[.ca] The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (ISBN 0676978002)

Amazon.ca:
Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine advances a truly unnerving argument: historically, while people were reeling from natural disasters, wars and economic upheavals, savvy politicians and industry leaders nefariously implemented policies that would never have passed during less muddled times. As Klein demonstrates, this reprehensible game of bait-and-switch isn't just some relic from the bad old days. It's alive and well in contemporary society, and coming soon to a disaster area near you. "At the most chaotic juncture in Iraq'' civil war, a new law is unveiled that will allow Shell and BP to claim the country's vast oil reserves… Immediately following September 11, the Bush Administration quietly outsources the running of the 'War on Terror' to Halliburton and Blackwater… After a tsunami wipes out the coasts of Southeast Asia, the pristine beaches are auctioned off to tourist resorts… New Orleans residents, scattered from Hurricane Katrina, discover that their public housing, hospitals and schools will never be re-opened." Klein not only kicks butt, she names names, notably economist Milton Friedman and his radical Chicago School of the 1950s and 60s which she notes "produced many of the leading neo-conservative and neo-liberal thinkers whose influence is still profound in Washington today." Stand up and take a bow, Donald Rumsfeld. There's little doubt Klein's book--which arrived to enormous attention and fanfare thanks to her previous missive, the best-selling No Logo, will stir the ire of the right and corporate America. It's also true that Klein's assertions are coherent, comprehensively researched and footnoted, and she makes a very credible case. Even if the world isn't going to hell in a hand-basket just yet, it's nice to know a sharp customer like Klein is bearing witness to the backroom machinations of government and industry in times of turmoil. --Kim Hughes

Fresh Steaming Vitriol:
Naomi certainly makes some interesting points and has done heavy duty research. What she is saying strikes a chord with many people, which explains why this book receives so many positive reviews. Unfortunately, though, the vitriolic nature of this work makes Naomi seem like a loose cannon or a hammer looking for a nail. She doesn't pretend to hide her contempt for privitization, Milton Friedman, free market capitalism, Chicago school economics, and what not. There is no pretense of balance as she employees jackhammer-style reasoning (often with little proof). She doesn't account for the subtleties of the issues involved. In her her jackhammer approach, a spade is a spade and if it isn't--it becomes one. She flattens distinctions and broadsides nuances into flat surfaces. And, as it has already been pointed out elsewhere, Naomi uses every rhetorical trick in the book. Her attacks on Milton Friedman are particularly vitriolic. And yet the system she critiques as being "Friedmanite" doesn't even come close to implementing his ideals fully! Klein attacks Friedman for supporting tyranny in Chile, but really, all Friedman did was advise the Chilean government, and those reforms were implemented to some degree. Hardly cause to attack Friedman's character. And, of course, Naomi lists bad things that happened under free-market systems, but doesn't contrast that with what happened under those same countries under a government regulated economy. According to Naomi, the Cato Institute is neo-conservative and FDR's New Deal was not only good, but necessary. OK. I'll have to differ on that, but let's continue.. Be prepared for nauzeating buzz-words with no value except for emotional and rhetorical: "Corporate new jerusalem", "balooning corporate power", "radical free market", "corporatist", "dazzling rich and disposable poor", "corporate supremisist", "the rise of corpratism", "ultra-conservative", "maniacal quest", "the corporatist alliance", etc. Naomi does have a valid critique regarding the way the government panders to big firms and, in privitization, plays political games. But that is not really a critique of true free-market capitalism, but rather it a critique of a particular form of government intervention over against another form of it. There's no doubt that Naomi is quite sharp and intelligent and that this book is no small feat. But, really, I suggest you look elsewhere if you want a balanced critique from a similar perspective. There isn't much in this book to commend it to you. The unique true facts in this book can be found elsewhere, and without the poisonous vitriol. And in closing, if you've already read Naomi's attack on Milton Friedman, do yourself a favor and read his ideas first hand--in "Capitalism and Freedom". He deserves a fair evaluation--without Naomi's sarcastic, slanted rhetoric.

Washington Consensus Exposed:
The shock therapy advocated by neoliberal conservatives in the US is well-documented in most academic circles but Naomi Klein expands the criticisms to a wider much more general audience in "The Shock Doctrine". The book is long by most popular non-fiction standards and certainly she stretches her argument in a few cases to make her point, but overall the book is well-researched with the sections on Iraq and New Orleans being the most effective. The backlash against Milton Friedman and his Chicago School of Economics is perhaps the greatest where it's effects were felt the most, namely in Latin America. Almost every single country has not rejected neoliberalism led by leftists such as Chavez in Venezuala. If you are unaware of Milton Friedman, the Washington Concensus and the Chicago School of Economics, this book will be an eye-opener for sure.

A Truly An Eye-Opener:
This book by Naomi Klein is truly shocking and frightening to which the true nature of the American government is revealed. I found myself having a hard time reading this book because of the dark nature behind the today's world politics and the tortures which is currently been in use by the government. I found it to be saddening to see how our leaders are using human beings for their own benefits, and how they favors money over human lives...that freedom or democracy is only a disguise or empty word to justify their unethical evil actions. With her intense research and profound discovery, Klein exposed the evil nature behind the politics of American wars both in the past and present, and of course the future. This book is also an excellent account of how disaster capitalism came to be and how long this been going on. It is very informative book, which will impact readers everywhere. No one is safe. Klein has written well-documented and extensive researched work that would certainly open one's eyes to see the "man behind the curtain." I humbly give much appreciative and thanks to Ms. Klein for bringing forth this important and an eye-opener work. I truly highly recommend this book.

How freedom is destroyed in the name of freedom:
Shock doctrine compares the early experiments in psycho-therapy at Montreal's McGill University, using combinations of electric shocks and sensory deprivation to erase the personalities of the mentally ill, with the use of shock therapy as the basis for the CIA handbook on interrogation (torture, some would say), and the planned demolition of state-control of national economies using warfare or natural disaster as a stimulus for change and state terror as a means of enforcing economic reforms. Naomi Klein presents an argument that is lucid and compelling. Her research is thorough and well documented in copious notes. Despite the complexity of the subject matter and the scope of the material covered, Shock doctrine is a very readable and darkly entertaining book. It ties together seemingly disparate elements of history in a neat package that does not shave off corners for the sake of narrative expediency. This is a book that engages the reader and presents an image of the world that is profoundly disturbing. It identifies the common thread which runs through the darkest events of our times, from Argentina's "Dirty War" to the shock treatment of Iraq, and clearly describes a process that was conceived in an American university and implemented by an elite, which continues to pursue its own agenda with a zeal and brutality reminiscent of the Spanish Inquisition. This is a book that must be read.

An uproarious wake up call!:
It's the economy, stupid. Do you have any idea of how much terror represents as a business?. Well, I didn't. After the economic "e-bubble" ended some years ago, the option at hand to push the economy was terror... In this latest, well documented N. Klein's book, beginning in Montreal with the CIA's mind experiments back in the 50's, you'll be taken by the hand in tour from the University of Chicago campus to Buenos Aires, Santiago, La Paz, Caracas, New Orleans, New York, Beirut, Tel Aviv, etc. and to practically every place on Earth, that from those days, has represented an opportunity to put into practice what the author calls the "destruction capitalism" practices or M. Friedman's ideas on how to end (once and for all) with keynisian economics in the world, thanks to natural or man's created catastrophes. An interesting interpretation to the most significant economic, political, social, cultural, etc. events in our world for the past 50 or 60 years... and a brilliant analogy between 1950's CIA's attempts to "erase" the mind of individuals to "recreate it" and attempts to "shock" economic systems to profit out of them... Also shocking is Klein's disclosure of Latin America as an "economic shocking therapy" laboratory beginning with Chile's coup / Allende's killing back in '73. Then, I found particularly fascinating Klein's explanation on the consequences (political and economic) of the Berlin's wall fall back in '89 (trust me, it's nothing to do with what thought you knew). The upcoming described world, is to say the least, scary as hell. A kind of "Big Brother" world divided by walls, monitored by state of the art devices, and most of all, composed of very rich and very poor people... being only the first the ones who can pay for efficient healthcare, security, decent food, etc. You cannot miss this book.