Dangerous Intersection: Shock Doctrine

Erich Vieth | November 11, 2011 

Naomi Klein’s “Shock Doctrine” is illustrated in this short video on the DU web site. See http://dangerousintersection.org/2011/11/11/shock-doctrine-take-advantage-of-crises-to-ram-through-unpopular-policies/. 

The idea is that political leaders often take advantage of natural and manufactured crises to ram through unpopular policies. Many citizens overreact in response to the trauma by going along with measures that would normally never see the light to day. Milton Friedman advocated using shock to push unpopular “free market” initiatives.


After 911, GW Bush used shock to undertake several extraordinary and often illegal programs.

1. Extraordinary rendition or kidnapping of foreign nationals off of the streets of Europe   
2. Many of these people who were kidnapped were put in illegal CIA jails in Arab states, Poland and some of the Baltic states to bypass habeus corpus and other legal protections in the US. 
3. Opened the Guantanamo detention Center in Cuba which costs $800,000 per prisoner to maintain. 
4. Passed the Patriot act which allowed the Internet to be bugged and broke down barriers between US intelligence agencies and the police. The police now have unprecedented powers and intelligence. 
5. Increased the defense budget by 40 per cent. 
6. Started two middle eastern wars. 

Rightardia had hoped that the Democrats would use a little shock of their own after the 2008 elections.

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