The Shock Doctrine - Naoimi Klein

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ISBN: 978-0-141-02453-0

Verdict: 👍👍👍👍 

This is one of my favourite reads of 2019, 466+ pages

The book seeks to shed light on cause and effect in terms of disaster and benefits i.e. why  for some of the catastrophes , big business have benefited 💵in the past e.g. The Iraq War and US Hurricane 🌪Katrina and it does a great job !


Some great quotes, with my favourite one being one that describes the UK/Argentinian Falkland’s war as a “fight between two bald men over a comb”

The book diuscusses the advantages Economist Milton Friedman promoted a man she refers to as the ‘Grand Guru’ of a movement which went across the globe post disaster to "assist' yet benefit the US.

Friedman observed that “Only a crisis – actual or perceived – produces real change. When that occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around”( p6)

The quote “the Russian people fronted the money for the looting of their own country” (p233) resonates through the book – it really does make you sit back and think !

I believe this is where the term Disaster Economics came from I think the book illustrates the concepts and the principles behind the term quite well. 

This was recommended to me by a former trader, now at IBM, as ‘worth a read if you have a lot of time on your hands and some misrepresented conservative views’  and he was right – I am glad I read this book and would recommend it to one and all !


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