Sunday, March 20, 2011

"This is a Frontal Assault on Democracy, a Corporate Coup D'Etat"

Naomi Klein on Anti-Union Bills and Shock Doctrine American-Style: "This is a Frontal Assault on Democracy, a Corporate Coup D'Etat"


Naomi Klein's book The Shock Doctrine has to be one of the most important books written in our time, laying out tactics used by those in power to take advantage of times of crises to push through undemocratic and extreme free market economic policies.

Klein appeared on Democracy Now this week to talk about the union busting going on in Wisconsin and across the states. Please watch this, or put it on and just listen to the audio while you do something else.... she has so many good points. It helps make whats happening in our country understandable - with some ideas of what you can actually do, what to look out for, and a few hard truths about Obama which I have a hard time hearing but are all too true.

Here is a good quote from the interview about how the changes going on would effect us women.

"Teachers’ unions are getting the worst of it. Yesterday was International Women’s Day. This is—you know, as you pointed out on your show, it’s overwhelmingly women who are providing the services that are under attack. It’s not just labor that’s under attack; it’s the services that the labor is providing that’s under attack: it’s healthcare, it’s education, it’s those fundamental care-giving services across the country, which could be profitable if they were privatized."
-Naomi Klein