The Shock Doctrine http://www.fishpond.com.au/Books/Shock-Doctrine-Naomi-Klein/9780312427993?outprint=1&isbn=0312427999

The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

By Naomi Klein

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The neo-liberal economic policies-privatization, free trade, slashed social spending-that the "Chicago School" and the economist Milton Friedman have foisted on the world are catastrophic in two senses, argues this vigorous polemic. Because their results are disastrous-depressions, mass poverty, private corporations looting public wealth, by the author's accounting-their means must be cataclysmic, dependent on political upheavals and natural disasters as coercive pretexts for free-market "reforms" the public would normally reject. Journalist Klein (No Logo) chronicles decades of such disasters, including the Chicago School makeovers launched by South American coups; the corrupt sale of Russia's state economy to oligarchs following the collapse of the Soviet Union; the privatization of New Orleans's public schools after Katrina; and the seizure of wrecked fishing villages by resort developers after the Asian tsunami. Klein's economic and political analyses are not always meticulous. Likening free-market "shock therapies" to electroshock torture, she conflates every misdeed of right-wing dictatorships with their economic programs and paints a too simplistic picture of the Iraq conflict as a struggle over American-imposed neo-liberalism. Still, much of her critique hits home, as she demonstrates how free-market ideologues welcome, and provoke, the collapse of other people's economies. The result is a powerful populist indictment of economic orthodoxy. (Sept.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Klein argues that from Russia to Iraq to post-Katrina New Orleans, people reeling from tragedy have been further assaulted by free-market "shock-treatment" aimed at helping big corporations only. With a national tour. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

"Impassioned, hugely informative, wonderfully controversial, and scary as hell."--John le Carre

"Bold and brilliantly conceived . . . Klein may well have revealed the master narrative of our time."--William S. Kowinski, "San Francisco Chronicle

""This is a brilliant book, one of the most important I have read in a long time."--Howard Zinn

"Klein provides a rich description of the political machinations required to force unsavory economic policies on resisting countries and of the human toll. She paints a disturbing portrait of hubris, not only on the part of Friedman but also of those who adopted his doctrines, sometimes to pursue more corporatist objectives."--Joseph E. Stiglitz, "The New York Times Book Review

""A brilliant, brave, and""terrifying book. It's nothing less than the secret history of what we call the 'free market.' It should be compulsory reading."--Arundhati Roy

"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, "The Huffington Post

""Naomi Klein is one of the most important new voices in American journalism today."--Seymour M. Hersh

""The Shock Doctrine" is the defining, covert history of our era."--Jeremy Scahill, author of "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army"