just nature running its course.
Anyways, this is a very worthwhile read. Shocking, actually.
In many ways, this book picks up where those left off, showing us just how much the US has interfered in the running of other countries, basically using them as laboratory experiments.
Until I read this book, I thought the various crises around the world were caused by unfettered capitalism. I assumed that, in the absence of regulations, the very powerful had found ways to benefit. I didn't understand that so many of those crises had actually been engineered in order to destabilise economies and/or governments. I didn't know that so many unstable countries around the world were in the predicaments they were precisely because American economists wilfully and systematically broke them.
I do have two complaints about this book. Firstly, it's so long that it's hard to maintain the anger it to rightly stirs up. It's exhausting listening to planned catastrophe after planned catastrophe – to the point where the atrocities start to lose impact. Yes, it's all absolutely vital info. But it might be more meaningful split into two.
Secondly, I have to take issue with the language employed throughout the book. Klein repeatedly talks about how this is Adam Smith's principals of laissez-faire in action – this is what the free market does. Except it's not and she demonstrates that over and over and over again. This is very much not hands-off; it's the opposite.
What the author has shown is that the markets are being prevented – through strict controls and deadly force – from acting freely. Calling this laissez-faire is like building a dam to change the course of a river and then claiming that's just nature running its course.
Anyways, this is a very worthwhile read. Shocking, actually.