Russia, and hyperinflation and depression
porting his agenda under a pen name to get
led to National Socialism in Germany. War
access. But he was successful in winning local
and disasters are rarely friends of freedom.
support and building alliances with provin-
Economic historian Robert Higgs showed in
cial governors who were in favor of liberaliza-
his now classic work Crisis and Leviathan that
tion. Only when this happened did the reluc-
the growth of the American government
tant president Jiang Zemin decide to support
took place during crises like the Depression
Deng. After the tour was over, the media start-
and the world wars.57 When the crisis is over,
ed to report about the trip and the reforms
started again.
the government does not return to its previ-
To show that radical economic reforms
ous state, instead keeping some of the power
can happen only in dictatorships, Klein sum-
and money it grabbed to meet the crisis. The
marizes by comparing China and democratic
state, not the market, grows on crises.
Poland during the late 1980s and early 1990s:
"War is a friend of the state. . . . In time of
war, government will take powers and do
In China, where the state used the
things that it would not ordinarily do," said a
gloves-off method of terror, torture and
famous economist explaining why he
assassination, the result was, from a
opposed the Iraq War. That economist was
market perspective, an unqualified suc-
Milton Friedman--the person Klein claims
cess. In Poland, where only the shock of
longed for war and disasters to ram through
laissez-faire.58 Friedman was right when it
economic crisis and rapid change was
came to the Iraq War. The Bush administra-
harnessed--and there was no overt vio-
tion used the war to expand the federal gov-
lence--the effects of the shock eventual-
ernment's powers dramatically, and Bush has
ly wore off, and the results were far more
ambiguous.55
increased federal spending more than any
other president since Lyndon Johnson
Once again, Klein simply states conclu-
(another war president), even excluding
sions without any statistics to back them up.
spending on the military and national securi-
ty.59 And this is not just the impression of dis-
If we take a look at the EFW data, we see that
appointed libertarians. A poll in 15 key dis-
here again Klein misreports the facts in her
tricts just before the mid-term elections in
effort to draw a connection between violence
and economic liberalism. China is nowhere
2006 showed that more than 55 percent of
American voters said that the Republicans
near Poland in economic freedom, and it
were a Big Government party.60
improved much more slowly. In 1985,
One would think that Klein should find it
Poland's economy was much less open, with
difficult to explain this major exception to
3.93 versus China's 5.11. In 1995, Poland had
her thesis. But she doesn't. Instead she uses
caught up and both scored 5.3. In 2005,
the United States after 9/11 as a major exam-
democratic Poland was way ahead with 6.83,
while China scored 5.9.56
ple for her thesis. She claims that the terrorist
Politicians and
attacks gave the Bush administration the
opportunity to implement Friedman's ideas,
government
Big Government
by benefiting friends in the defense and secu-
officials often use
Conservatism
rity industries with new contracts and
unprecedented sums of money. Klein never
crises as an
Klein's suggestion that crises benefit free
clearly explains why this is Friedmanite. In
opportunity to
markets and limited government is contro-
the real world, Friedman "had always empha-
increase their
versial to say the least. In fact, politicians and
sized waste in defense spending and the dan-
government officials often use crises as an
ger to political freedom posed by militarism,"
budgets and
opportunity to increase their budgets and
in the words of his biographer, Lanny
powers.
Ebenstein.61 It is possible for Klein to make
powers. World War I led to communism in
10