What is the shock doctrine and why should we care?

The shock doctrine is a concept proposed by Canadian journalist Naomi Klein and raised in the book The Shock Doctrine. The rise of disaster capitalismpublished in 2007. His central proposition is that the capitalist system has systematically taken advantage of major disasters to implement and strengthen a series of principles favorable to its interests.

Klein points out that the main objective of the shock doctrine is to dismantle what remains of the so-called welfare state. and promote, at the same time, the principles of neoliberalism. This doctrine is inspired by the work of Milton Friedman and the Chicago School. The latter are those considered “fathers of neoliberalism.”

One of the central ideas of neoliberalism is that the State must be reduced to its minimum expression and that the market must be the main regulator of social dynamics.

According to Klein’s shock doctrine, have found that disasters They are an opportunity to take that idea to its maximum expression and this would have been applied on several occasions. The method they use to take advantage of these situations is analogous to the electroshocks in psychiatry.

The shock doctrine

Naomi Klein’s study is not exactly an academic document, but rather a compilation of information that, when contrasted, reveals certain facts.

Everything coincides with Milton Friedman’s idea that A shocked society demands measures from the States and that an opportunity opens up for them: that of imposing solutions that end up favoring big capital.

According to Klein, This was evident for the first time during the coup d’état that Augusto Pinochet carried out in Chile in 1973.. Friedman himself was an advisor to the dictator. At that time, a series of institutions and measures of social support for the most disadvantaged sectors were dismantled.

Then a regime of savage capitalism was implemented. Society was so shocked and handcuffed that it accepted such measures., many of which remain to this day. The recent protests in Chile, in 2019, sought precisely to dismantle a regime almost half a century after it began to be implemented.

Later, there was also a collective shock in Iraq, caused by the invasion of that country. The operation that was implemented was called “Shock and Awe.”. The goal was announced to be “to control the will of the adversary, his perceptions and understanding of him, and literally render him powerless for any action or reaction.”

Business, at the cost of pain

Another of the events analyzed within the framework of the shock doctrine was Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which devastated large areas of New Orleans. This had not yet happened when Milton Friedman himself wrote in The Wall Street Journal: “Most of the schools in New Orleans are in ruins. This is a tragedy. It is also an opportunity to undertake a radical reform of the educational system”.

The events showed that, indeed, the tragedy of some became an opportunity for others. In the case of New Orleans, a large part of the public schools were in the hands of private companiesbecause apparently it was impossible for the State to continue managing them.

In all these cases, the same scheme is evident: a strong situation of shock, followed by political measures in favor of big capital, within the framework of a situation where society does not show great capacity to react to the particular circumstances it has to face.

The coronavirus and the shock doctrine

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Naomi Klein has made several statements. She basically insists on the basic approach of the shock doctrine: many They will try to take advantage of this crisis to promote policies that increase inequalityenrich the elites and weaken everyone else.

He points out that many of the decisions are being made to protect the free market, rather than life.. There are several rulers who are trying to shift the cost of the crisis to the most vulnerable, who are also the most affected by the pandemic.

However, Klein assures that this is also a good time to raise awareness that everyone’s destiny also depends on everyone. A person can pay for the best health insurance and be guaranteed care; However, if the person selling you food cannot do so, the risk remains.

It is the first time the world has faced a threat of this magnitude. What happens will depend on people’s ability to find ways to help and take responsibility.. Otherwise, there will once again be few winners and a huge number of losers.

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