Naomi Klein & others are correct-we are in the midst of "disaster capitalism"

[bobthedrummer]

Poll question: Naomi Klein & others are correct-we are in the midst of "disaster capitalism"

Yes or No DU, or are you still in shock???

[rurallib]

1. That was my first thought when i read about Lehman, Merril & AGI

last night. The vultures are circling. poor and middle class will be wiped out and some rich bastards will steal what was once peoples dreams for a dime. Then they will be able to make billions on it.
Bain Capital comes to mind. Mittens (:puke: :puke: :puke: )

[zazen]

2. and shock doctrine to be applied w/r/t Ike?

[bobthedrummer]

3. It's a continual process imo...

[AllieB]

4. Yup, and they're hiding the true devastation from us.

Just like a banana republic.

[alcibiades_mystery]

5. The collapse of Merrill and Lehman are NOT what Klein means by Disaster Capitalism

The thesis of the book is not that unfettered capitalism is a disaster. It is much more coherent than that. The thesis is that neoliberalism's obsession with the market requires a complete severing of traditional understandings of the State's role with respect to the market. Students of liberalism (taken in the broad context) understand that conflict between economy and political entities (states) is at the heart of capitalist (modern) society. The neoliberals completely subordinate the state to the market. The problem is that the state pre-exists such subordination. For this reason, the traditional operations of the state must be completely "wiped clean" in order for the subordination to take hold. That's the thesis of The Shock Doctrine. It's also why Klein can impute an analogy between "electroshock Therapy" (i.e., torture) and neoliberal economic thought. In the same way that electroshock therapy is designed to "wipe clean" the psychological mechanisms of the individual (and particularly the "wayward" superego, or regulatory social function), the various "crises" seized upon by the Friedmanites are meant to "wipe clean" the social mechanisms of government (which is to say, the regulatory social functions that check capitalist excesses). Disaster capitalism, then, is grasping the opportunities for a complete reshaping of the entrenched social apparatuses in the form of the market. You produce and respond to social crises in order to assure the subordination of the state to the market.

What we are seeing in Lehman and Merrill are the disastrous effects of neoliberalism, not the "crisis" response that Klein sees as its basic strategy. Indeed, this particular crisis would seem to suggest a strengthening of government at the expense of the market - precisely the opposite of what Klein is talking about. At the same time, the now shameless neoliberals could certainly seize on this crisis to further weaken regulation and political protections. We shall see.

[bobthedrummer]

6. You speak only for yourself a_m-here's a link to Naomi's website

so that there is no "confusion"

Naomi Klein.org
http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine

[alcibiades_mystery]

7. Since the link doesn't dispute my assertions

I guess I'll have to pass on comment.