This
is an old interview by one of my favorite social activists, Naomi Klein. She
talks about many issues that are very relevant to what we’re talking about in
class. Here is a more in-depth interview by TIME Magazine:
The following are some of the key
points she makes :
·
Over the last couple
decades, the exploitation of crisis and shock has consciously been used by
radical free-marketeers to push through their free market agenda. She cites
Chile, Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, etc. Klein calls this movement Disaster
Capitalism.
·
Democracy and free markets do not go hand in hand.
·
Much of this right
wing free market movement isn’t even free market at all because these companies
(such as Halliburton) are very politically connected, they advance through a
cooperation with politicians and are often funded/subsidized by the
government.
Do you see this kind of “disaster
capitalism “still going on? To give recent examples, we see the right trying to
push through anti-Obamacare measures and cut government spending citing the
budget “crisis”. Is this another application of Disaster Capitalism? Do you
think democracy and free markets go hand-in-hand? Do you agree with her?
I think democracy inherently goes hand in hand with neither free market nor socialism. It seems like whichever market mechanism is in place, separate efforts need to be made to build democracy at the same time.
ReplyDeleteIt is correct that this so-called "radical free-market" is not a true form of free market. Much of the stuff Klein described is crony capitalism, which is not free market.
ReplyDeleteI believe a society with strong individual rights (freedom of religion, freedom of speech, right to vote, etc.) and a strong rule of law goes hand-in-hand with capitalism. It is impossible to have one without the other.
Though I do not know whether or not the argument of the incompatibility of the free market and different forms of government is accurate or can truly be measured, it is interesting to consider when we have seen the various roadblocks to policy change that exist within our system.
ReplyDelete