Final Word from Friday, September 19, 2008
Some people still believe the global spread of capitalism came about by purely democratic means, but not Naomi Klein. She says in "The Shock Doctrine" that disaster capitalism has been used for decades to push through highly unpopular economic shock therapy after regime changes, wars, terrorist attacks and financial crises. Evidence shows that the industries that benefit most from disaster - such as defense, healthcare and energy - work hard to make sure the current disastrous trends continue unchallenged, she says. Under Mirek Topolánek, ODS is using the principles of disaster capitalism to push through economic reforms, huge spending and privatization projects, and radar, but time is running out. The harder it pushes in the few weeks before the mid-Oct. elections, the more likely its deeds will be reversed later. And in some cases, staying out of prison might even become a big challenge.[Czech Republic senate regional]
Glossary of difficult words
disaster capitalism - defined by Naomi Klein as "orchestrated raids on the public sphere in the wake of catastrophic events, combined with the treatment of disasters as exciting market opportunities";
Naomi Klein - an author of two books and a columnist for The Nation and The Guardian;
shock therapy - sudden and drastic measures taken to solve a difficult problem.