The Shock Doctrine

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The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
Front cover of The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.
Author Naomi Klein
Country Canada
Language English
Subject(s) Economics
Genre(s) Non-fiction
Publisher Knopf Canada (first edition)
Publication date 4 September 2007
Media type Print (hardcover)
Pages 672 (first edition)
ISBN 978-0-676-97800-1 (hardcover)

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism is a 2007 book by Canadian journalist Naomi Klein.

The Shock Doctrine is also a related short film directed by Alfonso and Jonás Cuarón,[1] available on YouTube.[1]

The book and film argue that the free market policies of Milton Friedman and the Chicago School of Economics have risen to prominence in countries such as Chile under Pinochet, Russia under Yeltsin, the United States (for example in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina), and the privatization of Iraq's economy under the Coalition Provisional Authority not because they were democratically popular, but because they were pushed through while the citizens of these countries were in shock from disasters or upheavals.

Contents

[edit] Reviews

Economist Joseph Stiglitz praised it in the New York Times, adding, "[T]he case against these policies is even stronger than the one Klein makes."[2] Paul B. Farrell from the Dow Jones Business News called it "one of the best economic book[s] of the 21st century".[3] John Gray wrote in The Guardian, "There are very few books that really help us understand the present. The Shock Doctrine is one of those books."[4] William S. Kowinski of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "Klein may well have revealed the master narrative of our time,"[5] and it has been named one of the best books of 2007 by the New York Times,[6] the Village Voice,[7] Publishers Weekly,[8] The Observer,[9] and the Seattle Times.[10]

The book has received mixed reviews from Shashi Tharoor in the Washington Post.[11] Tom Redburn in the New York Times said she is "blind to is the necessary role of entrepreneurial capitalism in overcoming the inherent tendency of any established social system to lapse into stagnation".[12]

Critics of the book include economist Tyler Cowen, who called Klein's rhetoric "ridiculous" and the book a "true economics disaster."[13] In the London Review of Books, Stephen Holmes criticized its perceived naiveté and for conflating "'free market orthodoxy' with predatory corporate behavior."[14] John Willman of Financial Times describes it as "a deeply flawed work that blends together disparate phenomena to create a beguiling – but ultimately dishonest – argument."[15] Robert Cole from The Times said it is "too easy to dismiss [Shock Doctrine] as a leftist rant".[16] Johan Norberg has contested much of the book in a 20 page briefing paper,[17] and the section on Russia has been challenged by Anders Åslund[18] and Fred Kaplan.[19]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ The Shock Doctrine at the Internet Movie Database
  2. ^ Stiglitz, Joseph. "Bleakonomics", New York Times, 2007-09-30. 
  3. ^ Farrell, Paul. "War, Terror, Catastrophe: Profiting From 'Disaster Capitalism'", Dow Jones Business News, 2007-10-16. 
  4. ^ Gray, John. "The End of the World as We Know It", The Guardian, 2007-09-15. 
  5. ^ Klein alleges U.S. used 'Shock' tactics to privatize public sector
  6. ^ Critics' Picks - Art and Architecture Books - 2007 - New York Times
  7. ^ village voice > books > The Best of 2007
  8. ^ PW's Best Books of the Year - 11/5/2007 - Publishers Weekly
  9. ^ That's the best thing we've read all year | Review | guardian.co.uk Books
  10. ^ Books | Seattle Times book reviewers pick 2007 favorites | Seattle Times Newspaper
  11. ^ Doing Well by Doing Ill - washingtonpost.com
  12. ^ It’s All a Grand Capitalist Conspiracy - Tom Redburn, New York Times, September 29, 2007
  13. ^ Cowen, Tyler. "Shock Jock", 2007-10-03. 
  14. ^ Holmes, Stephen. "Free Marketeering", 2008-05-08. 
  15. ^ The profits of doom - John Willman, Financial Times, October 20 2007
  16. ^ [ http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/non-fiction/article2645272.ece The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein] - Robert Cole, The Times, October 12, 2007.
  17. ^ The Klein Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Polemics
  18. ^ "Free-Market Mischief in Hot Spots of Disaster", New York Times, 2007-09-10. Retrieved on 2007-11-27. 
  19. ^ Kaplan, Fred. "Blame Yeltsin", Slate, 2007-10-02. 

[edit] External links

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