Shock and Awe

The idea that policy change should be like launching a surprise military attack is a recurring theme for economic shock therapists. In Shock and Awe: Achieving a Rapid Dominance, the US military doctrine published in 1996 that eventually formed the basis for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the authors state that the invading force should "seize control of the environment and paralyze or so overload an adversary's perceptions and understanding of events so that the enemy would be incapable of resistance.

Economic shock works according to a similar theory: the premise is that people can develop responses to gradual change -- a slashed health program here, a trade deal there -- but if dozens of changes come from all directions at once, a feeling of futility sets in, and populations go limp.
~ from The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein ~

It makes me wonder if governors like Scott Walker expected this kind of reaction: labor not to put up much of a fight. Boy, were they ever surprised!

Still, I am concerned that Klein's point eventually may prove to be on target. Draconian legislation of all sorts and nefarious "austerity" programs are being introduced across the nation and in the halls of the nation's capitol too. While a portion of the masses is fighting back now, it still is like too few fingers to shore up the holes in a leaking dike.

Will we be able to keep up the momentum or, in the face of a nonstop onslaught, will a feeling of utter futility and resignation set in? Time will tell.

This brief series of posts began with this one.