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The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

Naomi Klein

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Jul 27, 2011 Lucy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, 2011

I had a similar reaction to this book as I did to No Logo; I really enjoyed it at first, found it a bit of a slog towards the middle but began to like it again by the end.

In a supremely well researched and very detailed book Naomi Klein gives numerous and varied examples of the failure of Milton Friedman's neoliberal economics as a response to 'shocks' to the system. With the recent events, not only in Greece but also in the UK (where public spending has been reduced and market capitalism positi I had a similar reaction to this book as I did to No Logo; I really enjoyed it at first, found it a bit of a slog towards the middle but began to like it again by the end.

In a supremely well researched and very detailed book Naomi Klein gives numerous and varied examples of the failure of Milton Friedman's neoliberal economics as a response to 'shocks' to the system. With the recent events, not only in Greece but also in the UK (where public spending has been reduced and market capitalism positively encouraged) it was an extremely relevant discussion.

Certainly Klein makes a valid case for not reacting to economic crises (and she fully questions the definition of this concept too) by relying on private business and capital. She gives examples of Poland, Russia, Sri Lanka, Iraq and various Latin American countries where such an approach has failed. It was extremely interesting and enlightening but also rather scary in places. It is collonisation of the lifeworld in the extreme.

There were 2 things I didn't particularly enjoy about the book; firstly I would have liked a little balance (a criticism I also had of No Logo). I appreciate that neoliberal chicago school strategies are probably not the answer to many of our economic issues (and certainly not as much as we were led to believe), but I wished she'd discussed alternatives. About Chapter 6, I started to think 'right I've got the picture'.

Which leads me on to my second criticism; I thought the book had far too much information. I am sure I would learn new things were I to read it a second, third or even fourth time. It was written as a popular science book but the level of detail was astronomical. I couldn't help but think that each chapter would have been better as a serial or expose in a Sunday newspaper. As I book I couldn't read more than 1 chapter at a time without getting confused or overwhelmed and that, I found, a serious detriment to my enjoyment of the book.

All in all, very interesting and thoughtprovoking but certainly not a light and easy read. ...more

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Nov 19, 2009 Löki Gale rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: economic, non-fiction

Wow. Although, it took me a few weeks to read it, I could barely put it down. Klein packed in so much information, I spent hours trying to map it all out in my own head and make heads or tails of what she was trying to say. On top of all that, I am now on a mission to learn more and grow my economic understanding of the world and our (the USA) involvement in it. A well worth it read, if you ask me.

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Sep 22, 2008 Lydia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A fascinating read.

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Apr 19, 2010 Jessica marked it as to-read · review of another edition

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