Nonfiction

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

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  • Create Date：2021-10-02 08:53:47
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
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  • Author：Naomi Klein
  • ISBN：0141024534
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Summary

'Impassioned， hugely informative， wonderfully controversial， and scary as hell' John le Carré

Around the world in Britain， the United States， Asia and the Middle East， there are people with power who are cashing in on chaos; exploiting bloodshed and catastrophe to brutally remake our world in their image。 They are the shock doctors。

Exposing these global profiteers， Naomi Klein discovered information and connections that shocked even her about how comprehensively the shock doctors' beliefs now dominate our world - and how this domination has been achieved。 Raking in billions out of the tsunami， plundering Russia， exploiting Iraq - this is the chilling tale of how a few are making a killing while more are getting killed。

'Packed with thinking dynamite 。。。 a book to be read everywhere' John Berger

'If you only read one non-fiction book this year， make it this one' Metro Books of the Year

'There are a few books that really help us understand the present。 The Shock Doctrine is one of those books' John Gray， Guardian

'A brilliant book written with a perfectly distilled anger， channelled through hard fact。 She has indeed surpassed No Logo' Independent

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Reviews

Thorkell Ottarsson ，

Very interesting book。 Yes it does tends to over simplify things but even if 40% of it is right on the money it would still be a huge judgment on Milton Friedman and his followers。 A real eye opener even though some of it is dated （especially the conclution）。

Matthew Barnett ，

Good topic lets the book overcome some flaws。More hard data and figures would have been nice。The sections about Mkultra and abu ghraib are extraneous and contribute nothing to the book's main point。 I recommend skipping those unless you don't know what they are。 Good topic lets the book overcome some flaws。More hard data and figures would have been nice。The sections about Mkultra and abu ghraib are extraneous and contribute nothing to the book's main point。 I recommend skipping those unless you don't know what they are。 。。。more

Isabella Hayes ，

Amazing book about the reality of US imperialism。 Everyone needs to read regardless of political affiliation/nationality/ etc！

Spaz ，

algore。 lost to a frothing florida mobNow？s gone beyond the event horizon

Robin Sundqvist ，

Sjuk de är， chicagoboysen。 Boken blir lite tjatig efter de första 300 sidorna och varje ny del är mer eller mindre samma historia om och om igen men med en ny setting。

Francesca Maggi ，

I actually listened to the audio book which was not the best idea。 It’ s a very interesting book but not suitable to be listened to cause it’s very difficult to get all the great insight and informations。It’s should be used as a history text book at school。 The author is very skilled and the research behind this masterpiece must have been immense。。 I need to read it again to get the other side of the coin for most of modern history。 A Must read to have a better understanding of international pol I actually listened to the audio book which was not the best idea。 It’ s a very interesting book but not suitable to be listened to cause it’s very difficult to get all the great insight and informations。It’s should be used as a history text book at school。 The author is very skilled and the research behind this masterpiece must have been immense。。 I need to read it again to get the other side of the coin for most of modern history。 A Must read to have a better understanding of international politics。 。。。more

Julia ，

A huge book， but I can safely say I am better for reading it。 Packed full of recent history， economics and politics for many different countries。 The content is wild and mind blowing。 Considering that we are going through a gigantic shock of our own it will be fascinating to see how disaster capitalism ravishes the post-covid world。 The next shock， of course， is climate change， a terrifying challenge in the face such inequality。 As Klein explores， "perhaps part of the reason why so any of our el A huge book， but I can safely say I am better for reading it。 Packed full of recent history， economics and politics for many different countries。 The content is wild and mind blowing。 Considering that we are going through a gigantic shock of our own it will be fascinating to see how disaster capitalism ravishes the post-covid world。 The next shock， of course， is climate change， a terrifying challenge in the face such inequality。 As Klein explores， "perhaps part of the reason why so any of our elites， bot political and corporated， are so sanguine about climate change is that they are confident that they will be able to buy their way out of the worst of it。" 。。。more

John Holmes ，

A powerful account of how free market capitalism both exploits and actively creates disasters in order to impose drastic economic change towards a corporatist model， characterises by privatisation， deregulation and reduced public spending。The case studies of countries subject to escalating degrees of shock therapy are powerful and effective in telling the story of how the use of aggressive free market policies escalated。 Starting out initially to prevent socialist policies harmful to US corporat A powerful account of how free market capitalism both exploits and actively creates disasters in order to impose drastic economic change towards a corporatist model， characterises by privatisation， deregulation and reduced public spending。The case studies of countries subject to escalating degrees of shock therapy are powerful and effective in telling the story of how the use of aggressive free market policies escalated。 Starting out initially to prevent socialist policies harmful to US corporate interests， progressing to solutions in the wake of real or constructed economic or political crises， and culminating in Iraq as， arguably， a crisis created by the disaster industrial complex。The most compelling aspects are the tales of how Chicago School economists spread around the world， taking their doctrine with them， and also how this infected international institutions like the IMF and World Bank。 Also striking is the account of the Iraq reconstruction， and the rapacious behaviour of Halliburton， Lockheed Martin， Blackwater and others。The later chapters drag a little， with less of a narrative and more of a list of things that happened。 But this is still an important book with a clear story to tell of how the world came to be as it is。 。。。more

Kolbe Logan ，

Respectfully， AHHHHHHHHGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Sophie ，

Ms。 Klein never misses！！！ （again， DON'T quote me on that） Ms。 Klein never misses！！！ （again， DON'T quote me on that） 。。。more

Joe Pickert ，

This book is full of insights that have only become more relevant since its publication in 2007。 In the wakes of the Global Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic， the rapacious looting of public assets by the capitalist class has only accelerated， and I shudder to think what awaits us in the coming decade as climate-related disasters become even more acute。Naomi Klein's analysis here is as sharp， structural， and revelatory as ever。 This book is full of insights that have only become more relevant since its publication in 2007。 In the wakes of the Global Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic， the rapacious looting of public assets by the capitalist class has only accelerated， and I shudder to think what awaits us in the coming decade as climate-related disasters become even more acute。Naomi Klein's analysis here is as sharp， structural， and revelatory as ever。 。。。more

Daivat ，

This is， no doubt， a great book and Naomi writes with much conviction。 For long， I've wondered on this much avowed free market and its ability to function efficiently - and I've always reached the same question: how does the market's interests and motives equate with the good of society at large？But that in itself is a stupid assumption - the market assumes maximal self-interest-based rational decision making - big words that are anecdotally and empirically false。And yet rich （mostly wh*te） men This is， no doubt， a great book and Naomi writes with much conviction。 For long， I've wondered on this much avowed free market and its ability to function efficiently - and I've always reached the same question: how does the market's interests and motives equate with the good of society at large？But that in itself is a stupid assumption - the market assumes maximal self-interest-based rational decision making - big words that are anecdotally and empirically false。And yet rich （mostly wh*te） men never stop to gush on its efficiency and its ways and its unpredictability。 For long， markets and globalization and capitalism have reigned supreme and all of this was quite a coordinated effort on the US's part。 The US meanwhile has basically been an imperialist country - scourging the world for more profit - and ultimately the ugly abundance that we see here。There are some issues with the book - she gives a pass to religious fundamentalism and nationalism that inevitably rise in a country plagued by wealth inequalities。 I also am quite skeptical of easily explainable linear series of events， and I did fact-check whatever happened in Chile and more-or-less it stood true， but I'm wary regardless。Book makes you quite upset though。 10/10 will recommend。 。。。more

Ali G ，

This is the scariest， and most important book I’ve ever read。 This should be mandatory reading for every person on the planet。

Kris —— ，

Incredibly thorough， but a lot of the same towards the end。 However， that does reflect the magnitude of the situation。

Andy ，

I am sure there is a bigger impact that is meant to be left by the book， but the writing is tedious and boring。 I appreciate and understand the points she's making， and the history is interesting， but the writing is a big turn off for me。This seems to be one of those subjects for the protesters and the advocates。 To me， it could have been a YouTube video， or a blog post。I definitely want to read more Klein though， she does bring up important topics。 I am sure there is a bigger impact that is meant to be left by the book， but the writing is tedious and boring。 I appreciate and understand the points she's making， and the history is interesting， but the writing is a big turn off for me。This seems to be one of those subjects for the protesters and the advocates。 To me， it could have been a YouTube video， or a blog post。I definitely want to read more Klein though， she does bring up important topics。 。。。more

Claudia Almeida ，

An extremely hard book to read which is nevertheless essential to understand recent global History。

Andrew Olson ，

Quite an interesting perspective on recent capitalistic events - great to see how she drew parallels between various events

Tasos Manouras ，

Would have preferred a lot more elaboration on the transition of power in the Russian history as well as the industrialisation of defence in Israel。 Would also be interesting to be presented with a counter argument where counties have not been so active after the “liberation” of countries they have chosen to invade and how that played out。 The only counter argument- comparison presented is the financial aid in Germany after the secondary world war。 Overall great read， taught me about the guns an Would have preferred a lot more elaboration on the transition of power in the Russian history as well as the industrialisation of defence in Israel。 Would also be interesting to be presented with a counter argument where counties have not been so active after the “liberation” of countries they have chosen to invade and how that played out。 The only counter argument- comparison presented is the financial aid in Germany after the secondary world war。 Overall great read， taught me about the guns and butter （ caviar ） index and in a micro level how wars offer opportunities。 。。。more

Brendan Campbell ，

Absolutely terrifying。 If you've ever wondered how an economic model can have blood on its hands， here's a good place to start。 Absolutely terrifying。 If you've ever wondered how an economic model can have blood on its hands， here's a good place to start。 。。。more

Bojan ，

Nice overview of how corporate America is tied in with the state， and their never-ending quest to find new markets to milk。Works well combined with Confessions of an Economic Hit Man。 Nice overview of how corporate America is tied in with the state， and their never-ending quest to find new markets to milk。Works well combined with Confessions of an Economic Hit Man。 。。。more

Marcel Schwarz ，

Not bad， although a bit repetitive

Jumana Nayed ，

14 years after its release， the Shock Doctrine proves to be as relevant and revelatory as it was at the time。 I highly recommend the book to anyone that still needs convincing of the dangers of unfettered capitalism。Klein makes her case against the disaster capitalism complex by outlining the ways in which corporations exploit humanitarian disasters and force vulnerable nations into submission。 Klein relates the tactics employed with torture practices based on the same foundation: shocking a per 14 years after its release， the Shock Doctrine proves to be as relevant and revelatory as it was at the time。 I highly recommend the book to anyone that still needs convincing of the dangers of unfettered capitalism。Klein makes her case against the disaster capitalism complex by outlining the ways in which corporations exploit humanitarian disasters and force vulnerable nations into submission。 Klein relates the tactics employed with torture practices based on the same foundation: shocking a person until they regress to a blank state that can be built upon。 Most deplorable is the way in which the disaster capitalism complex evolved as not only a way to profit from disasters， but to prompt them altogether （namely with the Iraq War）。The Shock Doctrine was a disturbing read that altered my perspective on disasters and the idea that the winners and losers emerging from them are planned and deliberate。 It strengthened my belief in the power of community and grassroots organization。 。。。more

Debs Erwin ，

Basically everyone needs to know the contents of this book and understand how disaster capitalism is shaping our societies and devastating the lives of ordinary people。 Klein is incisive as always， this is journalism at its finest。 It's not light reading that's for sure， the injustices are absolutely horrifying and I had to take quite a few breaks， plus it's a long read。 Planning to check out the documentary as a companion piece。 Basically everyone needs to know the contents of this book and understand how disaster capitalism is shaping our societies and devastating the lives of ordinary people。 Klein is incisive as always， this is journalism at its finest。 It's not light reading that's for sure， the injustices are absolutely horrifying and I had to take quite a few breaks， plus it's a long read。 Planning to check out the documentary as a companion piece。 。。。more

Killthehumans ，

Is this supposed to be disorienting to reflect torture techniques。

Zaid ，

مذهل！！

Taryn ，

good read i guess very eye opening， i can safely say i'm more knowledgeable now would've cared more about it if i was interested in economics and politics， they gave many case studies that were frankly quite repetitive but necessary for an in depth analysis of shock therapy economics good read i guess very eye opening， i can safely say i'm more knowledgeable now would've cared more about it if i was interested in economics and politics， they gave many case studies that were frankly quite repetitive but necessary for an in depth analysis of shock therapy economics 。。。more

Tan ，

Extremely unsettling - this book caused me to re-evaluate and examine many things that I had previously taken at face value。 It wasn't an easy read in that I'm starting to scratch the surface of the damaging economic system that we live in， and my place in it。 The biggest takeaway for me is that political ideology and economic policy are deeply intertwined; capitalism isn't just about 'money'。 It is and had been the cause of unimaginable repression and human suffering。 Naomi Klein makes a really Extremely unsettling - this book caused me to re-evaluate and examine many things that I had previously taken at face value。 It wasn't an easy read in that I'm starting to scratch the surface of the damaging economic system that we live in， and my place in it。 The biggest takeaway for me is that political ideology and economic policy are deeply intertwined; capitalism isn't just about 'money'。 It is and had been the cause of unimaginable repression and human suffering。 Naomi Klein makes a really compelling case for viewing unfettered capitalism as a root cause of the rising inequality that is one of the most pressing issues facing us today - as vaccine poverty has only highlighted and exaggerated。 A really important book and worth a read！ 。。。more

Chase Lindemann ，

I would like to give this book more stars than I am allowed。 This book should be required reading for everyone。

kayla ，

no surprises here but， capitalism is evil

Logan Young ，

Excellent history and analysis of the neoliberalism （the doctrine of pure free-market capitalism with no government regulation and privatization of everything）， which has been the dominating political doctrine in the world for nearly the past 50 years。 Klein goes through in great detail the origins of neoliberalism with the University of Chicago and Milton Friedman， and comparing the tactics they developed for instilling their deeply unpopular policies to CIA methods of torture。 She then catalog Excellent history and analysis of the neoliberalism （the doctrine of pure free-market capitalism with no government regulation and privatization of everything）， which has been the dominating political doctrine in the world for nearly the past 50 years。 Klein goes through in great detail the origins of neoliberalism with the University of Chicago and Milton Friedman， and comparing the tactics they developed for instilling their deeply unpopular policies to CIA methods of torture。 She then catalogues every major example of neoliberalism being forced into a country by utilizing the vital window of disorientation caused by a great shocking event that distracts the population from the terrible economic changes being done under their noses; from the brutal， genocidal repression in Chile under Pinochet， to the great betrayals of leftist democratic movements by groups like Solidarity in Poland and the ANC in South Africa （the latter through pressure from the IMF and World Bank）。 Both of the latter groups were forced to do neoliberal reforms in order to receive emergency loans to reduce massive suffering。 Supremely evil shit。 The most interesting parts dealt with the War in Iraq （the 2nd one）。 HOOOLY SHIT。 I knew it was awful， but the incredible， incredible amount of wealth that was stolen from the Iraqi people and sucked up by private companies， and then those same companies sucking up billions from the US government， was staggering （ignoring the horrible human misery that war has caused for the past 20 years）。 Every single aspect of that war was contracted out to private companies like Halliburton， Blackwater and Lockheed-Martin， so that the destruction， rebuilding （Iraqis were not included in rebuilding their own country）， and treating of the injured were all incredibly lucrative for these companies。 While the population of Iraq was devastated from being on the receiving end of the US military's "Shock and Awe" terror invasion strategy， the US gov quickly tried to privatize （for foreign companies exclusively） Iraq's national oil company， which provides more than 90% of Iraq's revenue， after they had already privatized all the other major industries。 A couple years later when Katrina devastated New Orleans， a lot of the same companies from Iraq were hired to same thing on US soil to their great profit and to the suffering of the poor people of New Orleans （rich people did fine）。 Rinse and repeat with other disasters， like the 2004 tsunami that wiped out Sri Lanka。 What we have here is no longer a military-industrial complex， but a situation which means that disasters becomes a critical aspect of capitalism， to the point that capitalism doesn't shudder when disaster strikes， but thrives。 This made me， in a way， even more hopeless about the possibility of capitalist countries coming up with a strategy for preventing climate change。 That is not the goal; with climate instability more and more countries will become desperate for aid and need to rebuild， and that is the perfect time to force neoliberal policies on them， along with the fact rebuilding is too profitable of an emerging market to just give up， regardless of the future of the human species。 Even though climate change was not known in her time， this is exactly what Rosa Luxemburg meant when she talked about "socialism or barbarism。" Klein's disaster-industrial-complex model has only proven itself further in the 14 years since this book has been published。 There was even a section where she talked about companies investing heavily in IPR for medicine and vaccines， waiting patiently for the day when a terrible disease will sweep the world so they could force desperate countries to buy their product。 Coronavirus was not a tragedy for them， it was their dreams come true！Speaking of socialism， I do have a few complaints about this book。 Klein is not a socialist， but instead adores Keynesian capitalist economics。 I can tolerate this， because her attacks on neoliberalism are so incredible， but she also throws in some lazy attacks on the USSR and Eastern European communist countries which were inconsistent with the passionate academic power-punches she served up for the rest of the book。 One example was when she was discussing Poland， and how the communist government was so "inefficient" that they would let meat go to spoil just sitting in a warehouse instead of properly distributing it to the population to be consumed。 This seemed ridiculous， so I checked her source for this， and I was surprised to see that she cited a work by Jeffery Sachs， who is the same neoliberal economist she had been spending the entire chapter about Poland bashing as the source of the mass misery caused after the fall of the communist government due to his advising。 That would be like writing a book about how awful the Nazis were， then citing Goebbels for a claim about the Jews in Weimar Germany。 Maybe don't cite the evil dude that is doing evil shit just so you can shit on communism？ Later on she also admits that the social-democratic paradise she adores in places like Norther Europe were mostly only possible because of the threat of the scary USSR。 Capitalists tolerated the existence of these countries only as a demonstration of how lovely capitalism can be in the face of militant communism。 Once that threat is gone， social democracy is not an option anymore。。。 too much money needs to be drained from the working class for that。 She is also somewhat inconsistent。 In the last chapter she had positive things to say about Chavez in Venezuela and Morales in Bolivia， both of whom were strong socialists who nationalized several industries。 She didn't like Chavez's "strong cult of personality，" but she adored Morales （because he IS adorable！！）。 I suppose she liked them because they were so supportive of co-ops。 She also had positive things to say about Cuba， which is a Marxist-Leninist communist country of the exact same vein she had been complaining about earlier in the book。 Again， it is just laziness。 But that's the thing: attacks on capitalism require 500+ pages of intense research and citations to buffer a thoughtful， irrefutable thesis， while attacks that slander the left require very little to be taken seriously。 Overall， fantastic book that everyone should read to better understand the world。 Just be careful when she talks about things that aren't in her wheelhouse。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0