Naomi Klein argues that what happened in Iraq, and is part of a broader trend globally, is in many ways the opposite of economic and human development. Explain what she means, provide examples from Iraq, and argue EITHER in support of her analysis, or against her analysis.
The argument presented by Naomi Klein in her work, “The Shock Doctrine” is that the privatization of the government in the form of disaster capitalism, as seen after the Invasion of Iraq, is counter to economic growth and human development.1 Disaster and crisis was used to swiftly implement the radical privatization that had been slowly creeping into government during the 90’s. This is mirrored dramatically by the War in Iraq and the events leading up to it. Despite being …show more content…
After Saddam Hussein 's regime was toppled, the denationalization of the oil companies began. This was in opposition to economic development because many Iraqis depended on these jobs that were not being outsourced to companies for a fraction of the cost. An example of this is the story she tells of the man named Mahmud where a fight broke out in the factory he worked in over privatization. Once, the privatization was completed the contractors failed consistently to provide the services they promised or did so at a much higher cost. An example of this is Parsons was given $186 million to build 142 health clinics but in actuality only built 6. Furthermore, as seen in the documentary, “Iraq for Sale”,2 Halliburton was charging extreme amounts of money for low cost items such as laundry. Also, they did not provide clean drinking water for soldiers stationed there, as promised. The vagueness of the cost-plus contracts is what allowed these companies to continue to make a profit in Iraq without providing the services promised. There were also limited regulations on these contractors so the contractors scammed by subcontracting to Saudi or Kuwaiti contractors for a fraction of the cost. Many educated Iraqis lost jobs due to the contracting out of the work and the de-Baathification of Iraq. This meant that the Iraqi people were not able …show more content…
This is evidence of disaster capitalism being in opposition of human development. With little oversight of the government contractors, human rights violations were overlooked. An example of this is the Abu Ghraib prison. Torture and mistreatment of prisoners was overlooked by the contractors that ran the prison because they could not be held accountable due to loopholes in laws. Also, many Iraqis were stripped of habeas corpus to further justify the mistreatment. Furthermore, the failure to reconstruct the country led to sectarian conflict and religious fundamentalism. An example of the sectarian violence is the bombing of Shia mosques after the invasion. The lack of economic development left a vacuum to provide basic services to the people of Iraq. This was often filled by people such as Moqtada al-Sadr, which the Mahdi Army rose up from. This furthered sectarian violence and the destabilization of the country. This violence was often seen by Iraqi businessmen as the only way to prevent foreign investors from taking over Iraqi assets. The contracting out of military support did not just degrade the humanitarian conditions for Iraqis but it also U.S. soldiers. The movie “Iraq for Sale” shows how contractors were providing water that was not clean and tents that were making the soldiers sick. In addition, they refused to switch the dining hall to at 24/7 schedule
The argument presented by Naomi Klein in her work, “The Shock Doctrine” is that the privatization of the government in the form of disaster capitalism, as seen after the Invasion of Iraq, is counter to economic growth and human development.1 Disaster and crisis was used to swiftly implement the radical privatization that had been slowly creeping into government during the 90’s. This is mirrored dramatically by the War in Iraq and the events leading up to it. Despite being …show more content…
After Saddam Hussein 's regime was toppled, the denationalization of the oil companies began. This was in opposition to economic development because many Iraqis depended on these jobs that were not being outsourced to companies for a fraction of the cost. An example of this is the story she tells of the man named Mahmud where a fight broke out in the factory he worked in over privatization. Once, the privatization was completed the contractors failed consistently to provide the services they promised or did so at a much higher cost. An example of this is Parsons was given $186 million to build 142 health clinics but in actuality only built 6. Furthermore, as seen in the documentary, “Iraq for Sale”,2 Halliburton was charging extreme amounts of money for low cost items such as laundry. Also, they did not provide clean drinking water for soldiers stationed there, as promised. The vagueness of the cost-plus contracts is what allowed these companies to continue to make a profit in Iraq without providing the services promised. There were also limited regulations on these contractors so the contractors scammed by subcontracting to Saudi or Kuwaiti contractors for a fraction of the cost. Many educated Iraqis lost jobs due to the contracting out of the work and the de-Baathification of Iraq. This meant that the Iraqi people were not able …show more content…
This is evidence of disaster capitalism being in opposition of human development. With little oversight of the government contractors, human rights violations were overlooked. An example of this is the Abu Ghraib prison. Torture and mistreatment of prisoners was overlooked by the contractors that ran the prison because they could not be held accountable due to loopholes in laws. Also, many Iraqis were stripped of habeas corpus to further justify the mistreatment. Furthermore, the failure to reconstruct the country led to sectarian conflict and religious fundamentalism. An example of the sectarian violence is the bombing of Shia mosques after the invasion. The lack of economic development left a vacuum to provide basic services to the people of Iraq. This was often filled by people such as Moqtada al-Sadr, which the Mahdi Army rose up from. This furthered sectarian violence and the destabilization of the country. This violence was often seen by Iraqi businessmen as the only way to prevent foreign investors from taking over Iraqi assets. The contracting out of military support did not just degrade the humanitarian conditions for Iraqis but it also U.S. soldiers. The movie “Iraq for Sale” shows how contractors were providing water that was not clean and tents that were making the soldiers sick. In addition, they refused to switch the dining hall to at 24/7 schedule