The Shock Doctrine

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, by Naomi Klein. Knopf Canada, 2007

In This Changes Everything, her latest book, Naomi Klein mentions how she used to be more concerned about the political and economic aspects of global issues—in particular, the issues brought about or exacerbated by the role powerful corporations—than by more “environmental” aspects (although the deeply problematic human-nature relation is of course indissociable from political and economic considerations). Obviously, her view then shifted, and she now considers climate change the greatest challenge of our time.

After reading This Changes Everything, which I found particularly convincing (see review here), I felt hungry for more; Klein’s prose tends to be full of verve and rather passionate, to say the least, and yet the points she makes are both convincing and well-researched. So I decided to pick up The Shock Doctrine, which was published ten years ago.

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This Changes Everything

“In short, dropping out and planting vegetables is not an option for this generation.” – p405

This Changes Everything. Capitalism vs. the Climate, by Naomi Klein. Simon & Schuster, 2014

This Changes Everything investigates the climate change crisis—what has caused it, what it means and how it should be addressed—from a decidedly political standpoint. As the author states, she is less interested in “the mechanics of the transition” (i.e. the nitty-gritty technological shift) we need to accomplish than in “the power and ideological roadblocks” that stand in the way. It is a stimulating and invigorating approach.

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