The Shock Doctrine

Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine examines how advocates of unfettered capitalism utilize large-scale disasters to impose radical free-market policies on disoriented populations. The text draws a chilling parallel between the psychological torture techniques developed by the CIA and the economic "shock treatment" applied to nations like Chile, Iraq, and post-Katrina New Orleans. Klein argues that while citizens are reeling from the initial trauma of war or natural catastrophe, private interests and corporate-politicians swiftly dismantle public infrastructure to install a privatized order. This strategy, pioneered by economist Milton Friedman, depends on bypassing democratic processes to achieve permanent "reforms" that would otherwise be rejected by voters. Ultimately, the sources describe a global trend of disaster capitalism, where the suffering of the many becomes a profitable laboratory for the elite.