The Privatization of War
I’m ashamed to say that I was one of the people who passed this book up despite the countless recommendations from friends. It took seeing Naomi Klein speak in person to make me rush out and read it. I implore you not to make the same mistake. If you haven’t read it, get this treasure now. As we reflect on the past decade, this book stands out as one of the most important.
Klein’s masterpiece is the ultimate work for understanding the changes in economics and politics from the 1960s to our present global system. Don’t let the heavy topic overwhelm you. The thoroughly researched book is a captivating page-turner with clear, powerful language. Anyone can pick this up and love it.
Klein shows the systematic way repression has been delivered during societal crises over the last forty years in order to force unpopular economic changes . From Chile to Poland to South Africa, the narrative tells the story of how crises are exploited to push privatization and unfettered free markets on people while shattering social programs and movements.
The results are disturbing and ongoing. In each case, democracy was curtailed or crushed in the interests of the economically powerful. With Hurricane Katrina and Iraq she explains the latest stages of this “disaster capitalism”, as relief efforts and wars are privatized and become even more profitable for corporate elites. For example, Klein describes how in the newly conquered Iraq, the US prioritized the privatization of Iraqi oil after they destroyed the country’s infrastructure, gutted public services, and looked the other way while its cultural heritage was looted.
As the world becomes more and more divided into gilded, gated communities and struggling masses, this timely tome is required reading. And to be kept in mind while we see what’s happening in Haiti…
