Reply #31: The Shock Doctrine

[Star]

Please read this book and you will understand that this is just another step in the direction of Milton Friedman's "Free-market Capitalism" economics.

Those who subscribe to this economic theory believe that all regulations must be taken off businesses so the "free-market" can flourish and make us all rich. They also believe that business should basically run government. Neutering the judicial system is a necessary step in this direction, since many of the things that are needed are clearly illegal or unconstitutional. They must ensure that the legislation they pass will not be stopped by the judiciary.

Of course, anywhere that this theory has been implemented, it has led to super rich folks at the top, and poverty-stricken people everywhere else. It also required an extreme police state to keep the "masses" under control. However, even in the face of this evidence that the theory is a bunch of hogwash, proponents claim the only reason it didn't work is because it wasn't "pure" enough - that is, there remained some restrictions on business practices.

this is where the Republican party wants to take us now. they've been putting pieces of it into place since Reagan's Trickle-Down economics, which is actually Free-market capitalism. The whole "small-government" bs they've been pushing is a part of it, along with reducing the deficit by reducing spending on the social safety net. The only things the government should spend money on, according to them, are the military and police. Everything else should be privatized.

Sound familiar?