The Shock Doctrine - Q&A From the Seattle Talk

Run time: 29:07 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1FWcxfH4v4   Posted on YouTube: October 07, 2007 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: October 08, 2007 By DU Member: seemslikeadream Views on DU: 1074

 

And the new book is awesome, too!

Brilliant young woman- I've got to read her book. Wish I had known what she does at her age- wow.
Friedman's Free Market and Reagan's Trickle down economics exposed by Naomi Klein. Klein warns the Neocons (as we call them in the US) are rabid about creating a fiscal crisis so they can raid social security.

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The main points of neo-liberalism include:

1.THE RULE OF THE MARKET. Liberating "free" enterprise or private enterprise from any bonds imposed by the government (the state) no matter how much social damage this causes. Greater openness to international trade and investment, as in NAFTA. Reduce wages by de-unionizing workers and eliminating workers' rights that had been won over many years of struggle. No more price controls. All in all, total freedom of movement for capital, goods and services. To convince us this is good for us, they say "an unregulated market is the best way to increase economic growth, which will ultimately benefit everyone." It's like Reagan's "supply-side" and "trickle-down" economics -- but somehow the wealth didn't trickle down very much.
2.CUTTING PUBLIC EXPENDITURE FOR SOCIAL SERVICES like education and health care. REDUCING THE SAFETY-NET FOR THE POOR, and even maintenance of roads, bridges, water supply -- again in the name of reducing government's role. Of course, they don't oppose government subsidies and tax benefits for business.
3.DEREGULATION. Reduce government regulation of everything that could diminsh profits, including protecting the environmentand safety on the job.
4.PRIVATIZATION. Sell state-owned enterprises, goods and services to private investors. This includes banks, key industries, railroads, toll highways, electricity, schools, hospitals and even fresh water. Although usually done in the name of greater efficiency, which is often needed, privatization has mainly had the effect of concentrating wealth even more in a few hands and making the public pay even more for its needs.
5.ELIMINATING THE CONCEPT OF "THE PUBLIC GOOD" or "COMMUNITY" and replacing it with "individual responsibility." Pressuring the poorest people in a society to find solutions to their lack of health care, education and social security all by themselves -- then blaming them, if they fail, as "lazy."

From: http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=376

I have heard the term used on occasion in reference too certain democrats whose voting record and ideas were anything but liberal or progressive, and in my opinion I couldn’t see ware neoliberal had anything to do with being liberal at all. I have also had a hard time in finding a decent definition but this article hits the nail on the head.

I was wrong about neoliberal not having anything to do with liberal; it has everything to do with liberal. It’s like conservatives in liberal cloths so people would like them or republicans in democrat’s cloths so people would vote for them. And too prove they have liberal values their working to give capitalist anything and everything liberal they want, such as, they are working too free them from any form of government restrictions, influence, oversight or penalty of wrong doing. They want Utopia for the capitalist and tyranny for the masses, socialism for the few and capitalism for the many. If there is anything bad about liberal it’s neoliberal.

Thanks for the link sagesnow, I learned something important today.

Her comment about learned helplessness and apathy in the voting booth is critical. When people think their vote doesn't matter, because the crooks rig the elections, they stop voting, and self-medicate with nonsense like Kid Nation, and Survivor.