Naomi Kiline's Shock Doctrine, The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

I thought Stu Harrison’s review of Naomi Kline’s new book, The Shock Doctrine, The Rise Of Disaster Capitalism From: Cultural Dissent, Green Left Weekly issue #739 13 February 2008. was great, but I think it was far too brief for such a major work and I disagree with him when he wrote, “A must for all economics students and those that are yet to grasp the devastating nature of capitalism.”

Kline’s Shock Doctrine illustrates to me what Karl Marx said — that the highest form of economics is politics. Kline has written an enormous political work that is a must for any socialist, unionist, environmentalist, human rights activist, solidarity activist, and anyone who gives a thought about any concept of justice and humanity’s survival on this planet.

It is in the league of other major political works such as John Pilger’s New Rulers of The World and A Secret Country, Noam Chomsky’s Necessary Illusions and Hegemony or Survival: America’s quest for global dominance and Tariq Ali’s Clash of Fundamentalisms, Bush in Babylon and Pirates of the Caribbean — Axis of Hope.

Kline spent three years researching and writing this book and has 400 footnotes to back up everything she writes, exposing the ruthless and inhumane nature of Milton Friedman’s Chicago school of economic policies that is the ruthless capitalist mantra of privatise, deregulate, cut government services and destroy unions.

I would also encourage people to go on the Facebook group, Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein — ready to discuss it, where I’ve posted Harrison’s review and http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine. I look forward to seeing the film Shock Doctrine, by Alfonso Cuaron and Naomi Klein, directed by Jonas Cuaron.

John Tognolini Katoomba, NSW