The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

In the Introduction, Klein lays out the central argument of the work to reveal what she regards as Exploitation of Crises for Economic Gain. She contends that neoliberal policy makers use moments of crisis when populations are in “shock” to push through unpopular market reforms. Since people are stunned from the effects of the crisis, they are slow to respond or contest the policies. Throughout the work, Klein examines electroshock treatment/torture both as a method for achieving these policies and as a metaphor. This is a complex use of imagery, as the “shock” is at once literal and metaphorical. Literally, the CIA funded research into the effects of electroshock treatment with a view to incorporating them into their torture techniques. These techniques were then used to control and frighten opponents of American-funded regime changes historically, in places like Chile and Indonesia, and in more contemporary history in the War on Terror. Klein also examines how figurative “shocks” like hyperinflation and natural disasters are used to similar effects.

The structure and writing style of The Shock Doctrine reflects Klein’s background as a reporter. Roughly each chapter is a case study of an example of the shock doctrine and its implementation in a different country or context. Klein opens most chapters with an eye-catching anecdote to draw in the reader. This is a common tactic used by reporters to create interest in their articles. When a chapter is a case study contemporaneous to Klein’s writing of the book, the anecdote is drawn from Klein’s own reporting. As such, she uses first-person pronouns to create a sense of action and intrigue. 

For instance, the Introduction opens like this: “I met Jamar Perry in September 2005, at the big Red Cross shelter in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dinner was being doled out by grinning young Scientologists, and he was standing in line” (3). This opening is meant to raise a series of questions, such as “Who is Jamar Perry?” “Why is he at a shelter?” and “What are the Scientologists doing there?” Over the course of the chapter, Klein answers these questions and explains how they relate to the wider argument she makes throughout the book. This is a method she uses throughout the work.

Klein is not presenting an “objective” account of neoliberalism. Rather, Klein is making a normative, subjective argument from a politically left perspective, which she supports with her research. Klein incorporates historical analyses, academic sources, and other reporting in addition to her independent reporting. These works are cited in endnotes at the end of the book. Original documents, as well as an even more extensive bibliography and filmography, are hosted on Klein’s website. The density and consistency of Klein’s citations suggests that the factual claims are largely reliable, although there are instances where claims are not backed up with evidence in the footnotes. When relying on her claims as evidence, some facts may need to be verified. Broadly speaking, however, the work is based on the best understanding of facts at the time it was written, although the normative argument itself is subjective and debatable.