Gulf Watch: 'Shock Doctrine' author on New Orleans public housing demolitions

Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (one of the most important books of 2007, in our opinion), offers her take on the decision to demolish four public housing complexes in New Orleans at Huffington Post:

The final showdown over New Orleans public housing is playing out in dramatic fashion right now. The conflict is a classic example of the "triple shock" formula at the core of the doctrine.

* First came the shock of the original disaster: the flood and the traumatic evacuation.

* Next came the "economic shock therapy": using the window of opportunity opened up by the first shock to push through a rapid-fire attack on the city's public services and spaces, most notably its homes, schools and hospitals.

* Now we see that as residents of New Orleans try to resist these attacks, they are being met with a third shock: the shock of the police baton and the Taser gun, used on the bodies of protestors outside New Orleans City Hall yesterday.