The Shock Doctrine in Action
The Shock Doctrine, as outlined by writer Naomi Klein, is a diabolically simple two-step process:
1) Create a crisis, and
2) "rescue" people from the crisis by fucking them over.
The Shock Doctrine is a neocon’s ultimate wet dream -- the more crises you create, the more powerful you become!
The $700 billion "bailout" recently passed by Congress is a classic example of the Shock Doctrine in action – first you create a crisis, and then you reward the perpetrators by fucking over the taxpayers. (Whenever you see Republicans and Cavers voting in unison, you can be sure that the Empire -- which is to say, the ruling class – needs defending in some fundamental way.) There were many alternative -- and much more intelligent -- plans put forth in the days after the Bush administration’s bailout was proposed, but as usual, Congress ignored the alternatives and chose the neocon version, liberally larded with pork to make it more palatable.
The purpose of the bailout is not to "fix" the economy. (The neocons have known about the economic crisis for months (Grassroots Press has been alerting its readers about the crisis for years), but chose this politically advantageous time – right before the election – to spring a little Shock Doctrine Surprise on us.) The real purpose of the bailout is to transfer another $700 billion dollars from the rabble to the aristocracy; it’s that simple.
In fact, the bailout is specifically designed to make the economic crisis worse. This way, there will be more meltdowns, and more bailouts, ad infinitum. Ultimately the real economic crisis will hit. (Clue: our savings and retirement accounts will – voila! – disappear.) Then, we will find that -- surprise! -- the coffers are stone empty. Sucked dry. (At which time we will either become serfs, or we’ll be forced to rise up and confiscate the ill-gotten wealth from the plutocrats after we throw them all in jail. But that’s the subject for a later essay. Events need to ripen for a couple of years first.)
Since the day they stole the 2000 election, the Bush administration’s attitude has been, "stop us if you can." So far, we haven’t had much success stopping them. We’ve tried electing Cavers to Congress, to little effect. We are now looking at the final breakdown of representative self-government. The neocon plan: no-nonsense autocracy, Chinese-style.
I realize we’re supposed to be all excited about Obama, and I am, sort of. But Obama would never have gotten this far if he hadn’t been an agent of the Empire all along. He will certainly be vastly better than the senile playboy McCain, but under an Obama Administration we can expect more "necessary" bailouts and not nearly enough funding for necessities like healthcare and alternative energy. The necessary fundamental changes to our socio-economic system will simply not be on the table.
When referring to the Iraq War, liberals like to quote the definition of insanity as "doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." With that in mind, isn’t it insane to keep electing Cavers and expecting them to magically grow spines? Their behavior seems irredeemably pre-programmed. Without strong representation, our powerlessness became embarrassing long ago. But what are we supposed to do, stop shopping or something? Electing Cavers doesn’t seem to accomplish much. Frankly, I don’t see any obvious solutions at this point. All we can do for now is enjoy what now looks like a substantial victory for Obama and the Cavers. Because compared to McCain and his neocon cohorts, Obama and the Cavers are by far the lesser of two evils.
Cross-posted to the Grassroots Press website, http://www.grass-roots-press.com . I’m now updating my blog after a 2½ year break. The economic crash is guaranteed to get much worse, but this can be an exciting, creative, and liberating time if we handle it right. As the crash progresses, I plan to share my observations, rants, and handy hints. I always appreciate your comments.
1) Create a crisis, and
2) "rescue" people from the crisis by fucking them over.
The Shock Doctrine is a neocon’s ultimate wet dream -- the more crises you create, the more powerful you become!
The $700 billion "bailout" recently passed by Congress is a classic example of the Shock Doctrine in action – first you create a crisis, and then you reward the perpetrators by fucking over the taxpayers. (Whenever you see Republicans and Cavers voting in unison, you can be sure that the Empire -- which is to say, the ruling class – needs defending in some fundamental way.) There were many alternative -- and much more intelligent -- plans put forth in the days after the Bush administration’s bailout was proposed, but as usual, Congress ignored the alternatives and chose the neocon version, liberally larded with pork to make it more palatable.
The purpose of the bailout is not to "fix" the economy. (The neocons have known about the economic crisis for months (Grassroots Press has been alerting its readers about the crisis for years), but chose this politically advantageous time – right before the election – to spring a little Shock Doctrine Surprise on us.) The real purpose of the bailout is to transfer another $700 billion dollars from the rabble to the aristocracy; it’s that simple.
In fact, the bailout is specifically designed to make the economic crisis worse. This way, there will be more meltdowns, and more bailouts, ad infinitum. Ultimately the real economic crisis will hit. (Clue: our savings and retirement accounts will – voila! – disappear.) Then, we will find that -- surprise! -- the coffers are stone empty. Sucked dry. (At which time we will either become serfs, or we’ll be forced to rise up and confiscate the ill-gotten wealth from the plutocrats after we throw them all in jail. But that’s the subject for a later essay. Events need to ripen for a couple of years first.)
Since the day they stole the 2000 election, the Bush administration’s attitude has been, "stop us if you can." So far, we haven’t had much success stopping them. We’ve tried electing Cavers to Congress, to little effect. We are now looking at the final breakdown of representative self-government. The neocon plan: no-nonsense autocracy, Chinese-style.
I realize we’re supposed to be all excited about Obama, and I am, sort of. But Obama would never have gotten this far if he hadn’t been an agent of the Empire all along. He will certainly be vastly better than the senile playboy McCain, but under an Obama Administration we can expect more "necessary" bailouts and not nearly enough funding for necessities like healthcare and alternative energy. The necessary fundamental changes to our socio-economic system will simply not be on the table.
When referring to the Iraq War, liberals like to quote the definition of insanity as "doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." With that in mind, isn’t it insane to keep electing Cavers and expecting them to magically grow spines? Their behavior seems irredeemably pre-programmed. Without strong representation, our powerlessness became embarrassing long ago. But what are we supposed to do, stop shopping or something? Electing Cavers doesn’t seem to accomplish much. Frankly, I don’t see any obvious solutions at this point. All we can do for now is enjoy what now looks like a substantial victory for Obama and the Cavers. Because compared to McCain and his neocon cohorts, Obama and the Cavers are by far the lesser of two evils.
Cross-posted to the Grassroots Press website, http://www.grass-roots-press.com . I’m now updating my blog after a 2½ year break. The economic crash is guaranteed to get much worse, but this can be an exciting, creative, and liberating time if we handle it right. As the crash progresses, I plan to share my observations, rants, and handy hints. I always appreciate your comments.
posted by Gordon Solberg at 6:10 AM
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