Obviously there is often a lot of money to be made by private corporations in the reconstruction of areas hit by war or natural disasters but as the short film on her website suggests, disasters might also produce a fissure in social consciousness where long term political and economic actions can be rooted. I suppose it's precisely the same argument we see when relating the Lisbon earthquake and the roots of modernity. While Klein's argument continues her criticism of the proliferation of free market neoliberalism, I suppose sometimes there is the belief that the (re)ACTION needed in the wake of a disaster is too important and overwhelming to be left in the hands of democracy. (Who is that calm looking statesman rising out of the rubble, taking charge where even the angels seem perplexed? [the Clama image from class]).
http://www.naomiklein.org/main/
Anyways, there are
1 comment:
jeepers! Whether you agree with Naomi or not, that short movie makes her as guilty of using shock tactics as a means of persuasion as any of her targets. Okay, maybe it's not that bad, but the little movie by Alfonso Cuarón is outrageously sensationalist. I guess you can't convince anyone of anything unless you have a film director on board. Did you know Stephen Spielberg is a cultural consultant on the Beijng Olympics?
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