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Whoever happens

Nothing in The Shock Doctrine suggests that

that Yeltsin dissolved parliament violently to

Klein thinks that there is something wrong

implement shock therapy. But the only shock

to fight against

with using crises to promote your ideas. This

therapy in Russia--the lifting of price and cur-

free markets,

tactic, it seems, is only wrong if it advances

rency controls--took place more than a year

even if they try

the wrong ideas. Klein herself has never hesi-

and a half earlier. Since then, Yeltsin had

tated to suggest her own solutions to the

replaced the liberal prime minister Yegor

to remove a

problems after Katrina or the Iraq War, and

Gaidar with the technocrat Viktor Cherno-

democratically

she would never dream of considering it as a

myrdin and had used almost $7 billion to bail

elected president,

cynical way to take advantage of suffering

out state-owned factories. But that is not the

people--she would say that it was a way of

point here. Something else is more interest-

is a fighter for

helping others. Her only reason for thinking

ing.

"democracy" in

it cynical and evil when libertarians do exact-

A parliamentary majority accuses the pres-

ly the same thing is that she thinks that those

ident of undemocratic and unconstitutional

Klein's world.

ideas are evil and produce horrible conse-

acts and wants him removed. The president

quences. But that is a claim that she doesn't

ignores this opposition, and the parliament

provide any arguments for. One must take all

accepts the help of authoritarians to fight for

this for granted to see anything of value in

what they claim is democracy. Doesn't this

Klein's criticism of "disaster capitalism."

resemble another episode in modern political

history? That is what happened in Chile in

August 1973, when the majority in parliament

Life under Savage

called on the military's help to remove

Capitalism

Salvador Allende, whom they accused of turn-

ing the country into a dictatorship.85 However,

Klein considers Allende "a fierce democrat,"86

Astonishingly, in a book of more than 500

whereas she calls Yeltsin, without intentional

pages, Klein offers almost no argument to the

irony, "a Russian Pinochet."87

person who isn't already convinced that free

I am not arguing in favor of anything that

markets are bad. She does give a few examples

happened in either of these episodes. What I

of how poverty and unemployment have

am doing is drawing attention to the fact

increased soon after a planned economy has

that Klein calls one president's fight against

collapsed, or soon after hyperinflation has

parliament an attack on democracy, and

been brought down. But that is not strange,

another president's similar fight a struggle

and often it is precisely what economists would

for democracy. But the difference isn't that

predict. However, they would also say that this

one of them was more democratic than the

is the only way to reduce poverty and unem-

other. At least not in a way that favors Klein--

ployment in the long run. And that is precisely

for all its faults, Yeltsin's administration was

why Klein never provides the reader with any

arguably the most democratic in his coun-

data over a longer period. She says that the

try's history, whereas the same could hardly

reforms turned the Chilean working class into

be said of Allende's turbulent reign. No, the

"the disposable poor," but never once admits

critical difference between Chile's Allende

that Chile is the social and economic success

and Russia's Yeltsin is that one of these pres-

story of Latin America and has virtually abol-

idents was broadly in favor of free markets

ished extreme poverty. She writes that reforms

and the other opposed them. Apparently,

have increased income gaps between cities and

whoever happens to fight against free mar-

rural areas in China, but she never mentions

kets, even if they try to remove a democrati-

that those developments also led to the biggest

cally elected president, is a fighter for

poverty reduction in history.

"democracy" in Klein's world. So this book is

In two instances, Klein does briefly mention

not about democracy.

the broad picture and the long run. They are

And neither is it about shocks and crises.

variations on the same claim--that between 25

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