A World Occupied by Profit: An Interview with Naomi Klein

[rodeodance]

http://www.indypendent.org/2007/09/17/a-world-occupied-by-profit-an-interview-with-naomi-klein/


A World Occupied by Profit: An Interview with Naomi Klein

> By Jeremy Scahill
> From the September 17, 2007 issue | Posted in International | Email this article
>
> By Jeremy Scahill
>
> “If you want to impose a very radical form of free-market economics, the best time to do it … is in a situation where the target population is reeling from some kind of massive shock.”
>
> Naomi Klein’s role as one of the greatest unembedded journalists and leading activists of our time was established in 1999 with the publication of her anti-corporate globalization manifesto No Logo. Her latest book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, is a defining history of some of the worst crimes of our era. In this 576-page investigative masterpiece, Klein traces the doctrine of economic and military violence back more than half a century in which the desire for profit and power have propelled evil geniuses to use the world’s poor as their lab rats, from Latin America to Africa, the Arab world and the former Soviet Union. She recently spoke to The Indypendent’s Jeremy Scahill.
>
> Jeremy Scahill: You write that when you began researching the intersection between
> superprofits and mega-disasters, you were witnessing a fundamental change in the drive to liberate markets all over the world. You say, “What was happening in Iraq and New Orleans was not a new post-September 11th invention, rather these bold experiments in crisis exploitation were the culmination of three decades of strict adherence to the Shock Doctrine. Seen through the lens of this doctrine, the past 35 years look very different.” Explain the Shock Doctrine.
>
> Naomi Klein: The Shock Doctrine is a philosophy that is held and understood by some very powerful people around the world, including the key figures in the Bush administration. But, it’s been in existence for a long time. It’s the idea that if you want to impose a very radical form of free-market economics, the best time to do it, in fact the only time you can push through the whole package, is in a situation where the target population is reeling from some kind of massive shock.
>
> That shock could be a terrorist attack, like September 11; it could be a military coup; it could be an invasion like the “Shock and Awe” invasion of Iraq; it could also be a natural disaster; it could be a severe economic meltdown, like the one that hit Argentina in 2001. The type of crisis that turns a country or a city inside out, that makes it completely lose its moorings, where the rules start changing very, very rapidly. If we look at all the key laboratories for this radical form of capitalism, what you see is that a body blow to a country is immediately exploited by this rapid-fire change when people can’t react.

[Jim__]

1. Naomi Klein has an article, Disaster Captalism, in the October '07 issue of Harpers

The article is an essay adapted from her book. If I understand what she is saying, disasters are used to allow corporations to take over goivernment functions. Once they've takenover the function during a disaster, they hold onto it. ZShe talks about privatizing roads, police and fire departments. Eventually, only the rich will receive any government benefits. It's a scary prospect.

[marmar]

2. I first took notice of Naomi Klein in the film "The Corporation".....

... and immediately bought "No Logo," one of the most important books of this decade. I'll pick up "The Shock Doctrine" today.