Politics hates a vacuum. If it isn't filled with hope, someone will fill it with fear.
As I was writing 'The Shock Doctrine', I was covering the Iraq War and profiteering from the war, and I started to see these patterns repeat in the aftermath of natural disasters, like the Asian tsunami and then Hurricane Katrina.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights how patterns of profiteering and exploitation reemerge in times of crisis, whether in war or natural disasters.
In this quote, Naomi Klein reflects on her experiences while writing 'The Shock Doctrine', elucidating how the same economic and social patterns of exploitation emerge during various crises, including the Iraq War and natural disasters like the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. Klein suggests that the disruption caused by these events is often exploited by those who seek to profit, revealing a troubling cyclical nature of human behavior in the face of catastrophe.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech addressing economic reforms, one might mention this quote to illustrate the dangers of exploiting crises.
More from Naomi Klein
All quotes βBecause it is such a huge crisis, because it puts us on a firm science-based deadline, it's a once-in-a-century opportunity to build a better society and address raging inequality, create huge numbers of jobs, rebuild our public infrastructure. But, we can't do it unless we break every single rule in the free-market playbook. Which is why the worst people in the world all deny climate change.
Terrorism doesn't just blow up buildings; it blasts every other issue off the political map. The spectre of terrorism - real and exaggerated - has become a shield of impunity, protecting governments around the world from scrutiny for their human rights abuses.
Everybody that's trying to get anything progressive done in this country knows that the biggest barrier is getting money out of politics.
I think I would say that there is absolutely no way to reconcile an austerity agenda with climate action. Our political class needs to understand that the fight against austerity and the fight for climate action are the same fight.
I think the fossil fuel industry is genuinely freaked out by the combination of the price collapse, the divestment movement, and that fact that renewable energy is getting so cheap so fast.
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A lot of people resist transition and therefore never allow themselves to enjoy who they are. Embrace the change, no matter what it is; once you do, you can learn about the new world you're in and take advantage of it.
To be born again means that we must be changed from a negative to a positive self-image - from inferiority to self-esteem, from fear to love, from doubt to trust.
If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.
This will be a great day in our history; the date of a New Revolution - quite as much needed as the old one. Even now as I write they are leading old John Brown to execution in Virginia for attempting to rescue slaves! This is sowing the wind to reap the whirlwind which will come soon!
Change is not made without inconvenience.
True transformation only comes from sustainable strategies.