Naomi Klein: "Shock Doctrine" Unleashed by Right-Wingers in Wisconsin and Throughout the Country

[marmar]

Democracy Now!, via AlterNet:




.....(snip).....


AMY GOODMAN: It’s great to have you with us. Let’s talk Wisconsin. What do you see is happening in this uprising?

NAOMI KLEIN: Well, first of all, it’s such an incredible example of how to resist the shock doctrine. And it should not be in any way surprising that we are seeing right-wing ideologues across the country using economic crisis as a pretext to really wage a kind of a final battle in a 50-year war against trade unions, where we’ve seen membership in trade unions drop precipitously. And public sector unions are the last labor stronghold, and they’re going after it. And these governors did not run elections promising to do these radical actions, but they are using the pretext of crisis to do things that they couldn’t get elected promising to do.

And, you know, that’s the core argument of and the thesis of the book, is not that there’s something wrong with responding to a crisis decisively. Crises demand decisive responses. The issue is this backhanded attempt to use a crisis to centralize power, to subvert democracy, to avoid public debate, to say, "We have no time for democracy. It’s just too messy. It doesn’t matter what you want. We have no choice. We just have to ram it through." And we’re seeing this in 16 states. I mean, it’s impossible to keep track of it. It’s happening on such a huge scale.

Teachers’ unions are getting the worst of it. March 8th was International Women’s Day. This is—you know, as you pointed out on your show, it’s overwhelmingly women who are providing the services that are under attack. It’s not just labor that’s under attack; it’s the services that the labor is providing that’s under attack: it’s healthcare, it’s education, it’s those fundamental care-giving services across the country, which could be profitable if they were privatized. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/rights/150187/naomi_klein%3A_%22shock_doctrine%22_unleashed_by_right-wingers_in_wisconsin_and_throughout_the_country/

[SpiralHawk]

1. The k and the r

Thank you Naomi, and marmar...

[marmar]

2. Don't forget Amy !

:)

[SpiralHawk]

4. Ooooops - Official SH wing wig wag for Amy

[eowyn_of_rohan]

3. They actually CREATE crises to centralize power -nt

[Charleston Chew]

11. problem, reaction, solution...

[Uncle Joe]

5. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, marmar.

[drokhole]

6. This movie was on the other day (highly recommended), so glad they got an interview with the author!

Thanks for bringing it to our attention, marmar!

[pscot]

7. The vast right wing conspiracy

Their hymnbook is Mein Kempf, set to music, accompanied by K-K-Karl Rove on the mighty wurlitzer.

[carolinayellowdog]

8. Klein as Cassandra

I read The Shock Doctrine when it was published, thinking and hoping that our situation couldn't be quite as bleak as she portrayed. Alas, everything since then has confirmed her analysis. Surely she'd rather have been proven wrong than right... but she was right. If people refuse to believe her, they're refusing to see the truth because it's not pretty.

[Hatchling]

12. I started reading it just before the quake.

I was absolutely horrified. I saw so many examples of what she was writing about going on daily in our own country. I had to take a break from the book because of the Japan news cause I can on handle so much horror without cracking.

[joentokyo]

9. Well, if your goal is to have all schools corporate owned, what else woud you do

other than what Ms Rhee is doing?

[Charleston Chew]

10. Sam Seder interviews Naomi Klein 02/24/11

__________
Naomi Klein talks about the power of protest on The Majority Report with Sam Seder
February 24, 2011

Listen: http://majority.fm/2011/02/24/thursday-february-24-2011 /
__________

[bjobotts]

13. They outsourced union jobs, tried to destroy auto workers union and now going after the rest

[bjobotts]

14. At the same time they are trying to make it difficult for democrats to vote and buying elections

[bjobotts]

15. They want Americxa to be America Inc. and if you cant afford to be a shareholder ur out

[bjobotts]

16. Tea Party republican propaganda, Gov- bad, Corps- good.Democracy with one party rule no compromise

[dotymed]

17. Unfortunately, voting Democratic seemingly makes

little (some, ie..fake morality legislation decreases, Unions are not as publicly attacked, etc..) difference. As Naomi Klein points out in her books, The Shock Doctrine and Casino Capitalism, both parties have become corporate owned (mostly) and controlled.


In America we need to (at least) immediately remove ALL money from politics and campaigns. Publicly financed elections could be accomplished by legislating that the public "airwaves" (yes cable too is supposed to be licensed to operate in the "public good") donate equal time to all viable candidates.
First, we need to change our entire paradigm. We need to forget the current profit before anything (people especially).
Most low income people I know (many as I am one) watch Fox tee vee and believe the propaganda.
Yesterday, I had to quickly explain the FAIRNESS DOCTRINE and it's demise to my older brother after hearing his comments about an episode of the Glenn Beckkk show.
He said "I thought it was still a LAW that the news had to be true."
Me- "First Beck is not a journalist, he is admittedly an entertainer and secondly, since Reagan had the Fairness Doctrine (an FCC RULE) shit-canned, NEWS programs have successfully (FOX) won court cases proclaiming that they are not required to be honest in their reporting."
Bob- " I know that you worked to get Obama elected, why didn't he make the Fairness Doctrine a Law?" (Bob doesn't vote)
Me- "I don't know but he has not changed most of Bush's decisions, he has proven to be a Wall Street Government just like Bush and now most politicians are."
Bob- "I can't wait to tell "name deleted" about Beckkk, he says that by this time next year he will be a millionaire"......
Me- " Love ya brother but I have to get to my son's baseball game."

He is in poverty. Has no health insurance, heart disease and (for 2 years) a non-functioning rotator cuff. How can we educate all of these people. I try to but since I was a Union carpenter and got "spoiled", I am just a political trouble-maker.
mom- Give unto Caesar, what is Ceasars"....she doesn't even attend Church...

[socialist_n_TN]

18. I'm glad to see Naomi Klein and her seminal book..........

beginning to get some media play, even if it is just the usual Internet suspects. IMO, "The Shock Doctrine- The Rise of Disaster Capitalism" should be REQUIRED READING FOR EVERY AMERICAN! Or at LEAST see the movie because it was good too. Not as in depth (it's a movie after all), but it DEFINITELY hit ALL the high points.

"Shock Doctrine" was the most important book I've read in DECADES! And I read a LOT.