disaster capitalism

marjorie says...

A friend recently pointed me in the direction of an excellent essay by Naomi Klein, titled The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. She highlights the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (how’s that for an Orwellian moniker??), which was created last summer by Bush to prepare plans for rebuilding post-conflict areas. Klein refers to this office as part and parcel of the ascendance of “Disaster Capitalism.” In Klein’s words, “Fittingly, a government devoted to perpetual pre-emptive deconstruction now has a standing office of perpetual pre-emptive reconstruction.”

The mission of the OCRS is to: lead, coordinate and institutionalize U.S. Government civilian capacity to prevent or prepare for post-conflict situations, and to help stabilize and reconstruct societies in transition from conflict or civil strife, so they can reach a sustainable path toward peace, democracy and a market economy. Let’s not forget the market economy folks!

Klein does a great job describing how well the different strands of first-world intervention and at times seeming cooperation and collaboration fit together in a way that benefits global capital, not to mention the global professional class working through NGO’s, International Financial Institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF, universities, government agencies and private companies. We all know the drill -- the propaganda mills work overtime spewing forth statements about “democracy” and “freedom” while the actual decisions are made by foreign functionaries and professionals out to make a reputation and a buck.

Klein notes how reconstruction dollars are being used to transform societies into privatized, market driven states with little to no opportunities for the actual citizens of these nations to give meaningful input. Her examples range from Haiti, Afghanistan and Iraq, to the aftermath of natural disasters such as the Tsunami and Hurricane Mitch. And, she points out what we’ve already suggested on this blog…that Wolfowitz is actually quite well-suited for the World Bank:

“Deputy Defense Secretary, Paul Wolfowitz designed and oversaw a strikingly similar project in Iraq: The fires were still burning in Baghdad when US occupation officials rewrote the investment laws and announced that the country's state-owned companies would be privatized. Some have pointed to this track record to argue that Wolfowitz is unfit to lead the World Bank; in fact, nothing could have prepared him better for his new job. In Iraq, Wolfowitz was just doing what the World Bank is already doing in virtually every war-torn and disaster-struck country in the world--albeit with fewer bureaucratic niceties and more ideological bravado.”

Thinking in terms of perpetual pre-emptive deconstruction and perpetual pre-emptive reconstruction, the overwhelming bureaucracy of the state and the increasing amount of doublespeak we encounter on a daily basis…brings to mind visions of a global fascist state…manifesting itself with words such as democracy, freedom, and liberty -- words and words with increasingly little meaning.