The Shock Doctrine

The Shock Doctrine is a documentation that argues the free market policies and capitalism. ”I call these orchestrated raids on the public sphere in the wake of catastrophic events, combined with the treatment of disasters as exciting market opportunities, ‘disaster capitalism’” by Freidman’s New Orleans op-ed public policy.

The shock doctrine tells readers of the tragic natural disaster by Hurricane Katrina that went from a disaster to a golden opportunity to clean up public housing, lower taxes, fewer regulations, cheaper workers and a “smaller safer city”. Whether there was a large amount of debris from the hurricane or toxic spillage, the phrase “a clean slate” was still in motion. Not even the deaths of hundreds of residents fazed the legislators and the wealthy to rebuild New Orleans into the image they saw fit.

The shock doctrine can connect to the 2001 settlement of Taco Bell. Taco Bell owed $9M from a lawsuit of unpaid wages. Taco Bell refused to acknowledge the situation at hand because of the lack of government control in their company. The lassie fair agreement left the employees at the mercy of the corporation. The hurricane tragedy left the ones with money to take control not the proper authorities of the government whose best of interest were for the residents of New Orleans.