Naomi Klein - The Shock Doctrine - Part 6 of 6

[MebAbSebseb]

Naomi, I love you. I wish we had more common sense people like you

[Stormaz100]

Wow, the part about Canada and its debt ceiling created crisis in 1993 is totally deja vu in the US right now! We are in deep trouble in the US!

[hardingtess]

It wasn't free trade law that bankrupted our industrial base it was the morally bankrupted CEOs and stockholders of American corporations who jumped at the chance to allow products to be manufactured in countries where labor is cheap, there is no OSHA or EPA, there are no health benefits or pensions. Those jobs will return here once the rightwing has disembowled all of the regulations and destroyed the last unions and Americans are willing to work for next to nothing.

[tomitstube]

brilliant book. can't wait for the new one.

[eathis12]

Naomi you should go to "campaign for liberty tour" I would like to debate you since everyone here agrees with you. But judging by your lack of evidence and never debating others i can only assume you dont want to be proven wrong. First off what you describe is Corporatism or Crony-Capitalism. "shock therapy" was used by socialists hence the term "government intervetion shock therapy" you should know the definitions if you are going to use them. Provide a collectivist society that has worked?

[icygood101]

@eathis12 That's not even what she's talking about. When did she say "shock therapy"? Did you listen to the lecture videos? You are blindly assuming things; she's talking about the predatory deregulation, privatization, and diminishing of social programs and services proscribed by far-right capitalists.

[xmoroseguyx]

I watched all 6 parts, And I find myself often agreeing with her! My only real complaint is, Much of what she talks about is already well known, For example... Margret thatcher being saved by the falklands war, etc..

[icygood101]

@xmoroseguyx but it is good information, seeing the context and basis behind her explanation of these events.

[centurion180ad]

Naomi says, “It works for the same reason that picking someone’s pocket at a car accident works.” EXACTLY! Excellent!

[Wraith23]

@centurion180ad

What a simplistic nonsense

[centurion180ad]

@Wraith23 Tell that to 1 million dead Iraqis, however many tens of thousands of dead Afghanis, all the plundered oil & heroin, and all the no bid corporation contracts signed over a heap of dead bodies ours & theirs.

[siggurdsson]

The yak business is funny but also very sad as I kind of doubt the yak-herders were consulted first nor last.

[centurion180ad]

@siggurdsson The yak statement IS NOT FUNNY AT ALL, DAMN IT!

The mass murdering Debt Syndicate BANKERS, are slaughtering people and looting their national resources. Environmental taxes and regulations are used by the same gang of banker felons, to steal everyone’s property and throw everyone off their land.

[legionmann]

What happen with Latinamerica (i'm Mexican) is that we think that every outsider are "Conquistadores" and we are not stupid, so we fight if we see any treat to our way of living, the hell with the WB and IMF, as she said, we like our way of living, and latinamerican people can't be tamed

[rydanful]

Thank you, enjoyed listening.

[mintoo2cool]

stupid woman .. if people will abstain from pursuing their most selfish desire all the progress of humanity will stop ... think about it ... scientists are not ordered to find cure for diseases or discover new laws or invent new stuff ... artists are not ordered to create masterpieces ... all that comes from deep within us ... they do it only because of their "selfish" interest in the field ... they deserve credit for their work and they want credit for their work

[mintoo2cool]

"...its possible to do good with other peoples money" ... now what is wrong with that miss klein? i think it is 100% true. to do good with other peoples money you to first take money from them ... if they give it voluntarily its ok, but what if they dont want to give? here is where the government comes in and takes the money by force. is this really ethical? why should anyone give his hard earned money if he does not want to? this is the disadvantage with your social ideology.

[mintoo2cool]

@ 3:20 who are these bankers naomi? why are they not being prosecuted for fraud then? if you have the information why are you not bringing them to justice?

[vikramtheone]

To do good just do good :) Sweet and so simple :)

[mintoo2cool]

@vikramtheone what do you mean by that ? define "good".

[razerfish]

What a load of nonsense. She has no grasp of economics or the free market positions of Friedman and comes up with a 'doctrine' based of this? She's so stupid that she doesn't realize that Government is the entity that always welcomes crisis because they allow it to expand it's powers. And government. like any other organization, always welcomes the chance to grow.

[SV0003]

@bigboss686 you're hilarious, intending to disprove Klein with obvious propoganda from a think tank she exposes for being corrupt. talk about hidden agenda. provide a source with an ample amount of objectivity and maybe youll have a slight sence of validity

[bigboss686]

@Withnail1969 LOL you people always give me a good chuckle, why would you pledge undying devotion to such an obvious fraud?

cato(.)org/pubs/bp/bp102.pdf

Naomi Klein is nothing but a liar and a fraud and there's the evidence, honestly, you're insane devotion to this woman is downright silly, she is but a fraud a fake and a political hack trying to get away with revisionist history"

[sweetdreamerzz]

@bigboss686

Withnail,

I'll take your word for it?

No one in Chile disappeared either right.

[recabarrennahuel]

Beautiful talk.

Suerte!

[MrKaniyaw]

Thanks Naomi Klein for this brulliant and excellent explanation of the Fraud of capitalism and the methods which are used (shocks) to sell it to people.

[Wraith23]

@MrKaniyaw

Well she surely shocked you with her stupidity and ignorance and she sold you her book.

[reptilespantoso]

@MrKaniyaw NO IT IS NOT CAPITALISM: IT'S CORPORATISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!

With "socialising" the losses - putting these on the public balance sheet is proof. In a REAL capitalism, there would be equal opportunity for everyone, not banks being bailed out, and the public paying for it in "austerity".

You've just fallen into the "austerity trap"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[pdlavack]

easy on the fox news bro...

[befr33]

mmm, not very convincing, and full av logical flaws stemming from idealism

[phat1evo]

I beg to differ. see, having read and analysed her book, I understand the image she is trying to create. And in my opinion, this looking down on Idealism mentality is a results pessimistic minds that fail to understand true nature and flaw in the way that societies are built. Some one with no understand of construction will see a failed structure and say why it couldn't possibly work, but a building engineer will show you how you can rectify the errors and how it should be built!!!

[befr33]

Dont' get me wrong, I like Naomi Klein, she's ambitious, sharp, and often tells it like she sees it. But even the sun has its spots :). In this case she's completely both mis-quoting and mis-interpreting Milton Friedman, which taints her "intellectually superiority" stance. I also find it to be a mistake to lump neocons, neoliberals, and libertarians in group. It's like lumping socialsits, communists, and anarchists into one category. Socialism isn't all that great, I know, I'm born in Sweden.

[Grrraig]

@befr33 Problem is that Libertarian ideals have been co-opted by Neocons and Neoliberals alike. So we see the "Tea Party" movement in the US was quickly overtaken by Sarah Palin for Prez. At some point, we have to ask if gov't has a role in regulating anything at all, and if so--- why not start with labour laws and fair trade? Oh, I forgot, Free Trade bankrupted our manufacturing industry!

[befr33]

@Grrraig I know, it's a big problem. I appreciated the inception of the tea party, but now it's morphed into something unrecognizable. Re: Free Trade. Well, the problem with what Slick Wille Clinton introduced under the banner for free trade is that it isn't free - it's managed trade backed up with WMD. Just look at the pharmaceutical industry where the cost of medicine is out of control. It's only free to lobbying corporations and the name is misleading. True free trade would be nice

[Grrraig]

Problems

1: a country that is not self-sufficient will eventually be held hostage.

2. We need to start from the ground up. Our agriculture is not sustainable, pollutes, poisons the land and erodes topsoil.

3. Farmers can't sell healthy basic produce for a profit. Multinationals buy the cheapest GMO sh*t, scared out of the ground with toxic fertilizers, poisoned with pesticides and herbicides, and then they turn it into empty calories that create diabetes and obesity.

4. We eat the McBurgers

[befr33]

Yup, and that's the problem of a lot of countries. A least in California there's a Farmer's Market revolution. In my old neighborhood every Saturday is a party with local organic food selling vendors, local bands, etc. So the consiousness is there to an extent. People have started to grow food more than before, so that's good too.

[Nonamearisto]

Considering that communism is dead... I'd say the intellectual debate is pretty much won...

[PopeKurt]

You a fan of Francis Fukuyama? lol

The bastard child of ideology called communism may be dead, but communism isn't dead; only it's name is tarnished.

[St37One]

dont underestimate the KGB

[SonnyFromMiami]

Bruk5 I would instead recommend that instead you google the 14 characteristics that DEFINE fascism and I think that then you will at least begin to have a rudimentary ability to recognize fascism when you are knee deep in it! John Russell

[FRTothus]

Whereas in a capitalist society, such as the UK and the US, you have no right to the house.

[FRTothus]

You confuse what they are called with what they are. These capitalist fascist regimes take the name of socialism because it has such wide appeal on its own merits, but they are anything but concerned with social good. Capitalism is a crime. No one would die to protect the wealthy without being coerced. Capitalism's soldiers must be lied to and paid, but they are no match for those who have next to nothing but still willingly face death to defend egalitarian prinicples.

[johnrussellCD5]

Excellent! Watched all 6 segments. The ism that everybody is talking about is FASCISM! Big business and government in collusion with the predictable result of screwing the people.

The only problem w/ Naomi's thesis that shock wears off is that even once the shock does wear off we are still largely "represented" by corporate owned PUPPETS... in the congress and elsewhere. Campaign Finance Reform cures that but the "puppets" will never see to that as we all know!

[FRTothus]

Excellent comments, friend. I would add, tho', a bit of hope in there somewhere about how the shock wears off. Yes, it does, but isn't there left behind a residual raising of the public consciousness about the truth of what you say? ... that the people, being neither blind nor stupid (though often kept ignorant), grow, perhaps only slowly, less tolerant of war and better innoculated against the fear mongerers who've cried "wolf/terrorist" once too many times? Much Respect!

[johnthekeane]

Don't be silly. It's not about wether socialist or capitalist dictators are the worst. They are ALL bad!...and isn't that list of dickheads enough?

[johnthekeane]

She's brilliant...the real Lara Croft!

[Silvacine]

Sweden?

. . . I think you're missing the point. Yes, all the regimes you mentioned above are totalitarian regimes meaning of course that power is consolidated in the hands of a few. But, this is what N.K is speaking against.

Whether it's a totalitarian regime like North Korea or a hyper-capitalist entity like WalMart or Bank of America seeking complete control of the market, does it matter what "ism" you pin on it? In all these cases power and wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few.

[jenkah]

China is the first provider of US since 1990... Any clue for you?

[jenkah]

Communist or Free Market in self are not the trouble, the real trouble is the whole elite of people who moves the world for their self benefits. The Tian'anmen massacre was for changes not for free market as US said, there were not only students, were workers too demanding better conditions for inward economy and policy. This event was used by US to force market trades because they knowed the military power of China, in other words, US was an accomplice of this crime.

[jenkah]

Two Quotes about this:

Hitler: "It's good fortune for the government that the masses don't think. Otherwise, human society as we know it might cease to exist."

Hitler, Jan 1, 1939: "In general we have but one wish-- that in the coming years we may be able to make our contribution to this general pacification of the whole world."

Have you heard that recently? Do you know that CIA used nazi party members to infiltrate in LatinAmerica? Do you know the whole numbers about deads by US dictatorships?

[jenkah]

You are so wrong man... Socialism is not "sozialism"... NAZI Party was apossed to the communist in their time, it was one of their targets "eliminate the russian socialism" before US token as own. In other words, capitalism or free market is a economic form of fascism. People are scared now by civil wars, epidemic, poverty, and dictatorships since 1900, all promoted by US. Just take a look about the book than Chavez gifted to Obama... it is not the only one, but it is a good example

[jenkah]

Because she doens't have the same impact in her words. Your quote is like fishing in the supermarket.

[saxz99]

terrible ending

[fordeee2000]

Um they never kicked anybody when they were down. The welfare state system was in stagflation. It wasn't working and the free marketers like Naomi says, took their policies through the democratic process. That goes for far left socialists like Naomi, do it the democratic way! Forced into strict limitations by marxist do gooders is something that is a little worrying.

[thoughtsurfer]

When things are run for-profit, more and more wealth gets sent to fewer hands. Profit is like dynamite; it should be used sparingly, not as a blunt tool. A good chunk of our economy should be nationalized. Fuck Friedman.

[kzatching]

And i suppose you're the one who gets to decide which companies we steal from business owners and turn over to The People

[grazie55555]

For someone who is supposed to be so smart she sure is either stupid, or deliberately disingenuous. For all its faults to call the free market ideology "crazy" shows that she doesn't understand it. Yes it's counter intuitive, yes it's difficult to understand at first, but there is both historical prescedent and present day evidence that shows it often works. It certainly doesn't work in every way and every time...but it's not "crazy". Klein is full of rhetoric and little substance.

[Guncriminal]

Intuition (noun)

1 Instinctive knowing (without the use of rational processes)

------------------------------­---

"Without the use of rational processes".

That tells us an awful lot about the way she thinks.

[saxz99]

Ultimately, rationality is driven by passion.

[xesiria]

You make very good since in all you say Ma'am but, a democracy is not what you may think it is. Our forefathers never wanted this country to be a democracy. The very meaning of the word democracy : rule of the majority. That is not for the people by the people, that gives room for a monarch. A republic: a government that is ruled by the people for the people and can be changed by the people.

A Democracy is what our forefathers never wanted at all.

[raouleduke15]

you got it wrong kiddo. yes a democracy is a rule by majority. but a republic is not rule by the people for the people. a republic is rule by law. in america, the us constitution. the part about changing the gov. is the democratic part. majority vote. that is how amendments are made to the constitution. why do you think we have votes and elections? america is a democratic republic stupid. if it were a pure republic women couldnt vote and blacks would be slaves. get a clue dummy

[xesiria]

lmao! just made your account huh? lmao!

i was going to say think you for calling me a Kiddo. It feels good to feel young:) lmao

i was also going to reply in full as well and prove how wrong you are who ever you are. lmao i no longer reply to plants that make an account to say and act big and bad but, don't have the balls or back bone to show who you are lmao but, it was fun readying your big bold words with no pitcher or views. i did enjoy reading as well your insults full of hot air lmao!

[secHumanist]

they were scared of mob rule, that's why...

But how does that relate to anything? Even a representative democracy, or republic, would work towards the public good. At least that's what its supposed to do. It won't just work to maximize profit, while rejecting the needs of the disadvantaged/poor.

I see a whole debate about the function of government, and even a debate on the standards used to measure it. Working for the public good? Creating the framework for free enterprise to exist?

Hm...

[xesiria]

sorry thought i replied..

Who is they if they are scared of mop rule they why does these events they pull still pull them?

well nothing can come good out of a government full of lawyers.Some of the founding fathers tryed to make sure are so called two party system is run by bankers, lawyers and corporations.

That is seen as a possibility and tryed to make sure that would not happen.We all are in fault to let this happen.

[flippinrawks]

get rid on the monitary system

[marcoantoniocosta]

Oh, the 1st grader 'selfless is good, selfish is bad' at the end made me want to puke.

sometimes reality is counter-intuitive, miss.

try to learn how to play the piano, you'll be surprised at how much that's true.

ack, i'm still reeling from that shock. hehehe, got it? shock? ;-)

[RobertWhitlock]

Thank you Naomi Klein.

[kerrywessell]

Okay, I think I am starting to understand Naomi, BUT her last point is just ridiculous. Doing good with other people's money does NOT mean being bad is being good and vise versa. That's just silly. Next, Milton said that doing good with other people's money requires taking it, which requires force or threat of force (ie-jail time if you don't contribute). Being selfish isn't being bad, nor good. It's too loaded of a term. People ONLY do what they want, it's inevitable.

[kerrywessell]

if it doesn't benefit you, you don't do it.

What I think is great about Naomi and now what I understand about her, I think, is that she defends democracy while Friedman supports a near-total free market economy (but not really, not truly). At least that's what I understand about her, and she is well researched, intelligent, and in many respects, I think I approximately agree with her-I mean people benefit from thinking that they pay for welfare programs that do or don't work, b/c 'it does good'

[ampsoude]

that was deep thinking. but what about Paris ?

[ampsoude]

great woman. I didn't read the book yet, but the best example of the shocks she's referring to is 9/11. I can guess she doesn't even mention it, and she's right. Many other people already do, and she doesn't need the "conspiracy theorist" etiquette. Sure makes the popularity drop, even now in 2008.

[ampsoude]

well i have to correct myself. she does talk about 9/11, and it's good she doesn't have to speak about who did it, only to show the consequences.

[Claudioccccc]

For many times Klein underlines that natural disaster ar going to come!

But she does not give any detail about how, when and how can we learn about it.

So if anybodu can give more details about it it is welcome actually!

See you soon! -Claudio-

[turncoatgreen]

That shocks will come and go is the important point. That fundamental values and moral position should not waiver with adversity is your goal; as an individual and as a planetary co-habitant. Either you regress to the "law-of-the-jungle" or "might makes right"

animal nature or you summon the best of what makes us human and carry that load even when times are tough. Doesn't matter where or when. We all get a chance to play.

[moviedude111]

Completely insane woman. Would make a great mom though.

[daderone]

Canada better be listening to this woman as much as America needs to as well. Don't learn our lessons in America the hard way right when we're realizing many of the mistakes we've made. That in my opinion would be counter intuitive as well.

[preagnantflea]

I hope Friedman is burning in hell right now that evil monster.

[NINJ4JU4N]

Her book does present a useful point in general: be wary of what you accept when you are under emotional shock. YET:

She has not, in this talk, provided a decent defense that Nationalized medicine, education, and yaks :) are good ideas. I imagine that's the job of the CCPA, so I'll let that slide.

I do find it interesting that hard-core libertarians and erudite democratic socialists are both expressing deep concern about central banks and monetary policy, and the power those institutions wield.

[BillBillard]

it seems that you are assuming that emotion has no place in politics/philosophy? qtrew?

and you actually fault her for not explaining the uncontested benefits of a mixture of economies of scale with localisation run democratically? qtrew?

this talk isn't the summation of all hitherto history/thought/etc... omg!?

more proof that left intellectuals do more with less than any other group in history.

of course once you discard the blinders it's easier.

[41437]

I would hope that Ms Klein's book, The Shock Doctrine, is on the reading list of the present crop of presidential candidates.

[SkeptikosOrWill]

Capitalism isn't picking someone's pocket.

That's socialism.

If neo-liberalism didn't win the battle of ideas, why aren't there any economists that agree with Klein?

That was a really awful distortion of Milton Friedman at the end. Completely shameless.

[prajnaseek]

1. There is a difference between capitalism with a relatively equal playing field, and the monopoly capitalism, which is oligarchy, plutocracy, which we have now.

2. Neoconservativism/neoliberalis­m/Friedmanite/Washington Consensus/Chicago School economics has nothing to do with free markets. It is all about monoploy capitalism, crony capitalism, and the merger of big business and the state, which is corporatism, which is the essence of fascism - it is not free market capitalism.

[SkeptikosOrWill]

1. Agreed. Absolutely.

2. "Neoconservativism/neoliberali­sm/Friedmanite/Washington Consensus/Chicago School economics"

Neo-cons don't belong in that group. Neoliberals [libertarians] are philosophically opposed to imperialism.

So neo-cons are corporatists; neoliberals are not.

Don't believe me? Read some of the books. (I strongly recommend anything by Milton Friedman.)

[swedanica]

Greenspan's policies continue to undermine the American economy, hence the state of the Global economy. He was a political HACK and a fraud.

[marcoantoniocosta]

Please! Do your research before blurting that out. Friedman was FIERCELY against the government colluding with corporate power and he was AGAINST corporate welfare and pro-free enterprise.

I'm sorry, I can't support what this woman is talking about. She just keeps pressing the 'oh, they take advantage when we're down' but fails to account that Chile is the wealthiest country in South America, not thanks to Socialism, thank you very much.

[tjaryma]

The question about Chile boils down to the question WHO is rich in Chile like WHO is rich in Russia. Milton may have been opposed to corporations colluding with governments but the fackt that they did colluded in free market was not a distortion of his theory but a natural consequence of his theory.

[marcoantoniocosta]

The fact that big corporations are as vociferously opposed to free market reforms as labor unions says something about this theoretical 'government-corporation collusion' in a free market.

I guarantee you that more people are rich in Chile by their own merit and not legal plunder and collusion with government as is still the dominant form in Russia.

What should matter to socialists, who supposedly care about the poor, is that the poor in Chile are much better off than in Brazil, in any level.

[Wraith23]

@tjaryma

No, the real question is if people is generally better under a capitalist free market economy ?

YES.

[GarrettPetersen]

@Wraith23 In Naomi's mind, everyone in the world is in the middle class, and so when unionized middle-class labourers benefit at the expense of the very rich and the very poor, everyone benefits.

Take minimum wage laws. These laws prevent low skilled workers from working so that labour unions can bid up their wages without the threat of competition. In turn, business owners cannot benefit from the cheap labour offered by low skilled workers. Good or bad, Naomi?

[DAngelo136]

@GarrettPetersen then why have wages stayed flat for 30 years but executive compensation almost tripled in the same time frame? I'd say that's bad Garrett. What is your problem with collective bargaining? You would have an individual negotiate against orgainized capital (corporation) which would be a grossly uneven playing field against workers. Do workers in Indonesia have an equal footing in negotiating with Nike?

[marsaxod]

@tjaryma Jewish criminal mafia is rich in Chile and Russia

[MARGARELON]

@tjaryma Corporations can only collud with governments if governments have the power to make economic decisions.

[unprofessionl]

She can really write.

[mountain19]

jack corbin's book history of the american empire will tell you how they got into third world countries when the leaders refused the offer they thought they would not refuse. they have their own hit men and our government knows this well. our country is a corporation with plans on conglomerating the world in their pockets.

[Qalitie]

These clips make me appreciate youtube. Thanks for sharing.

Human beings are like cockroches no amount of deception can keep them deceived. they ventually wake up. Corpration have tried to brain wash people thru every media, but people are becoming immune to it. So what's next?

[badnewswade]

I loved the yaks!

[liber8US]

People across the globe are being shut out of the discussion on how the resources in their backyard should be distributed because there are groups that have their attack plans mapped out well ahead of time. Ron Paul knows this and a vote for him is a vote against them. Get active or face the consequences.

[liber8US]

The insulation of the wealthy from climatic problems can also become visible when one sees how corporations such as Coca-Cola buy up water rights across the globe and the local people that are most affected by the loss of available water pay the biggest price.This model of business becomes more scary when seen against the backdrop of Food supplies(see Monsanto) and Air(see Cheney lets oil companies write US energy policy and EPAstandards).

[liber8US]

The massive "reconstruction" and "security" contracts given to such corporations as Halliburton, Bechtel and Blackwater resulted in inferior products being paid for by the american taxpayer and the "value" of these products was questionable at best, although the price was extremely inflated.

[liber8US]

A very good series of videos, and nice to see that most comenters have been paying attention.

The Shock Doctrine can also be easily understood in the context of the global war on terrorism that was made possible by a shocking attack on american landmarks of power. The powers that be were also "ready", as if the plans just needed to be pulled out of a drawer, to take american civil liberties away and empower corporations to profit abundantly from ideologically based, ineffective solutions.

[Febrile1]

Reduce your consumer spending to the bare minimum for daily needs. Fix things, trade things, do without things where at all possible. Stop the SPP/NAU!

[prayfertrey]

There won't be a just society until the first unschooled generation grows up. Until then, no one is listening. Latin Americans are sending their kids to compulsory school and those kids will grow up psychically under developed, indifferent, mean spirited, competitive, looking for nothing else except powerful positions for the college grads, gud jahbs fer da rest.

[schroeder666]

These clips have been one of the most gloriously intellectual and moving experiences I've had this year. Thank you very much for posting them, and I applaud anyone with any ethical proximity to this woman's obvious devotion to freedom, peace, prosperity, justice and kindness. We must all work hard to create a better world and help splash red paint on economic sociopathy.

[canuck99615]

It is sick to see corporations profit from crisis. The very thought that they would cause a disaster in order to get paid is just sick. Just recently I saw private firefighting going on in Southern California during the wildfires. Is it ethical to sell fire protection like that. Would they drive by a daycare full of children to save an evacuated mansion?

[prayfertrey]

Like when Sony sells subwoofers, through front co's of course, to thugs so they can create noise pollution and have an easy way to get away with hurting people? Or when corporations recuperate thug life and sell fashion and media back to the thugs, exalting their life styles, exalting violence, supporting black vs white feeling in hoods like New Orleans? You can't get support from the right or the left when you shine a light on those things, can you.

[GroundskeeperRonnie]

I've just watched all off these clips and Im astonished. I'm off to buy her books. Thanks so much for posting.

[TwAtAtHoMe]

One of the scenarios which Ms Klein paints very nicely is that of a car crash victim being robbed. This is exactly what has happened in the wake of the Levy breaking in New Orleans. Housing 'des-res' properties are now are sealed to people whose possessions are still inside them. These people are the living tenants of the houses, yet are criminalised for returning.

Can you imagine?

[TwAtAtHoMe]

If you had read her previous books and heard her speak, combined this with what others have written and spoken about corporate takeovers of governments worldwide and you will realise that what she is saying about Milton Friedman, Blackwater and how shocks throughout the world enable corporate elites and government friends to move the goalposts, change the parameters, manipulate the structures and to take complete advantage of us common folk.

[sunstorm007]

All I am saying is that, It is disingenuous to cite atrocities that very well might have been commited by western countries' Governments, or Corporations for that matter, for an alterior motive to attack the foundations of free entirprise. This is what Naomi is doing.

[sunstorm007]

the crux of issue here is that Naomi is a lier when she talks about Milton Friedman. Whether or not you are a free Marketer or not,is no reason to lie about someone. Everyone who is interested in enlightened debate is worthy of a fair hearing in my book, right, left, socialist, capitalist, or something in between.

[DanLackey]

sunstorm007: Klein makes a number of remarks about Friedman in these videos. Which of these remarks are demonstrably false, and what evidence do you have that Klein herself believes them to be false? Unless you can produce credible answers to both questions, you have no business calling Klein, vis a vis Friedman, a "lier."

[schroeder666]

Congratulations on making no argument whatsoever.

[dandydub]

There is no need to fret too much about it.

Read "Ozymandias" by Shelly. Great poem, and so very true. All empires fade. Persian, Greek, Rome, Britain. The very use of force itself sows the seeds of failure. The U.S. Empire will go the same way. In fact it has, no doubt, already started.

[dandydub]

Naomi reckons theres hope. "shock wears off".

What's stopping them introducing a new shock??

Since they control the media almost completely,how can the average man on the street possibly make himself immune to their propaganda?

Switch off his TV? No way? Then he would miss

Paris on Letterman.

[cense2]

"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."

Samuel Adams

[canuck99615]

She also says the new shock becomes bigger and more shocking.

[dandydub]

reading the book at the mo. interesting.

i notice that this has had 29,000 views.

compare this to paris hilton breaking wind on letterman......3,800,000 views.

democracy.....r.i.p ?????

[turncoatgreen]

Hey man. Take the long view. The poet Shelly is still quoted today. In 2010 no-one will remember Paris let alone her smell. --OR-- I spent a whole morning reading this thread and watching the videos. (I will read her book also.) Weigh this time and yours vs. the 3M x 30sec fartophiles. Where is the thought value/impact greater?

[Myaucat]

she's hot!

[davidmesaaz]

The most effective propaganda is often completely truthful, but some propaganda presents facts selectively to encourage a particular synthesis, or gives loaded messages in order to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the cognitive narrative of the subject in the target audience.

[davidmesaaz]

Propaganda [from modern Latin: 'propaganda', literally "propagating"] is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behavior of large numbers of people. Instead of impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense presents information in order to influence its audience.

[davidmesaaz]

Economic Shock Therapy is the brain child of Jeffery Sachs of Harvard which is hardly the bastion of the far right extremists as she paints them out to be.

With this in mind why did she willingly omit such a common knowledge fact? She is either severely uninformed or accepting information that conforms to her world view and rejecting all others in a word this is propaganda.

[SocialDemocrats]

Sachs was will an undergrad when Milton Friedman advocated this shock treament and even used the term "shock treament." in the mid 1970s. Sachs was only born in 1954, and didnt even recieve his Phd until 1980.

[sunstorm007]

Yeah, and the fact that free market think tanks like the CATO institute are opposed to the Patriot act and Guantanamo Bay and the WAR. She won't mention that because the she needs sheep, not thinkers who will check the data for themselves

[prayfertrey]

Interesting. People were vulnerable in the 19th century, living by the skin of their teeth on the prairie, trying to make mortgage payments, and so public schools were sold to them, promising security and good jobs and comfort in the new industrial society. Some call it leveraging. I guess that's always been around... That said: Naomi can't be from this planet. She's too nice.

[charliepedersen]

The problem is on the one hand you have oligarchy/oligopoly/cartel capitalism, "oligarctelism" and on the other hand central bureaucratic control "bureauism", two forms of institutionalism . Ms. Klein's work on Shock capitalism is very important because the oligarctels are trying to dictate markets for the benefit of monopolies of power. (not the free market).

[Depotmaster]

She is brilliant. Very profound investigation. She is doing a great job.

[BeanGene]

Oh, brother what foolishness lemmings are lead into. What dupe would believe two types of tyrannical planks would lead to a perfect society. Pure Democracy is tyranny of the majority and Socialism is a utopian pipe dream completely inconsistent with the nature of man. Monopolization CAN NOT happen without government collusion. Klein is a blowhard conspiracy theorist/Bush is a Fascist. Both have ZERO to do with "Free Markets".

[ZMILF]

Looks like Bush followed Milton...........9/11 SHOCK........now Patriot Act,Homeland Securety,Death of Habeus Corpus,Fema Camps,Death of Posse Comatadas,Police Brutality at every turn,No Protesting,Government Corporate Media,Propaganda Everywhere.......Looks like The Shock Doctrine worked here!

[BeanGene]

Why is she incorrect - she points to the solution as the primary cause of the problem. She demands more centeralization to fix monopolization, more government control and consolidation. Top down centeralization is tyrannical. You can not fix it by increasing it. Read FA Hayak and Fredrick Bastiat.

[Drogon7]

The difference is Corporation/Privatization.

Corporation is compassionless and purely profit driven.

Corporation is inherrantly Totalitarian/Autoritarian.

This is the worst of Socialism, without the Democracy.

Democratic Socialism allows the citzenry participation, pulic interest over profit, and vote/protest recourse in the case that the government is felt to be overreaching.

[snoopster000]

exactly. it is this interference that has led to the very problems she speaks of.

[mountain19]

manipulation of market place and stock market finally the world market.

[bythewayof10]

To all of you who posit that she is incorrect.

Why then has this version of corporate capitalism failed the working and middle classes? Not to mention the destitution of the lower classes. In all the years since we have had major corporations becoming more prevalent we have seen the disparity between rich-as-hell and poor grow.

[luayursula]

watch "the century of the self" if interested in more light on the subject...

[Qaliara]

Thanks for posting this series of vids. I appreciated watching it - I find her reportage profound and her conclusions brilliant.

Thank you again!!

[mjkirk12]

Ron Paul 2008!

See You Tube: Power of Nightmares

America: Freedom to Fascism

Abolish the IRS, Federal Reserve System and Fractional Reserve Banking

[mjkirk12]

Friedman was against doing "good things" with other peoples money (via taxation). He was for doing good things with your own money. Ms. Klein has twisted and misappropriated some of Friedman's ideas to suggest he was pure evil and that Socialism is better for us all.

Who pays for Socialism - you do via excessive taxation! There is no free lunch here people...

[mjkirk12]

The big problem is when governments remain closed to their citizens and use military force and propaganda to stifle dissent. Friedman was for small government and lower taxes because he felt the people could decide the best for themselves. Unfortunately the politicians used his ideas in their pursuit of power and greed.

[mjkirk12]

Who published her new book? Metropolitan which is a division of Henry Holt - A CORPORATION! Egads, why didn't she get the Canadian government to publish her? Use the taxpayer's money for a greater good - her career as a writer.

[Drogon7]

The "Private more efficient/compassionate than public" arguement does not hold up:Katrina!

I hope that you are at least a multi-millioaire, Mjkirk12.

If not, you are cutting the throats of your fellow man by ignorance, ambition, or pure cruelty.

Please look at what you are saying.

It may appear to make sense(American Dream, and all that)but look a bit deeper.

[Drogon7]

Why are all ninety-five plus percent of the wealth in the repositories on the top one percent of the population.

Please look at the AK Press CD called Noam Chomsky:Class War, The Assault On Working People.

Clear and concise.

[rsox406]

excellent observations made by naomi klein. she is capable of looking at the horizon and interpreting the signs of the times. the incidents she cites are clear examples of the movement underway to corporatize the entire world...power harnessed under the control of a few is tyrany by definition, but like a storm most folk wont believe its actually going to affect them and thus discount its possible potential for damage until it is way beyond their ability to do anything about it.

[Brgayle]

I disagree.

[lrtribst]

Brazilian Public Management student here: endorsing every single word from Mrs. Klein. Also waiting for my ordered copy of "The shock doctrine". She is a genius, no doubt about it!

[nxxbie]

Jesus Christ I had no idea Hitler is alive and well, cloned through a reproduction of ideology and he and he and he and he and he has had time to structure a system of mainstream damage noticed only by a few detached brothers and sisters, fathers, mothers, children, friends and lovers juxtaposed to their ignorant brainwashed others. Thank you Naomi Klein...

[jamesmorgandavies]

Illuminating & scary.

Democracy vs. Capitalism is quite apt, the US like many others, became a democracy in a pre-industrial rural society. Democracy declined in the early 1800's there, just when capitalism mushroomed.

Yikes!

[SupportWeThePeopleKB]

Let's revive the voices of the dumbstruck victims of neocon assaults. Scoundrels expropriate our tax money that is meant to do good and eviscerate democracy. They transform helping professions into profiteering agencies. Professionals fear losing credentials for making non-approved decisions or for standing up to the pharma, insurance, and now Ed Biz barons. Sacred duty to heal or teach has turned into scared duty that harms. Can we reassert pro-society values and embolden the fearful?

[jphwacheski]

scotacus- watch the talk on her web site; basicly, the majority of people do not accept or support this 'free' rampaging capitalism, with endless wars. Promote DEMOCRACY and they will fall away. Stop letting them rule throught fear and the shock of 'disasters' and promote local, state, national, and world wide democracy. It is really quite simple; policies that support the elite banker class, do not, and never will, support the majority of people, DEMOCRACY is the answer!

[jphwacheski]

phrazz1 - war is not inexerable,. it is created, by assholes known as PNAC, Neo-Cons, Corporate Capitalists,. etc. We can make WAR un-profitable! The majority of people are for doing this,. we need to promote DEMOCRACY that works,. TRANSPARENCY in government,. and always fight against the fascist!

[phrazz1]

Never underestimate the power and scope of human greed.

Divide and plunder techniques are not new, but they are reaching epic proportions in recent history. Governments leverage chaos for economic and political advantage -- a prevalent aspect of evolution (human or otherwise). Violence, revolution, peace, education, hunger, are all techniques. Power has many faces. Fools and predators pretend these forces don't exist.

War is an inexorable result of extreme competition for scarce resources.

[DuppyDurruti]

You'll never find a "nuts & bolts" diagram for an alternative, just as you wouldn't have found a manual to corporatism in the US prior to the Santa Clara case.

However, if you're looking for a framework for a more human-centric economy, then Parecon by Micheal Albert & Robin Hahnel is good place to start. No doubts you'll have some issues with it, but it's a start. Of course we'll have plenty of work to do when it comes to making policy and theory work equally and fairly for all people.

[scotacus]

Her contribution, and others like it that provide a historical narrative of political forces is essential.

My only criticism would be that unfortunately the "alternative" viewpoint seldom gets beyond its historical narrative to creating a political now. Is it just that the opposition have sufficient dollars to sell a ludicrous notion, but also that the alternative side (represented in this instance by Klein) fall so short to provide a real, concrete, nuts and bolts alternative?

[parquerivera]

right or wrong, good or bad, ms kleins dedication to the reception and transmission of an ideology thru documented historical and political facts is admirable. revolution and change are best achieved thru education, not violence nor imposition as has been tried in the past.