Naomi Klein

{{bronze}}[[File:Naomi Klein Occupy Wall Street 2011 Shankbone.JPG|thumb|right|165px|Klein at [[Occupy Wall Street]], 6 October 2011.]]{{Books|1}}

'''Naomi Klein''' {{lived|1970|}} is a [[Canadian]] [[author]], [[secular]] [[Jewish]] [[feminist]],<ref name="bio">[https://naomiklein.org/about-naomi/ About Naomi]. naomiklein.org.</ref><ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/naomi-klein/6993852 "Late Night Live" interview (Australian Broadcast Corp.), 1/4/16.]</ref> and (as far as we can tell) a [[socialist]].<ref>[http://marccooper.typepad.com/marccooper/2004/08/najaf_to_new_yo.html Najaf to New York? Better: New York to Najaf.] marccooper.typepad.com, 27 August 2004.</ref><ref>[http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/how-naomi-klein-became-canadas-only-voice-for-angry-socialism/ How Naomi Klein became Canada’s only voice for angry socialism]. ''Maclean's'', 28 September 2015.</ref>

She is most known for three books, ''No Logo: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs'' (1999),<ref name=nologo /> ''The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism'' (2007) ,<ref name=shock /> and ''This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Environment'' (2014),<ref name=changes>Naomi Klein, ''This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Environment''. Simon & Schuster, 2015. {{isbn| 1451697392}}</ref> as well as for a variety of shorter [[journalism]], all demonstrating a [[left-wing]], anti-[[globalization]], anti-[[capitalist]] viewpoint. Her early books specifically attacked [[consumerism]] and trends in the world's consumer-goods market, while ''The Shock Doctrine'' examines [[capitalism]] more generally and the fallout of the "crash and start-over-again" phenomena. ''This Changes Everything'' basically says "We can't get there from here" regarding solutions to [[climate change | global warming]].

Klein is currently a senior contributor for ''The Intercept''<ref>[https://theintercept.com/2017/02/13/naomi-klein-to-cover-shocks-of-trump-era-for-the-intercept/ Naomi Klein to Cover Shocks of Trump Era for The Intercept]. ''The Intercept'', 13 February 2017.</ref> and sits on the board of directors of {{wpl|350.org}}.<ref>[http://www.thenation.com/authors/naomi-klein/ Naomi Klein]. Contribution editor, ''The Nation''.</ref>

==Books==
===''No Logo: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs''===
Klein's first major book, ''No Logo: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs'',<ref name=nologo>Naomi Klein, ''No Logo: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs''. Picador, 2002. {{isbn|0008485135}}.</ref> was first published in December 1999, shortly after the {{wpl|1999 Seattle WTO protests}} which brought attention to the alter-globalization movement.<ref group=note> A social movement seeking to create an alternative to economic globalization that promotes democracy, economic justice and safeguarding the enviroment and human rights </ref><ref>[https://www.glossaire-international.com/pages/tous-les-termes/altermondialisme.html Definition of the term alter-globalization], in French</ref> 

The book's main focus was on the phenomenon of "branding"; Klein argued that major companies had, starting in the 1980s, transitioned from manufacturing products to [[Advertising|branding]] products made by other companies, specifically overseas subcontractors; in this process, brands had expanded from identifying the manufacturers of products into representing entire lifestyles, and management of brands and [[corporate]] images had become more important to companies than actually manufacturing products. These trends, Klein said, were the primary cause of "astronomical growth in the wealth and [[cultural]] influence of multi-national corporations."<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2000/nov/27/firstchapters.extract Extract from ''No Logo''] at ''The Guardian''</ref>

The book also includes extensive documentation of the anti-globalization movement at that time, best known for the 1999 anti-WTO riots in Seattle which led to the resignation of the Seattle police chief.<ref>Lynsi Burton, [http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/WTO-riots-in-Seattle-15-years-ago-5915088.php WTO riots in Seattle: 15 years ago]. ''SeattlePi'', 29 November 2014.</ref>

===''The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism''===

Klein's second book, ''The Shock Doctrine,'' published in 2007, argues that capitalism (or, at least its "[[neoliberalism|neoliberal variant]]") is only able to be built from a "blank slate," necessitating the use of violence to destroy any pre-existing economic order, which she calls the Shock Doctrine.<ref name=shock>Naomi Klein, ''The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism''. Picador, 2008. {{isbn| 9780312427993}}.</ref>{{rp|Part 2}} The book highlights the right's willingness to resort to authoritarian means in order to implement disastrous free market policies,<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/30/pinochet-economic-model-current-crisis-chile How Pinochet's economic model led to the current crisis engulfing Chile]</ref> for instance the neoliberal reforms of [[Chile]] under [[Augusto Pinochet]], which were carried out by the "Chicago Boys", disciples of [[Milton Friedman]] trained at [[Chicago school]] of economics who Pinochet consulted after taking power in a military coup backed by the [[CIA]].<ref>[https://archive.ph/xfQp CIA Activities in Chile]. Archived from the United States [[Central Intelligence Agency]], 18 September 2000.</ref> One might however question if Klein is actually familiar with the Chicago School, as she considers the [[Austrian School|Austrian Economist]] [[Friedrich Hayek]] as " patron saint of the Chicago School".<ref name=shock />{{rp|131}}

The book points out how large corporations use natural and man-made disasters to make profit off people's suffering, as pointed out by Katy Guest<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/paperback-the-shock-doctrine-by-naomi-klein-832704.html The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein]</ref>. Other see Naomi as willing to see conspiracies where others discern the all-too human pattern of confusion, chaos and greed.<ref>Shashi Tharoor, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/21/AR2007112101919.html Doing Well by Doing Ill]. ''The Washington Post'', 21 November 2007.</ref>

The book was the basis for a 2009 documentary film of the same name.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1355640/ The Shock Doctrine], IMDB.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL3XGZ5rreE The Shock Doctrine]. [[YouTube]], 2017.</ref>

Despite her criticism of right-wing authoritarianism in Chile, Klein made a [[hypocrisy|staunch defense]] of Venezuela's former dictator [[Hugo Chávez]], claiming that the country was in the right direction, both politically and economic. Only a few years later, the collapse of democracy in Venezuela became unquestionable and its "21st Century Socialism" economic system crumbled. Klein however admits that Chávez implemented a [[personality cult]] in his country.<ref name=shock />{{rp|448-457}} Chávez wasn't the only incompetent and authoritarian Latin American figure that Klein praised in the book. According to her, Argentina saw a "dizzying period of expansion"<ref name=shock />{{rp|55}} in the 1950s, when the country was ruled by the fascist-enabler president [[Juan Perón]], who implemented the ideas of the fringe {{wpl|Structuralist economics}} school. Argentina actually experienced a serious economic downturn during the period.<ref>[https://www.nber.org/system/files/chapters/c8296/c8296.pdf The Macroeconomics of Populism in Latin America]</ref> and Perón had little respect for democracy. Klein also claimed that the Argentinian military junta "had banned Peronism and stran­gled democracy", ironically forgetting that Perón himself supported a millitary coup in 1943.

Her claim that Argentina was "Washington's (Consensus) former 'model pupil'"<ref name=shock />{{rp|457}} before the election of the president Nestor Kirchner seems to be absurd. One just need to read a bit about the {{wpl|economic history of Argentina}} to learn that the country has indulged itself for decades with politics that the [[Chicago School]], the main villain of her book, despise the most. In 2015, when Cristina Kirchner, Nestor's wife and successor left the presidency, Argentina's economy was in shambles.<ref>Mohamed El-Erian, [https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/dec/22/argentinas-new-government-needs-to-act-quickly-to-fix-the-economy Argentina's new government needs to act quickly to fix the economy]. ''The Guardian'', 22 December 2015.</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-34580287 Argentina election: Kirchner era draws to a close]. ''BBC'', 19 November 2015.</ref>

Klein also claims that Brazil was refusing to enter into a new agreement with the IMF.<ref name=shock />{{rp|456}} In fact, Brazil had already paid all of its debt with the IMF by the time she wrote the book.<ref>[https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/fsp/dinheiro/fi1412200502.htm Governo decide quitar toda a dívida com o FMI] In Portuguese</ref>

===''This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Environment''===

{{cquote|So much carbon has been allowed to accumulate in the atmosphere over the past two decades that now our only hope of keeping warming below the internationally agreed-upon target of 2 degrees Celsius is for wealthy countries to cut their emissions by somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-10 percent a year. The 'free' market simply cannot accomplish this task. Indeed, this level of emission reduction has happened only in the context of economic collapse or deep depressions...Our economy is at war with many forms of life on earth, including human life. What the climate needs to avoid collapse is a contraction in humanity's use of resources; what our economic model demands to avoid collapse is unfettered expansion. Only one of these sets of rules can be changed, and it's not the laws of nature.|||Naomi Klein, ''This Changes Everything''<ref name=changes />{{rp|21}}}}

A ''[[New York Times]]'' book review by Bob Nixon was positive, except regarding the subtitle (“Capitalism vs. the Environment”); “Klein’s adversary is [[neoliberalism]] — the extreme capitalism that has birthed our era of extreme extraction.” Still, he said, “''This Changes Everything'' is, improbably, Klein’s most optimistic book. She braids together the [[science]], [[psychology]], [[politics|geopolitics]], [[economics]], [[ethics]] and [[environmentalism|activism]] that shape the climate question. The result is the most momentous and contentious environmental book since [[Rachel Carson|''Silent Spring'']].”<ref>[[New York Times]] [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/books/review/naomi-klein-this-changes-everything-review.html book review by Rob Nixon, November 6, 2014]</ref> [[George Monbiot]] praised the book in an interview on the podcast ''The Elephant'' from January, 2016, saying “A lot of what we face is even deeper, even bigger, than capitalism.” <ref>[http://www.elephantpodcast.org/episodes/george-monbiot-on-consumerism-corporate-power-and-why-climate-change-is-bigger-than-capitalism ''The Elephant'': “''The Guardian's'' George Monbiot: 'Climate Change Is Bigger Than Capitalism'”, (33:30).]</ref>

''This Changes Everything'' was published in 2014 and made into a documentary film in 2015.

====Part One: Bad Timing====
Part One lays out the case that radical change is coming, either in the environment, the economy or both. Klein considers doing nothing to be a radical response to the threat of global warming. She makes it clear why so many libertarians and conservatives profess to [[climate change denial]] and uncovers the source of their vitriol toward environmentalists. For Klein, climate change threatens their cherished ideology of unregulated free markets. The response required to combat climate change threatens the status quo, the fossil fuel industries, the very idea that mankind has dominion over the earth.

Chapter 2 attacks globalization, free trade agreements, cheap overseas labor, and exporting factories. We need to consume less. We need mass transit, affordable, energy-efficient housing, cities planned for high-density living. We need manufacturers to “radically reduce built-in redundancies and obsolescences.”<ref name=changes />{{rp|91}} We need safety nets that ensure everyone has access to health care, education, food, and clean water, so that people aren't desperate for whatever job they can get, so desperate for work that they look away from their employer's pollution and promotion of consumption. “Unlike encouraging energy efficiency, the measures we must take to secure a just, equitable, and inspiring transition away from fossil fuels clash directly with our reigning economic orthodoxy at every level.”<ref name=changes />{{rp|94}} It requires “tough regulation of business, higher levels of taxation for the affluent, big public sector expenditure, and in many cases reversals of core [[privatization]]s in to give communities the power to make the changes they desire. In short, it means changing everything about how we think about the economy so that our pollution doesn't change everything about our physical world.”<ref name=changes />{{rp|95}} 

Chapter 3 continues to argue for [[renewable energy]] and reversing privatization. Klein argues for [[universal health care]] and publicly funded disaster insurance “so that people who have lost everything to a [[hurricane]] or a forest fire are not left a the mercy of a private insurance industry that is already adapting to climate change by avoiding payouts and slapping victims with massive rate increases.”<ref name=changes />{{rp|109}} To pay for these things, polluters, specifically fossil fuel companies, will be forced to help, through taxes, higher royalties, or even lawsuits. Other targets will be the auto industry, shipping industry, and airlines. Klein says the US military is by some accounts the single largest consumer of petroleum in the world.<ref name=changes />{{rp|113}} They and arms companies could help pay for what is required, what Klein calls “The Great Transition,” but cutting military spending would also free up public money. She acknowledges how difficult this would be, which is why a “robust” social movement is required.

Chapter 4 addresses agriculture and [[nuclear power]]. Klein touts “agroecology,” which she quotes ''[[National Geographic]]'' as including the integration of “trees and shrubs into crop and livestock fields; solar-powered drip irrigation, which delivers water directly to plant roots; intercropping, which involves planting tow or more crops near each other to maximize the use of light, water, and nutrients; and the use of green manures, which are quick-growing plants that help prevent erosion and replace nutrients in the soil.”<ref name=changes />{{rp|134}}<ref>Andrea Stone in ''National Geographic'', 5/2/14.</ref> Klein prefers “wind, water, and solar” to nuclear power, partly due to the time it takes to get a nuclear power plant online, partly due to uranium required, and partly due to her fears of the risks associated with nuclear power.<ref name=changes />{{rp|137}} She examines the push for and resistance to the Keystone XL pipeline and calls for removing “corporate money from politics” to reduce “corporate power over politics.”<ref name=changes />{{rp|152}}

Chapter 5 includes a brief look at the Industrial Revolution and the beginning of environmental movements in response to the “extractavist” nature of both the capitalists and the communists. She says Latin American “left and center-left governments” have done an admirable job of reducing poverty and unemployment rates, but “have so far been unable to come up with economic models that do not require extremely high levels of extraction of finite resources, often at tremendous ecological and human cost.”<ref name=changes />{{rp|180}} “Yes, the wealth is better distributed, particularly among the urban poor, but outside the cities, the ways of life of Indigenous peoples and peasants are still being endangered without their consent, and they are still being made landless by ecosystem destruction.”<ref name=changes />{{rp|182}} She ends the chapter by introducing her argument that it is [[magical thinking]] to believe “we are going to be saved at the last minute—whether by the market, by philanthropic billionaires, or by technological wizards.”<ref name=changes />{{rp|186}}

====Part Two: Magical Thinking====
Chapter 6 takes aim at environmentalist organizations (“Big Green”) with ties to fossil fuel industries, [[Walmart]], [[Monsanto]], and banks like JP Morgan. She reports how The Nature Conservancy drilled an oil well on property donated to it by Exxon in 1999 in [[Texas]]; land inhabited by speckled grouse, an [[endangered species]].<ref name=changes />{{rp|192}}<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062600944.html ''Washington Post'' “Big Green: When Conservation and Business Fail to Mix: How a Bid to Save a Species Came to Grief” by Joe Stephens and David B. Ottaway, May 5, 2003]</ref><ref>Justin Gillis, [http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/latest-oil-and-gas/2014/08/03/Conservation-Group-Still-Earns-Income-Off-an-Oil-Well/stories/201408030227 Conservation group still earns income off an oil well]. ''Post Gazette'', 3 August 2014.</ref> She is also critical of the Environmental Defense Fund and its support for cap and trade and the millions of dollars it accepts from [[Walmart|the Walton Family Foundation]]. Sam Walton's grandson, Sam Rawlings Walton, sat on the EDF board of trustees in 2016.<ref name=changes />{{rp|209}}

In Chapter 7, Klein argues against the folly of expecting “green billionaires” to save us. “There is plenty of room to make a profit in a zero-carbon economy; but the profit motive is not going to be the midwife for that great transformation” (to a zero-carbon economy).<ref name=changes />{{rp|252}}

Chapter 8 outlines Klein's fears and criticisms regarding [[geo-engineering]] (“Plan B”): “'fertilizing' oceans with iron to pull carbon out of the atmosphere; covering deserts with vast white sheets in order to reflect sunlight back to space; and building fleets of machines...that would suck carbon out of the air.”<ref name=changes />{{rp|257}} But what bothers her most is the idea of “dimming the sun,” which might not have a uniform effect on climate across the globe and could have unpredictable results.<ref name=changes />{{rp|267-268}} Rather than continuing to try to master nature, Klein passionately advocates for actually trying Plan A (cutting emissions).

====Part Three: Starting Anyway====
Part Three examines environmental disasters other than global warming, proposals such as Keystone XL, and protests that are more [[grassroots]] and inclusive of indigenous people than “Big Green,” a movement that has been referred to as “Blockadia”. Klein promotes the rights of indigenous peoples against fossil fuel extraction in and around their lands, though their response is by no means unanimous, citing “rancorous divisions and families...often torn apart over whether to accept industry deals or to uphold traditional teachings.”<ref name=changes />{{rp|386}} Klein says these people need more than legal assistance fighting extraction. They need health care, education, and “economic opportunities that do not jeopardize the right to engage in traditional ways of life.”<ref name=changes />{{rp|387}}

In her concluding chapter, Klein draws parallels of climate change to the fight for the abolition of [[slavery]] and for universal health care. 

{{quotebox|Though these movements all contained economic arguments as part of building their case for justice, they did not win by putting a monetary value on granting equal rights and freedoms. They won by asserting that those rights and freedoms were ''too'' valuable to be measured and were inherent to each of us. Similarly, there are plenty of solid economic arguments for moving beyond fossil fuels, as more and more patient investors are realizing. And that's worth pointing out. But we will not win the battle for a stable climate by trying to beat the bean counters at their own game—arguing, for instance, that it is more cost-effective to invest in emission reduction now than disaster response later. We will win by asserting that such calculations are morally monstrous, since they imply that there is an acceptable price for allowing entire countries to disappear, for leaving untold millions to die on parched land, for depriving today's children of their right to live in a world teeming with the wonders and beauties of creation.<ref name=changes />{{rp|462-464}}}}

==See also==
*[[Camille Paglia]]
 
==External links==
*[https://naomiklein.org/ NaomiKlein.org]
*[http://thischangeseverything.org/ ThisChangesEverything.org]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Naomi}}
[[Category:Anti-war activists]]
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Canadians]]
[[Category:Environmentalism]]
[[Category:Feminists]]
[[Category:Film-makers]]
[[Category:Jews]]
[[Category:Journalists]]
[[Category:Left-wing activists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Philosophers]]
[[Category:Socialists]]

Categories: Anti-war activists, Authors, Canadians, Environmentalism, Feminists, Film-makers, Jews, Journalists, Left-wing activists, Living people, Philosophers, Socialists