Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment

[Joanne98]

Did you ever wonder whether you were living in someone's idea of a surrealist dystopia?

Come on, you know you have -- existing in a world where we civilly debate whether torture is acceptable; where superior powers invade and decimate at will under the banner of "freedom" or "justice;" where informants infiltrate grassroots groups that are helping disaster survivors secure food and health care; where the Treasury is thoroughly looted but a homeless person goes to jail for "stealing" food from a dumpster; where people who wage war are re-elected while those who would challenge them are branded as traitors; and where the media lead with celebrity fluff pieces as the whole thing hits the fan.

Is Nero fiddling right now? Or is he twittering instead?

The funny thing is, we're actually not that bad off in some ways -- hey, you get it, so at least that's a pretty good start! And perhaps we have to go through all of this to get to wherever it is we're going. Well, of course there's a lot more to say about that notion, but for now the Spectacle is making a spectacle of itself, again . . . and again.

You may have heard about or read Naomi Klein's book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, where she dissects how global capital thrives on (and in many ways is substantially reliant upon) catastrophes in order to function. The implication is that crises therefore will not simply be capitalized on -- e.g., Halliburton's no-bid contracts in Iraq and New Orleans -- but that they will be fomented, exacerbated, or perhaps even orchestrated to fit the bill. This isn't a conspiracy theory; it's just how the game works.

Klein focuses in particular on macro-shocks, namely "the public's disorientation following massive collective shocks -- wars, terrorist attacks, or natural disasters -- to achieve control by imposing economic shock therapy." (Shock and Awe, anyone? Got FEMA?) She also notes how such moments can be important opportunities for positive change as well.

Still, the effects have been mixed at best. "Shock therapy" in economics actually refers to the sudden release of price and/or currency controls, withdrawal of state subsidies, and immediate trade liberalization, often including large scale privatization of previously public-owned assets. It may also refer to any significant program of pro-market reforms, and is usually applied to state economies as they move toward becoming market economies, as in Poland. But it also works in places like the U.S., where markets and the state intertwine as the "bailout" pendulum swings back and forth.

But there's another level to all of this that has been less explored. The everyday, constant, relentless nature of "shocks" we all receive is perhaps even more powerful and pervasive. While it's tempting to hold out the Katrinas and Iraqs as exemplars, the day-in, day-out news cycle might be even more damaging in the long run. In this sense it appears that the shock doctrine has already become passe by simply masking as "business as usual," giving new meaning to phrase shock value.

Continued>>>
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randall-amster/gimme-gimme-shock-treatme_b_155482.html