Aftershocks

摘要

How does one teach the history of the present to those reared on a steady diet ofrnmarket freedom as the means and ends of human desire? With the mythic neoliberalrnIcarus crashing to earth, new prospects arise for retelling how we got to thisrnmoment for those exposed only to the glories of ascent. So it would seem that allrnenemies from within and without were vanquished by the strength of an idea, thatrnthose who could embrace it would find liberty and alignment with their true nature.rnThis is heady made-for-television stuff that must be shattered by disclosing arndifferent truth; namely, that this beautiful world of enlightened self-interest we callrncapitalism is built not upon the freeing of the enlightened mind, but crafted by therndull weight of violence upon many bodies. Naomi Klein provides a masterfulrnaccount, bringing the reader close to those touched directly and those directlyrnculpable for the bloody, corrupt and hypocritical lineages of the world we inhabit.rnLike many a potent narrative, hers rests upon a recurrent, even relentless figure thatrntakes a universe of complexity and renders it immediately graspable. For Klein, thisrntrope is shock and it allows her to move seamlessly from the personal to the politicalrnand from the worldly object to the subjective experience of apprenhending thatrnworld.