[lit-ideas] whta is this Quatsch that you send?
- From: "Adriano Palma" <Palma@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "lit-ideas" <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:44:58 +0200
** For Your Eyes Only **
** High Priority **
** Reply Requested by 10/6/2011 (Thursday) **
whta is this Quatsch that you send?
>>> Andy <mimi.erva@xxxxxxxxx> 10/6/2011 3:27 PM >>>
It came to me, and I regret it didn't come to me sooner, that what's very
likely going on with Greece is disaster capitalism, just as Naomi Klein writes
in her Shock Doctrine. The capitalists, so called, set up a country to become
over-indebted, bankrupt it (i.e., use economic shock when other shock ("Shock
and Awe") isn't available), then swoop in and privatize government services at
fire sale prices. For example, Corporation A (Nestle, say) might buy up the
school lunch program (assuming there is one), Corporation B might buy up the
highway system, etc., and so on, where services that were once owned by the
government (which is to say, the people), are now owned by private companies.
It was done over and over in South America until people caught on and threw out
the corporations out; the attempts to privatize water, for example, etc.
Disaster is beloved tool. It brings about shock, which brings about the state
of mind that allows exploitation. Economic shock is as effective as any
physical shock such as war. (Corporations profit hugely from war.) I remember
after the fall of the Soviet Union when the Chicago School (the Milton
Friedmanites) used "shock therapy" to institute cowboy capitalism in Russia.
It's how the oligarchs became the oligarchs. Putin eventually reigned it in.
I did read relatively recently (can't remember where) that Goldman Sachs had
advised Greece on their investments, and were still advising Greece even as
they were doing worse and worse. Once Greece goes down, the other countries
are ripe for privatization as well. Hence the over-concern that the banks may,
OMG, take a haircut. They already lost, OMG, 20%, and OMG they may lose 20%
more. The banks are in fact orchestrating Greece's so called restructuring.
That's not to say that debt isn't a problem. However, the debt was caused by
the banks. They were the prime movers in pushing the bad mortgages and all the
rest of it. It's not an overstatement to say that the banks caused the debt
crisis (remember the mailboxes overflowing with pre-approved credit
solicitations, among other things?).
It all sounds so incredible, but at its core it's pretty basic. If anyone's
been watching Ken Burns' series on Prohibition, it's pretty easy to see that
give people half a chance, any excuse, the greed, corruption and crime will
follow, up to and including the law enforcement arm of society. Corporations
are Al Capones with legal standing and protection, with global reach and scope,
hiding behind the mystery of the banking system. It's no wonder now that the
Greek people are protesting losing their country to privatization. There are
no substitutes for reading the book, but here are YouTubes of Naomi Klein on
the subject, one short, one long:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG9CM_J00bw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka3Pb_StJn4&feature=related
Andy
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