New Books By Alan Greenspan and Naomi Klein: One is Prophetic, One is Pathetic

fascinating dispute on modern economics — and the dominant role it plays in our politics - is currently taking place in America’s bookstores.

On one side is Alan Greenspan, whose The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World offers his usual free market uber alles philosophy, while attempting to rehabilitate his tattered image (which is worth about as much as the U.S. dollar these days).

On the other side is Naomi Klein, whose The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism offers an alternative economic history of the last 30 years and, using the war in Iraq as a mind-blowing example, pulls the curtain back on free market myths and exposes the forces that are really driving our economy.

Klein’s book is powerful and prophetic. Greenspan’s is pitiful and pathetic.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/26/4108/

Coming to my town on Saturday !!!

Santa Rosa, CA: As part of The Big Read Sonoma County, the Charles M. Schulz Museum presents multi-award winning cartoonist Tom Tomorrow in a rare speaking engagement.

Mr. Tomorrow, creator of the weekly cartoon of social and political satire, This Modern World, will deliver his presentation in the auditorium at the Charles M. Schulz Museum, Saturday, September 29 at 1 pm and will be available to meet visitors, answer questions and sign copies of his books. Admission to this event is free with museum admission. The Charles Schulz Museum is located at 2301 Hardies Lane in Santa Rosa.

The Big Read Sonoma County is led by KRCB Public Radio & Television, partnering with the Sonoma County Library, Sonoma County Public Library Foundation, Arts Council of Sonoma County, Sonoma County Book Festival, the Charles Schulz Museum, Sonoma State University, Santa Rosa Junior College and Copperfield’s Books.

The Big Read Sonoma County will be encouraging all residents of Sonoma County to read Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, between September 15th and the end of October, and to participate in Big Read activities. More information about scheduled activities can be found at www.bigreadsonoma.com

I'm 2/3 of the way through Naomi Klein's book, and it is very good. Although her analogy of free market doctrines being forced upon struggling economies as being similar to people being tortured is a bit of a stretch (for me, anyway), her cataloging of World Bank/IMF shenanigans in Bolivia, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, etc. is exhaustive, and exhausting to read. Particularly horrible is the chapter on post-Soviet Russia, when the state's industries were sold for pennies on the dollar, and millions of Russians were plunged into poverty.

Most searing indictment of "free market" globalization I've read since "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man." Highly recommended.

I bet the contrast is interesting. I've read Klein's No Logo and found it interesting. I've never read anything by Greenspan. Free markets aren't a bad idea if they are in fact free. Klein's economic vision from No Logo is no more free in theory than Greenspan's is in fact. I'll try and steal both books and thus do the end run around either economic system haha!