Austin G. Mackell
12 April 2011
The Shock Doctrine, by Naomi Klein, is the ducks fucking nuts. The most fitting endorsement I have heard of it comes from MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow; “The only book of the last few years in American publishing that I would describe as a mandatory must-read. Literally the only one.”
The Shock Doctrine synthesises an incredible amount of information into a single piercing argument against the myth that free markets and democracy march hand in hand around the globe throwing cheeseburgers, happiness and women’s rights at anyone not too backward to know what’s good for them. The picture that emerges from her work rather, is one of a rising corporatism, exploiting and sometimes creating disasters, violence, crises and transitions – times when nations are disoriented and vulnerable – to engineer massive movements of wealth away from the people and into the pockets of global and local elites. These shocks are often not enough, however, to completely erase resistance and so further shocks; torture chambers, murders, disappearances, become necessary.
Click here to continue reading “Reading the Shock Doctrine in Cairo” by Austin G. Mackell.