The Shock Doctrine  (English, Paperback, Klein Naomi)

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism is a book on the history of neoliberal economics by Naomi Klein.

Summary of the Book

Shock therapy has relied on the covert experiments conducted by Ewen Cameron in collaboration with the Central Intelligence Agency. In this book, Naomi Klein compares the transformation of South African economies to the shock therapy methods. The shock doctrine, as she calls it, is responsible for the swift transformation of the economies in a manner akin to shock therapy, aimed to change the situation using extreme violence. However, she reveals that the shock doctrine of change can be implemented using other, more non-violent means. She cites the example of Margaret Thatcher’s free market reform in Bolivia using a combination of pre-existing economic crises and Jeffrey Sachs’ charisma. She discusses various methods of a pacifist-style shock doctrine, explaining that shock needn’t be physical if change is the required outcome. Psychiatric shock and awe is an extraordinary replacement for the violent methods that have been favoured at large in today’s environment. She speaks against the organizations that assert the importance of a violent shock doctrine in her opinion. This book is an important resource to understand the dominance of free-markets around the world.

About Naomi Klein

Naomi Klein is a Canadian writer and social activist. She is recognized for her political analyses and criticism of corporate globalization. She is also known for No Logo.

Klein is a regular contributor to The Nation, In These Times, The Globe and Mail, This Magazine, Harper's Magazine, and The Guardian.