Now Is the Time to Resist Wall Street's Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein

[Joanne98]

I wrote The Shock Doctrine in the hopes that it would make us all better prepared for the next big shock. Well, that shock has certainly arrived, along with gloves-off attempts to use it to push through radical pro-corporate policies (which of course will further enrich the very players who created the market crisis in the first place...).

The best summary of how the right plans to use the economic crisis to push through their policy wish list comes from Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich. On Sunday, Gingrich laid out 18 policy prescriptions for Congress to take in order to "return to a Reagan-Thatcher policy of economic growth through fundamental reforms." In the midst of this economic crisis, he is actually demanding the repeal of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which would lead to further deregulation of the financial industry. Gingrich is also calling for reforming the education system to allow "competition" (a.k.a. vouchers), strengthening border enforcement, cutting corporate taxes and his signature move: allowing offshore drilling.

It would be a grave mistake to underestimate the right's ability to use this crisis -- created by deregulation and privatization -- to demand more of the same. Don't forget that Newt Gingrich's 527 organization, American Solutions for Winning the Future, is still riding the wave of success from its offshore drilling campaign, "Drill Here, Drill Now!" Just four months ago, offshore drilling was not even on the political radar and now the U.S. House of Representatives has passed supportive legislation. Gingrich is holding an event this Saturday, September 27 that will be broadcast on satellite television to shore up public support for these controversial policies.

What Gingrich's wish list tells us is that the dumping of private debt into the public coffers is only stage one of the current shock. The second comes when the debt crisis currently being created by this bailout becomes the excuse to privatize social security, lower corporate taxes and cut spending on the poor. A President McCain would embrace these policies willingly. A President Obama would come under huge pressure from the think tanks and the corporate media to abandon his campaign promises and embrace austerity and "free-market stimulus."

We have seen this many times before, in this country and around the world. But here's the thing: these opportunistic tactics can only work if we let them. They work when we respond to crisis by regressing, wanting to believe in "strong leaders" -- even if they are the same strong leaders who used the September 11 attacks to push through the Patriot Act and launch the illegal war in Iraq.

So let's be absolutely clear: there are no saviors who are going to look out for us in this crisis. Certainly not Henry Paulson, former CEO of Goldman Sachs, one of the companies that will benefit most from his proposed bailout (which is actually a stick up). The only hope of preventing another dose of shock politics is loud, organized grassroots pressure on all political parties: they have to know right now that after seven years of Bush, Americans are becoming shock resistant.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/09/23-1

[TacticalPeek]

1. Incarcerate Newt in an orphanage.

And give the kids tasers.

[Joanne98]

2. Oooh! Sounds like fun!

[BrklynLiberal]

3. K&R

[gateley]

4. Kick! nt

[biggerfishsmallpond]

5. Republicans: The Party that wrecked America

on purpose

I need to amend my dig line

remember Argentina

[pberq]

6. This is very important - to say the least

Naomi has issued a warning we all should take seriously.

[Spiffarino]

7. Thanks to the Wall St. mess, I bought "Shock Doctrine"

The thought of Bush using crises to push shitty laws on us had occurred to me, but I'd never seen it laid out with such clarity as I did when I heard Naomi Klein talk about the book. Now I can't wait to read it. I hope it's not too late...it may end up being a redundant lesson with all that's going on.

[ProfessorPlum]

19. I hope you have taken an anger management class before reading it

the most amazing thing about the Shock Doctrine is not reading what has been done to this country already, though that is frightening and angering enough.

The truly eye-opening parts of the book detail what has been done with the blessings of this country and its "free market disciples" to a huge number of others in other countries. Poland, South Africa, Russia, Iraq, Indonesia, etc. have all been screwed by the IMF and the "Chicago Boys". Not to mention the truly horrible, heinous things that have been done for decades all over South America. It's all recent history, it's all true, it's all horrible, and it's all the fault of the people still in power in this country. And now they have their sights set on us, because we are stupid, fat, lazy, uninformed, and rich. They will pluck the feathers right off of this country, and we are about to let them. Unless people get serious about protecting each other.

[kenfrequed]

25. Yes

I sadly only read the book about three weeks ago and it completely alters the way you look at the landscape. I had always known the Friedman crowd was responsible for Chile but South Africa? China? Russia?

It is wild. And the ideology continues no matter how many times it is proven wrong. Like a religion. Marketism or Friedmanism or maybe Friedmananity...

[Spiffarino]

30. I've read "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man"

I expect I'll be ready to hear Naomi's take on EHMs and the "work" they've done in our name.

What EHMs and their corporo-government masters have done since deposing Mossadeq in 1953 has been nothing short of a national disgrace. They have actively worked against democracy worldwide while claiming themselves as its champions. Disgusting.

[BelgianMadCow]

20. That will be well worth your time, no matter what. It changed my

view on the better part of recent history dramatically.

:hi:

[Vanje]

22. Me too.

I expect it in todays mail

[glitch]

8. K & R nt

[gulfcoastliberal]

9. K&R... nt

[Virginian]

10. How about a heavier tax on excessive Capitol gains or

unearned income. Anything over $100,000 in Capitol gains taxed at 60% just to get back some of the bail out money.

[w4k3upn0w]

11. Maybe but

We might have become shock resistant but I think we are still too dumb, numb and divided to do anything about it. We have been taking it up the tail for a very long time and we just go right on sleeping through the entire pounding which now requires no grease or lube. I don't know what it is going to take in order for people to wake up but when they do, it will be far too late. :(

[lonestarnot]

12. so, when the Oct 1 return of combat troops are prepared to confront Americans,

I hope we are all shock resistant.

[OakCliffDem]

13. K & R

[judasdisney]

14. When will Obama or any Democratic office holder utter the phrase "Shock Doctrine"?

[Locrian]

15. bail - out = shock doctrine in action

Naomi is right on target with the shock doctrine. Amazing book.

She explains a lot of what is going to happen if those in power get their way. The worst would be yet to come.


One thing to remember. They will try to make their "solution" seem very reasonable. All the talk about the bail out being inevitable, that we will collapse if we dont do it is PURE shock doctrine.

Another thing - the Repubs will blame the "greedy home owner" for buying too much. OK. So lets put this to rest.

1) First of all, when money is made available, it will be used. Thats how ANY economic system works. The big guys KNOW that so why is that even a surprise? Make no mistake: the billions of dollars available for those lending is what drove the behavior.
2) Second. Ok assume that it IS the greedy homeowner just for the sake of argument. The free market boys say the "market is supposed to regulate for the best of society". So in effect if their models are correct (they are not) then this SHOULDNT MATTER. But of course it does.

The take away here is the PROOF that deregulation and "un-frettered markets" do NOT WORK. That means you HAVE to regulate to prevent this type of problem. And why are we not hearing about more regulation? Yeah, there is some blather, but why not a demand?

The answer is because they have an almost religious belief in the teachings of Milton Friedman (read Naomis book). That the market is the only thing that matters. That is should be TOTALLY unregulated. They are not saying it, but Im sure there are many in deep power that want MORE DE-regulation. That is the central idea of the "shock" in that it needs to be allowed to wipe the slate clean with the power of the makets to regulate for the good of all (kinda like scrubbing bubbles?)

Where we need to go next is the debunking of the CORE tennents of Milton Friedmans economic theories. AND even the commonly held basis of accepted economic theory because they are MATHEMATICALLY PROVEN WRONG (not to mention real world).

The foundation for almost all of this is the belief that unregulated markets determine the best social conditions. This is a fervently held religious belief by most economists (both R and D which are both actually pretty "center" of thought).

There is interesting parallels in the medical, religious, etc fields about why people get "stuck" on certain ideas and stick with them, but suffice to say that a lot of good people REALLY think that they are doing the right thing (which of course makes them famously rich, but that is part of the reinforcing behavior).

But the dirty little secret is that it (free unregulated market) is fundamentally / mathematically ***wrong***. Even the most basic assumptions of the supply and demand curves are ***wrong***. If you took macro/micro economics in college you were basically taught that the sun went around the earth.

This **matters** because it forms the whole house of cards that ultimately says that the market is the best way to create social equality etc. Wrong.


Boring stuff next - but I find it fascinating. It's these tiny little premises, foundations that are used in EVERYTHING from trade, social programs, interest rate stuff, etc. And its wrong.... When you look at the level of math that was used to "prove" this stuff it is astoundingly bunk. It's basically graphical methods, superposition, etc. No dynamics, no higher order diff eq, not chaos, etc.

When any "higher" analysis is performed, it still uses the underlying flawed foundations.


http://www.debunking-economics.com/index.htm#Book%20structure
http://www.debunking-economics.com/extracts.htm#2

[bbgrunt]

24. good points, Locrian.

[pleah]

16. K&MR

:kick:

[Time for change]

17. I believe that anything Naomi Klein writes is a must read

Congressional Democrats (and Republicans) ought to be listening to her far more than to any Bush appointee.

[myrna minx]

18. K&MR n/t

[RedLetterRev]

21. K&MR

When I began speaking aloud about this coming atrocity 30 years ago, I was dismissed as "leftyloony".

Who's crazy now.

Fortunately, I have a great deal of company these days; at least half of America sees this attempt at absolute control exactly for what it is.

The other half are already happily controlled and therein lies the problem.

Even if we wrest control of the economy and restore constitutional government back from the brink eventually, we still have a dire problem in hate-radio and corporate "entertainment" news. That problem comes in two parts, with a somnolent population used to having red-koolade talking points and cult-religion handed to them so they don't have to think on their own. (We just don't have the megaphone -- and he who has the megaphone, rules.)

I'm still internally divided as to whether they "can't" or "just won't" think for themselves. "Just won't" may be salvageable -- if we can get hold of the megaphone. "Can't" represents a caretaker situation for which there is no good, clearly-ethical solution.

[biggerfishsmallpond]

23. kicked for shock value

n/t

[nolabels]

26. Heck i was sure it was time to resist Wall Street thirty years ago

Nice to see others are finally starting to get it :banghead:

[paparush]

27. RESIST!! RESIST!! RESIST!!!

[Towlie]

28. Naomi Klein will appear on The Rachel Maddow Show tonight, September 24.

http://www.naomiklein.org/main

[Towlie]

29. Or not...

Naomi Klein's website has changed since I posted the message above, and right now Rachel is featuring a talking monkey.

Oh well...

[earth mom]

31. K & R! nt