In The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein offers a deep exploration of the effects of the neoliberal agenda and metastasized global capitalism. Drawing on years of experience as a journalist and foreign correspondent, and incorporating years of research, The Shock Doctrine is a devastating indictment of globalized capitalism.
The best thing about this book is its breadth. Klein manages to give a summary of the neoliberal agenda from its opening acts in South America up to its mature tours de force in the Middle East. While this is a monumental undertaking, Klein manages to investigate each of her chosen episodes with sufficient depth that it feels like a solid primer on the subject. The book is particularly attractive as an overview of neoliberal policies that offers a foundation for further research, either into the broader neoliberal cause, or into a specific episode such as the fall of the Soviet Union, the debacle surrounding Hurricane Katrina, or the US's intervention in Latin America.
Klein's book is a great example of what journalism could be. Klein isn't just reporting what occurred in each instance matter of factly. She clearly has an agenda, to catalogue and document the abuses of global capital. It's refreshing from a journalist, as so many news sources enforce “objectivity” on their journalists. It results in journalists reporting on what should be considered outright abuses as if they were simply contentious issues, or even worse, feel-good stories about the ability of humans to overcome any sort of obstacle. Such was the reporting surrounding much of the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Klein's reporting draws on several good sources, some of which I've read and some I haven't. One that I was glad to see was Joseph Stiglitz's Globalization and Its Discontents, which I've only recently learned draws its title from an earlier work by Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents, which I've now added to my reading list. GAID is an interesting book in that Stiglitz, as the former President of the World Bank, had unprecedented access to the inner workings of the global aid machinery, and subsequently used this access to write what was essentially a whistle-blowing hit piece. Pretty amazing. He's still quite liberal (although he might go so far as to call himself a democratic socialist), but he's one of the few high-level academic economists (and one of the very few global aid apparatchiks) who openly question the existing global aid infrastructure.
Overall, I think Klein's book is a pretty good jumping-off point for anyone interested in a preliminary overview of the faults of neoliberalism and global capitalism. It's a great Christmas present for a person you know who enjoys reading and is open to exploring the dark side of American economic hegemony.
Klein mentioned or cited quite a few interesting books through The Shock Doctrine. Some of the ones I'm interested in reading were , Confessions of an Economic Hitman, The Pinochet File, Capitalism and Freedom, Enough Is Enough: Dear Mr. Camdessus… Open Letter of Resignation to the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, A Dying Colonialism, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century, and The State and Revolution in Iran, 1962-1982.
I'm glad to ring in the new year with this book. It was accidental, in that I'm behind (by several weeks) in my reviews and this is the review I was closest to being finished with. As it is I feel like I haven't given the book a real thorough write up, but I also have the feeling that it's one that I'll want to read again at some point. Plus, who am I kidding, these reviews are really just for me. :)