In her book “The Shock Doctrine,” Naomi Klein describes the weaponization of economic policy and how it was used to take down the countries of Indonesia, Chile and others. Trade among countries is essential but if the rules of trade are set up to benefit only select private interests with no consideration for the public interest or of ordinary citizens, it can be turned into a means to strip whole nations of their wealth. Witness what is happening today in Greece.
The processes to take down our own country were begun in the early 1970s starting with a letter by Lewis Powell to the president of the National Chamber of Commerce. Where we are today, economically as a nation, is no accident of “market forces.” It is deliberate, and the only way to stop it is to learn about it and organize ourselves into an effective political movement because it’s not about Democrat vs. Republican or liberal vs. conservative. It is about local communities vs. Wall Street.
At 7 p.m. July 29 at The Kiggins Theater, the Middle Class Alliance, along with supporters of Washington Initiative 735, will be showing the film “Heist: Who Stole the American Dream.”
Rodger L. Stevens
Vancouver
