The Shock Doctrine
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Transcript of The Shock Doctrine
The Shock Doctrine
By Naomi Klein
Liberals in the United States
In 2008, exit polls showed 22% of electorate self-identified as “liberal”
This represents a large proportion of American population, well over 50 million potential customers
This book is more easily marketable to this niche of American consumers
Summary
The Shock Doctrine presents many arguments appealing to liberal consumers... Big business and gov’t exploit disasters for
monetary gain Free-market systems are not optimal, and
gov’t must enforce them with torture American gov’t forced to make concessions to
the political left during Cold War, but are not bound anymore
Gov’t privatization is destructive to economy
Endorsements
After circulating this manuscript, the book received high praise from many publications and personalities
These many endorsements will increase appeal for liberal customers
Endorsements “This is a brilliant book, one
of the most important I have read in a long time.”
-Howard Zinn
Endorsements “ [Shock Doctrine] Pulls
the curtain back on free-market myths and exposes the forces that are really driving our economy... Klein’s book is powerful and prophetic... A brilliant dissection”
-Arianna Huffington
Endorsements “A revelation! With
unparalleled courage and clarity Naomi Klein has written the most important and necessary book of her generation...so important and so revelatory a book that could very well prove a catalyst, a watershed, a tipping point in the movement for economic and social justice”
-Tim Robbins
Endorsements from Publications The Washington Post The Telegraph (U.K.) In These Times The New York Observer John Cusack Dow Jones Business News NOW Magazine (Canada) Toronto Star
The Independent (U.K.) New Statesman (U.K.) Ms. Magazine
Summary of Text
Divided into 23 Chapters, each covering different examples
Locales include... Latin America, United Kingdom, Poland,
China, South Africa, Russia, United States, and Iraq
All of these examples reinforce arguments
Aesthetic Appeal of Publication
All chapters and sections begin with diverse quotes pertaining to topic
Well organized and thoughtfully constructed Needs to be shortened at certain points
Introduction: “Blank is Beautiful”
Introduction of Milton Friedman’s ideas Introduction of the eponymous “Shock
Doctrine” Use of disasters and national turmoil in order
to introduce free-market policies Overview of examples to be presented later
Chapter 1: “The Torture Lab” Introduces Dr. Ewen Cameron, who is hardly
mentioned after this chapter, who experiments with electroshock therapy and “deprogramming” of personalities
Discusses connection between free-market systems and torture, priming the audience for the “shock” of economic policies
Likens deprogramming of patients to deprogramming of economic welfare policies
While illogical at parts, our intended audience will see the obvious connection between both electroshock torture and “shock” economic policies
Chapter 2: “The Other Doctor Shock”
Introduces Milton Friedman Discusses the implications of Chicago School
economic theory CIA-sponsored coups allowed Friedman to
influence economic policy in Latin America Exchange program set up to send Chilean
students to ultra-conservative University of Chicago
Chapter 3: “States of Shock” Milton Friedman advises General Augusto
Pinochet Pinochet dismantles “developmental”
economic system Free-market policies were instituted Costs of basics went “through the roof,”
inflation was at all-time high, country was flooded with cheap imports
Big business benefits greatly, while poor are left to suffer
Chapter 4: Cleaning the Slate
Free-market ideology quickly spread to Argentina and Uruguay, with copious use of torture techniques and privatization
Pinochet repeatedly called to trial for crimes against humanity
Gov’ts in the Southern Cone were brutal towards dissenters, “disappearing” large populations of suspected unionists and leftists
Chapter 5: “Entirely Unrelated”
Friedman’s argument for separating economic policy with human rights abuses unfounded
Free-market policies are enforced by mass terror and detention
United States gov’t supported these abuses, and put undue blame on leftists guerrillas in Southern Cone
Chapter 6: “Saved by War”
Introduction of Thatcherism Margaret Thatcher used Falklands war to
institute privatization of British assets and make domestic war against coal miners strike in 1984
Thatcher did not go as far as dictators because she had to get reelected
Chapter 7: “A New Doctor Shock” Bolivia’s ills are introduced: inflation of over
14,000% Harvard Economist Jeffrey Sachs called in to
develop anti-inflation policies Sachs introduced free-market policies against
wishes of voters Inflation dropped to 10%, but not without
pains Unemployment rose to 30% Failure, argues the book
Chapter 8: “Crisis Works”
Milton Friedman’s disdain towards the IMF and World Bank is discussed
While he may have disdained them, Klein argues that “no institutions [were] better positioned to implement his crisis theory”
IMF forced gov’ts to adopt radical free-market policies as prerequisites for loans
Lower tax rates led countries to be unable to pay back loans
Chapter 9: “Slamming the Door on History”
Discusses Poland’s “Solidarity” movement Betrayal of socialist goals to the free-market
policies of Jeffrey Sachs, Friedman’s “Shock Doctrine” successor
Discusses China’s market liberalization Massacre at Tiananmen Square discussed,
connecting it to said liberalizations
Chapter 10: “Democracy Born in Chains”
End of apartheid in South Africa discussed While fighting under a banner of land-
redistribution, African National Congress (ANC) betrays supporters by signing over economic control of country to whites
De Klerk gov’t convinces ANC to promote radical free-market systems, which continue the economic apartheid of previous regime
Chapter 11: “Bonfire of a Young Democracy”
Soviet Union collapses; Boris Yeltsin gains power through dubious means
Auctions off massive Soviet monopolies to Oligarchs
Over 225,000 state-owned companies privatized
Third of population fell below poverty line Yeltsin enforces policies through emergency
powers; fires on parliament
Chapter 12: “The Capitalist ID”
Discusses the idea that Western gov’t implemented social democratic policies in order to appease leftists and maintain military control over European countries
Ruining of Canada’s credit score was concocted by free-market ideologues in order to defeat social welfare policies
Chapter 13: “Let it Burn”
Asian Tigers (South Korea, Philippines, Taiwan, and Singapore) economically destroyed by market fluctuations
Stronger gov’t policies would have prevented this fluctuation, saving countless lives and jobs
Chapter 14: “Shock Therapy in the U.S.A.”
Harshly criticizes Rumsfeld’s control of private assets representing a conflict of interests with his Cabinet position
Also criticizes Rumsfeld’s outsourcing of the military effort, which increases costs and creates companies not accountable to justice systems
Market for constant warfighting created through defense privatizations
Many jobs contracted out, as federal bureaucracy was downsized
Market for surveillance technology ballooned after 9/11
Chapter 15: “A Corporatist State”
Rumsfeld owned large share of company controlling Tamiflu, and sought policies to increase profits
Corporations beginning to dictate policy more aggressively
Chapter 16: “Erasing Iraq”
After the initial shock of invasion, Paul Bremer instituted massive free-market policies and torture in order to erase dissent
Iraq was testing ground for neo-conservative ideas that could not be implemented in United States
Privatization of military and reconstruction policies created inefficiencies in reconstruction, and poor results
Chapter 17: “Ideological Blowback”
Iraqi’s had no control over their own reconstruction
Subcontracting abounded, driving down quality of reconstruction
Free-market systems fed violence as thousands were plunged into poverty
United States “locked in” Bremer’s policies into the Constitution
Chapter 18: “Full Circle”
Free-market policies pillaged Iraq of any prosperity, leaving a scorched, violent land
Human rights groups watched as hundreds were tortured and detained
Skilled labor has fled Iraq Mahdi Army arises to provide basic services
and defense for disenfranchised Iraqis
Chapter 19: “Blanking the Beach”
The tsunami in Sri Lanka removed all ancestral homes from beaches, allowing hotels to buy up land
Hotel lobbyists influenced gov’t of Sri Lanka to allow them rights to beachfronts, while poor fisher families were moved inland
U.S. gov’t supported this in order to increase tourism
Chapter 20: “Disaster Apartheid”
While U.S. gov’t helped wealthier Katrina victims, the poor were left to suffer
Milton Friedman’s last publication called for privatization of New Orleans schools
Companies were called in to help with reconstruction of New Orleans, with negative results
Very inefficient disaster response due to free-market solutions
Chapter 21: “Losing the Peace Incentive”
In Israel, a booming market for high-tech surveillance and anti-terrorist equipment has been created by 9/11
In order to improve technology to be sold to the United States, Israel has no need to pursue peace.
This hampers any solutions to Israel-Palestine problems
Chapter 22: “Shock Wears Off”
In Latin American societies, gov’ts have been constitutionally elected once more, and are moving towards developmentalism once again
The shock doctrine’s policies will continue to be felt for years to come, but the world is on a road to recovery
In Conclusion
While overlong and preachy, this book is destined to be on the shelves of every liberal American, and is a profitable addition to our catalog