The Shock Doctrine
Catastrophes from Katrina to Iraq from Afghanistan to the Asian Tsunami clear the way for corporations to move in and operate in newly privatized zones, pushing local government overboard. Kind of like shock and awe economics. Privatize, privatize, privatize is intoned like a mantra by the economic high priests of neoliberalism. The belief in the so-called free market is almost akin religious dogma. Abuses, shoddy work and rampant profiteering rule with little or no oversight or accountability. Governments sub-contract and outsource their essential functions and services as jobs float downstream from the public sector into the private. Free market neoliberalism is synonymous with democracy and since everyone loves the latter what’s not to like about the former? But what it really is, is a get rich quick crusade.
Speaker
Naomi Klein
Naomi Klein, award-winning journalist and columnist, is the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University. She is author of The Shock Doctrine, This Changes Everything, No Is Not Enough, The Battle for Paradise and On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal. Her articles appear in The Intercept, Rolling Stone, The Nation and The Guardian, She is co-founder of the climate justice organization The Leap.
Surendar –
I think most important point here is how to bring out change. There are two views one is educating masses which will lead to slow evolutionary changes. The other is rapid change which we call revolution. With both people will suffer and may die, as they have to confront with the power. But with later, the suffering will be for short time. History shows us that more changes have taken place through revolutions such as in France, Russia, China, Iran etc.