The Privatization of Christchurch using disaster capitalism
The Shock Doctrine
The strategy by the world's economic elites of imposing an extremely neoliberal economic regime on communities they control, using some form of shock: a natural disaster, a coup d'etat, a war, a financial crisis, etc. Once the community has been crippled by this first shock, the economic "reforms" are imposed suddenly, creating a secondary blow. Then, as the community begins to recover and fight back, the authorities use torture and police brutality to (literally) shock the community a third time.
What we are seeing in Christchurch is disaster capitalism at it's most casual. The momentum that King Gerry Brownlee and the National Government are trying to quietly sneak through is the privatization of Christchurch's assets while the city is stunned and can't fight back.
The Christchurch rebuild will see wealthy areas looked after first while thousands of Christchurch residents live in freezing cold broken homes and services. This rebuild does nothing to address their needs and simply reiterates that this Government is focused on the interests of the wealthy first and foremost.
National will step in with corporate welfare, but when it comes to citizens, they must go to the market and find their welfare for themselves.
Tax cuts for the rich, asset shares for the rich, rebuilding for the rich.
Key is the 1% and this Key ain't for turning.
Acknowledgements: Bomber and Tumeke
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