Post by wheelspinner on Jul 1, 2011 7:32:11 GMT -5
Anyone who wants to get to the bottom of the riots in Greece over the new austerity measue should just read Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine.
Greece is a case study in the Friedmanite methods that Klein exposed in her book. A vulnerable country experiences a shock, man-made, natrual disaster, etc. In Greece's case, the shock was the GFC. Led by the IMF, Western investors seek to take advantage of the smaller country's exposure. Extreme austerity measures are imposed as a condition of providing desperately needed funds, leading local politicians to parrot the IMF line that there is no choice. These austerity measures always include selling off the country's most prized assets to Western investors at bargain-basement prices. The local populace is infuriated and takes to the streets. The local government takes the corporate's side against its own people, ruthlessly crushing their opinions with tear gas, bullets, or worse.
Sound familiar?
Of course these austerity measures are never seen as necessary for major Western countries that can't pay their bills; the USA for example. Friedman's followers are idealogues, but they're not stupid.
Greece is a case study in the Friedmanite methods that Klein exposed in her book. A vulnerable country experiences a shock, man-made, natrual disaster, etc. In Greece's case, the shock was the GFC. Led by the IMF, Western investors seek to take advantage of the smaller country's exposure. Extreme austerity measures are imposed as a condition of providing desperately needed funds, leading local politicians to parrot the IMF line that there is no choice. These austerity measures always include selling off the country's most prized assets to Western investors at bargain-basement prices. The local populace is infuriated and takes to the streets. The local government takes the corporate's side against its own people, ruthlessly crushing their opinions with tear gas, bullets, or worse.
Sound familiar?
Of course these austerity measures are never seen as necessary for major Western countries that can't pay their bills; the USA for example. Friedman's followers are idealogues, but they're not stupid.