What Is The Use Of Shock In Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine

The Shock Doctrine, by Naomi Klein, discusses multiple forms of shock that can be, and have been, used in a multitude of situations. According to Klein, Milton Friedman’s choice of shock was one of policy rather than an electric current. Friedman had a dream very similar to Dr. Ewen Cameron’s; both involved rewinding the clock to a time of innocence, a blank slate to implement their work. While Cameron reverted adults to a childlike state, Friedman “dreamed of de-patterning societies” (57). The University of Chicago’s Economics Department taught its students that, if returned to a state without government interference, the market would be able to regulate itself. Friedman fully believed in the teachings of the Chicago School of economics and

As the success of managed economies increased, Friedman had only a small number of supporters; luckily for him that small group was comprised of very powerful people. Friedman continued to urge the government to privatize services such as “health care, the post office, education, retirement pensions, even national parks” (65-66). He also believed that if taxes must exist, everyone, no matter their financial situation, should be taxed at the same flat rate, and that minimum wage should not exist. In his opinion the price of labor should be controlled by the market, not the government. Another way that Friedman and Cameron were similar is that they both failed when given the chance to put their theories into practice. They both used shocks to wipe out everything that came before them but were unable to create a blank slate, rather creating “only rubble and shattered, angry people”(55). Klein explains that one reason Friedman may have had the beliefs that he did, had to do with what his fathers profession was, which was that of a sweatshop