Required Reading I have known, for a long time that we were not the guys in the white hats, but this book is a true eye opener.It is as horrifying as it informative. It should be required reading for all high school students in order that they not be lulled into the compacency of their parents generation.
Is the end of Shock & Awe coming? This is a well souced book about American style capitalism and how destructive to the world it has been, a horrific failure of tremendous scope--that is if the intention was to lift the people of the world up to a better quality of life. Klein lays the blame on Milton Friedman, a U. of Chicago economist. The author deliniates the strategy and the tactics through real world example after real world example. The question becomes: How was this possible? How can a few men, with very bad ideas, dominate the world to the accumulation of their personal wealth, at the expense of the great majority of people, under the guise of democracy? Answer: Through fear, lies, torture, state and intimate terrorism and; dare I say, greed, antisocial, and narcissistic behaviors. This happened not once--but time and time again, right on up through the disaster that is Iraq and the rebuilding of New Orleans. What is truly troubling is that this happened with the world watching and was, in fact, the policy of America. There are believers. And, if you are one of the beneficiaries of this policy then you probably don't care. Do you care now?
A thoroughly discredited heap of distortions Klein caters to her socialist audience with this work of astonishingly blatant distortions and falsehoods, knowing that it will sell to the true believers and that she'll get away with it. But don't look here for real scholarship. Her straw-man case against Friedman and free-markets it so blatantly distorted and fabricated that any gems of truth are lost in the mire.
Read the other one-star reviews for some details, and for a more thorough analysis read Johan Norberg's review in the October 2008 issue of Reason magazine, which shows how thoroughly Klein actually gets Friedman's position, and many facts about economics, exactly backward across the board. To accomplish that requires more than error, it indicates a deliberate attempt to deceive.
Naomi Klein-Shock Doctrine In regard to my purchase of "Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein, the seller was very prompt with the shipping and the condition of the book was excellent as advertised. I had no problems with payment via the Amazon website:is very easy to navigate. I am a return shopper at Amazon and do not see that changing in the near future. The selection is great. I have not begun the book yet, but I am acquainted with it through talk radio review and a friend's review of it. I am also familiar with Naomi's work and have such respect for her moral and ethical stands. I am looking forward to getting the details of this book for myself.
Carl
Get this book now! Klein uncovers Freidmanite economic policy and shows it as it is: a cold, callous model in which the rich get richer and the hell with everyone else. By the time we have followed the trail of destruction that the Chicago School has left in its wake, we come to expect the horrifying, yet natural progression of its policy, which is that of disaster capitalism. This book is an amazing eye opener.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
