All I saw were things I already knew about the effects of corporatism and globalization, and the negative effects these trends are having on our health and communities. I realized that the reason these concepts didn't seem very interesting was because they have become such an understood part of our culture's understanding of our new economy that it has become completely internalized. If I had read this in 2000 I might have helped trash a Starbucks in Seattle; today it feels like history.The Shock Doctrine, on the other hand, is very much in touch with the concerns and mystery of the times. Klein explains how the neoliberal/neoconservative revolutions of the past 25 years, from Chile through Iraq, are traced to Milton Friedman's Chicago School.
She explains why governments resort to torture, and long after shock therapy had been thoroughly discredited in psychiatric medicine, it was being applied to economies throughout the world to enable a mass transfer of wealth to the already wealthy elite, undoing the socialist movement of the early 20th century. Klein introduced the concept of disaster capitalism: whenever a disaster strikes (whether accidental or engineered), corporations put plans into operation to raid public treasuries and public trusts while the public is still in a state of shock; she also warns that huge industries have emerged to deal with these catastrophes, and are dependent upon continued disasters for growth. Klein argues that our societies need to become educated to resist this type of manipulation so the next time something bad happens we won't surrender to corporate greed.Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón produced this short film to introduce the concepts and arguments used in the book.
Ms. Klein's work is having a real impact on our society. No Logo is credited with inspiring the Battle of Seattle; The Shock Doctrine is just beginning to filter into our mass consciousness, and I look forward to the effect it will have on our polity.
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