The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

America is in the midst of a current shock. And now, in my perspective, is absolutely the time for growing numbers of Americans to read Naomi Klein's extraordinary book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.

In THE SHOCK DOCTRINE, Naomi Klein explodes the myth that the global free market triumphed democratically. Exposing the thinking, the money trail and the puppet strings behind the world-changing crises and wars of the last four decades, The Shock Doctrine is the gripping story of how America’s “free market” policies have come to dominate the world-- through the exploitation of disaster-shocked people and countries.

Based on breakthrough historical research and four years of on-the-ground reporting in disaster zones, The Shock Doctrine vividly shows how disaster capitalism – the rapid-fire corporate reengineering of societies still reeling from shock – did not begin with September 11, 2001. The book traces its origins back fifty years, to the University of Chicago under Milton Friedman, which produced many of the leading neo-conservative and neo-liberal thinkers whose influence is still profound in Washington today. New, surprising connections are drawn between economic policy, “shock and awe” warfare and covert CIA-funded experiments in electroshock and sensory deprivation in the 1950s, research that helped write the torture manuals used today in Guantanamo Bay.

This book is an International Bestseller:
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism is a #1 international bestseller, appearing on the New York Times bestseller list, as well as bestseller lists in the United Kingdom (debuting at #1 on the Sunday Times Business list), Ireland, France (debuting at #1 on non-fiction l’Express list), Canada (debuting at #1 on Globe and Mail non-fiction list), Denmark and the United States, as well as appearing on bestseller lists in Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden simultaneously on hardcover publication.

Interviews and Debates:
- Naomi Klein discusses the role of unregulated capitalism in the credit crisis on BBC NewsnightSeptember 17, 2008 Watch the program.
- Naomi Discusses the Financial Crisis and Treasury Secretary Paulson's Bailout PlanSeptember 24, 2008 Listen - Naomi explains on Seattle's Weekday radio program how the housing and financial crises are examples of the shock doctrine. September 17, 2008 Listen to the program
- Naomi Discusses Fuel, Food, Housing and Banking CrisesJuly 15, 2008 Listen or watch

For more, please go here: http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine

Peace,

Molly

"President Eisenhower warned us about the military-industrial complex, but even he would be horrified by the Faustian bargain we see in today's neoliberal model of globalization. Not to be confused with the political liberalism of John Stuart Mill, neoliberalism is characterized by investigative reporter Naomi Klein as a "holy trinity" -- privatization, deregulation and cuts to social spending -- in which governments dismantle trade barriers, abandon public ownership, reduce taxes, eliminate the minimum wage, cut health and welfare spending, and privatize education. She calls the means of achieving this goal "disaster capitalism" and describes how it has resulted in a worldwide redistribution of income and wealth to the already rich at the expense of economic solvency for the middle and lower classes." ~ Ms. Magazine Review: The Shock Doctrine
Ronnie Steinberg, Ms Magazine, Fall 2007