artspolitics

I’ve loved Naomi Klein ever since I read that Thom Yorke, the brilliant lead singer of Radiohead, read her book, No Logo. There’s nothing like a rock star’s book recommendation to make me a fan of an author. I read this one partially because I just wanted to and partially beacuse Ed O’Brien , the guitarist of Radiohead read it , too. Radiohead should have a book club like Oprah, but I digress. Like her previous book, Shock Doctrine details the crushing oppression of capitalist greed- but also the growing resistance to that greed.

The shock doctrine refers to corporations profiting from disasters- coups in Latin America, tsunamis in Sri Lanka, and hurricanes in New Orleans.  These companies and economists like the late Milton Friedman and his disciples felt that by privatizing water or moving poor people out of neighborhoods for yuppies and tourists, the area’s economy and citizens will be better off in the long run. But of course, that’s not the case as people in the Ninth Ward still living in FEMA trailers can tell you. Profiting from disasters only benefits the rich and poor people are left behind is the overwhelming theme of this book.

The only hope to end this rampant greed is to protest and speak up, Klein wrote. When people protested the Iraq War racket, they voted pro-war Republicans out in 2006. Latin American countries elected leftist presdients that increase public free services and the shock doctrine can backfire and wear off. I hope that more people read this book and wake up to the reality that disasters should bring out the unity of people helping each other, not the shameless companies pitting rich against poor.

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