The Shock Doctrine
ISBN 978-0-676-97800-1 (hardcover) | | |
Preceded by | Fences and Windows | |
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Followed by | This Changes Everything |
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism is a 2007 book by the Canadian author and social activist
Some reviewers criticized the book for making what they viewed as simplifications of political phenomena, while others lauded it as a compelling and important work. The book served as the main source of a 2009 documentary feature film with the same title directed by Michael Winterbottom.[1]
Synopsis
The book is divided into seven parts with a total of 21 chapters.
Part 1 begins with a chapter on psychiatric shock therapy and the covert experiments conducted by the psychiatrist Ewen Cameron in collusion with the Central Intelligence Agency. The second chapter introduces Milton Friedman and his Chicago school of economics, whom Klein describes as leading a laissez-faire capitalist movement committed to creating free markets that are even less regulated than those that existed before the Great Depression.
Part 2 discusses the use of "shock doctrine" to transform South American economies in the 1970s, focusing on the 1973 coup in Chile led by General Augusto Pinochet and influenced by a prominent group of Chilean economists, known as the Chicago Boys, who had been trained at the University of Chicago in the Economics department, funded by the CIA, and advised by Milton Friedman. Klein connects torture with economic shock therapy.
Part 3 covers attempts to apply the shock doctrine without the need for extreme violence against sections of the population. Klein says that Margaret Thatcher applied mild shock "therapy" facilitated by the Falklands War, while free market reform in Bolivia was possible due to a combination of pre-existing economic crises and the charisma of Jeffrey Sachs.
Part 4 reports on how Klein thinks the shock doctrine was applied in
Part 5 introduces the "Disaster Capitalism Complex", a complex series of networks and influence employed by private companies that allows them to profit from disasters. She mirrors this new Disaster Capitalism Complex with the Military Industrial Complex and explains that both employ the blurring of the line between private and public, through tactics like the revolving door.
Part 6 discusses the use of "
Part 7 is about winners and losers of economic shock therapy – how small groups will often do very well by moving into luxurious
The Conclusion details the backlash against the "shock doctrine" and economic institutions which, in Klein's view, encourage it – like the World Bank and IMF. South America and Lebanon post-2006 are shown in a positive light, where politicians are already rolling back free-market policies, with some mention of the increased campaigning by community-minded activists in South Africa and China.
Reactions
Favourable
Paul B. Farrell from the
In the
The Shock Doctrine was named one of the best books of 2007 by the
Mixed
The
Sociologists as
Unfavourable
In the
Economist
Later comments
In a piece related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Klein wrote in 2020 that a "Pandemic Shock Doctrine" was beginning to emerge and called it the "Screen New Deal".[30]
Awards
- Winner of the Warwick Prize for Writing (2008/2009)
See also
- Chicago school of economics
- Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
- Criticism of capitalism
- History of Russia (1991–present)#"Shock_therapy"
- Fear mongering
- Political economy
- Shock therapy (economics)
References
- IMDb
- ^ O'Flynn, Kevin (September 7, 2003). "Arnie's spin doctors spun for Yeltsin too". The Guardian. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
- Time Magazine. July 1996.
- ^ Paul Farrell, Marketwatch, October 2007
- ^ Gray, John (September 15, 2007). "The End of the World as We Know It". The Guardian.
- ^ Kowinski, William S. (September 23, 2007). "Klein alleges U.S. used 'Shock' tactics to privatize public sector". The San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Clonan, Tom (September 29, 2007). "Making capital out of fear". The Irish Times.
- ^ Rayner, Richard (June 22, 2008). "Two timeless, Depression-era novels from Edward Anderson". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ Amidon, Stephen (September 19, 2007). "Milton Friedman's Afterlife". New York Observer.
- ^ Tharoor, Shashi (November 25, 2007). "Doing Well by Doing Ill". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ Guest, Katy (August 23, 2008). "Paperback: The Shock Doctrine, by Naomi Klein". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022.
- ^ Santos, Juan (January 8, 2008). "An Essay by Juan Santos: The Face of Fascism in a Global System Heading for Collapse". Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ village voice > books > The Best of 2007
- ^ PW's Best Books of the Year – 11/5/2007 – Publishers Weekly
- ^ "That's the best thing we've read all year". The Guardian. London. November 25, 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
- ^ "Seattle Times book reviewers pick 2007 favorites". The Seattle Times. December 14, 2007.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
- ^ Stiglitz, Joseph (September 30, 2007). "Bleakonomics". The New York Times.
- ^ "Doing Well by Doing Ill". The Washington Post. November 25, 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
- ^ Beck, U. (1992). Risk society: Towards a new modernity (Vol. 17). Sage.
- ^ Holmes, Stephen (May 8, 2008). "Free Marketeering".
- ^ The profits of doom – John Willman, Financial Times, October 20, 2007
- ^ It’s All a Grand Capitalist Conspiracy – Tom Redburn, The New York Times, September 29, 2007
- ^ Chait, Jonathan (July 30, 2008). "Dead Left". The New Republic. Retrieved November 26, 2009.
- ^ The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein, The Times, October 12, 2007.
- ^ Cowen, Tyler (October 3, 2007). "Shock Jock".
- ^ "The Klein Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Polemics" (PDF). Cato Institute. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
- ^ "One Year After the Publication of The Shock Doctrine, A Response to the Attacks". Archived from the original on November 10, 2008. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
- ^ "Three Days After Klein's Response, Another Attack". Cato Institute. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
- ^ Naomi Klein. "Screen New Deal", The Intercept, 8 May 2020.
External links
- Official website
- Articles from theguardian.com
- Cusack, John (2007). "HuffPost Exclusive: My Interview with Naomi Klein". The Huffington Post.
- The Shock Doctrine (2007 Short Documentary) at IMDb
- The Shock Doctrine (2009 Documentary Film) at IMDb
- Reviews and interviews
- "Awe, shocks!" – review from Left Business Observer
- Positive commentary by Arianna Huffington
- News from Within Podcast: "Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine in the Israeli Context"[permanent dead link], an audio interview with Naomi Klein.
- "Dead Left" by Jonathan Chait: A review by The New Republic
- After Words interview with Klein on The Shock Doctrine, September 19, 2007