IMF Part 1: Research Proposal

You can read part 2 here
You can read part 3 here

The purpose of this paper is to outline the initial details of a research project, focused on the neo-liberal policies outlined in Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine (2008) as Chicago School disaster capitalism, specifically as exemplified by occurrences in Latin America during the 1970s. Briefly, Klein posits that disaster capitalism, then during its infancy, saw a small group of powerful elites imposing unpopular economic reforms (namely deregulation, privatization, and government cutbacks) during times of crisis (such as armed conflict, political coups, or during violent oppression by military juntas) for the benefit of transnational corporations (TNCs). This issue has been chosen because of its close ties with globalization, outlined below, and the often devastating impact these policies have had on both national economies and cultures, as well as the heightening effect on the global North/South divide. This is important to explore both for the sake of those victimized by the policies of a few, but also to underline the need for global governance, finance, and other institutions to include rigorous democratic checks and balances on abuses of power, conditions which are at present glaringly absent.
[continued after the jump, or click on title to view full article]

No Logo

Image by Gauravonomics via Flickr

Woah - been a while since my last post. I started school in September and am just now reaching some sort of equilibrium with sleep. Have even found some time to read my favourite shit-disturber du jour Naomi Klein. If you haven't checked her out, do so now. A few interesting points from No Logo (her first book, and not her best):

- after a 2+ year libel trial in the UK, a judge ruled that McDonald's is 'culpably responsible' for cruelty to animals, they are 'antipathetic' toward unionization efforts, and that their workers suffer in terms of low pay and bad conditions. Best of all, the judge ruled Ronald McDonald et al 'exploit children' with their ads, which are misleading. While nice to see that someone has the sense to call things like they are, it might've been nice had McDonald's been the ones on trial, rather than two citizen activists sued by the Golden Arches company for libel.