The Shock Doctrine

In 2007, Canadian social activist, Naomi Klein published a very important book titled, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. In a nutshell, Klein writes about the destructive brand of predatory capitalism that has taken over the United States, and has been exported to many other countries around the world.  Klein brilliantly sites example after example of this kind of greedy exploitation disgused thinly as capitalism.

A particularly vile bit of shock doctrine is now at work in the state of Michigan, where a republican controlled government has put a law in place that allows the governor to displace the properly elected government of a local community with an appointed overseer, who has free reign to do pretty much whatever he wants. This happened in the city of Benton Harbor, where the elected mayor and city council were thrown out by the governor's non-elected henchman.  The city of Benton Harbor had one very valuable asset; a public park set on the shore of Lake Michigan.  Shortly after the governor's man took over, he sold that priceless parkland to a developer, who is turning it into a gated golf comunity for rich folks.

Here is a link to a story on the plight of Benton Harbor

http://michiganmessenger.com/48333/benton-harbor-takeover-sparks-furious-reaction


The Benton Harbor story is not in Naomi Klein's book, but it is certainly an egregious example of what she does write about.  The Shock Doctrine is the dynamic behind the unprecidented divide between the 99ers and the 1% that has gained control of public policy in  America. The Shock Doctrine is a wake-up call for all of us, who want to live in a country that puts the welfare of its people ahead of narrow self-interest.

Here is a link to a short video made by Naomi Klein that presents the shock doctrine concept.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSF0e6oO_tw

Naomi Klein is one of the world's most important voices. Here is a link to her webpage...

http://www.naomiklein.org/main