Disaster capitalism : making a killing out of a catastrophe

**Crisis? What crisis? How powerful corporations make a killing out of disaster**Award-winning journalist Antony Loewenstein travels across the US, Britain, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Haiti, Papua New Guinea and Australia to witness the reality of __Disaster Capitalism__—the hidden world of privatized detention centers and militarized private security, formed to protect corporations as they profit from war zones. He visits Britain’s immigration detention centers, tours the prison system in the United States, and digs into the underbelly of the companies making a fortune from them. Loewenstein reveals the dark history of how large multinational corporations have become more powerful than governments, supported by media and political elites. Review “The forces of disaster capitalism are increasingly on the defensive, but their attacks on the global commons have expanded in the years since I wrote The Shock Doctrine. I am very grateful that Antony Loewenstein has brought his meticulous reporting to this subject, and the result is a keenly observed and timely investigation into rampant resource plunder, privatized detention centers, and an array of other forms of corporate rapacity on four continents. This book will serve as a potent weapon for shock resistors around the world.” —Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything and The Shock Doctrine “Chilling study, based on careful and courageous reporting, and illuminated with perceptive analysis, helps us understand all too well the saying that man is a wolf to man.” —Noam Chomsky “A journey into a world of mutated economics and corrupt politics that we ignore at our peril.” —John Pilger “A devastating, incisive follow-up to Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine.” —Jeremy Scahill “Antony Loewenstein offers us a superb description of the diminishing power of national governments and international organisations to exercise power in the modern world.” —Robert J. Burrowes, Lahore Times Crisis? What Crisis? How Powerful Corporations Make A Killing Out Of Disaster Award-winning Journalist Antony Loewenstein Travels Across The Us, Britain, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Haiti, Papua New Guinea And Australia To Witness The Reality Of Disaster Capitalism--the Hidden World Of Privatized Detention Centers And Militarized Private Security, Formed To Protect Corporations As They Profit From War Zones. He Visits Britain's Immigration Detention Centers, Tours The Prison System In The United States, And Digs Into The Underbelly Of The Companies Making A Fortune From Them. Loewenstein Reveals The Dark History Of How Large Multinational Corporations Have Become More Powerful Than Governments, Supported By Media And Political Elites-- Award-winning Journalist Antony Loewenstein Travels Across The Us, Britain, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Haiti, Papua New Guinea And Australia To Witness The Reality Of Disaster Capitalism--the Hidden World Of Privatized Detention Centers And Militarized Private Security, Formed To Protect Corporations As They Profit From War Zones. He Visits Britain's Immigration Detention Centers, Tours The Prison System In The United States, And Digs Into The Underbelly Of The Companies Making A Fortune From Them. Loewenstein Reveals The Dark History Of How Large Multinational Corporations Have Become More Powerful Than Governments, Supported By Media And Political Elites-- Machine Generated Contents Note: Part I -- 1. Pakistan And Afghanistan: Looking For The New War -- 2. Greece: We Are Just Numbers, Not Human Lives -- 3. Haiti: If Anybody Here Says They've Had Help, It's A Lie -- 4. Papua New Guinea: Break Our Bones, But You Can Never Break Our Spirit -- Part Ii -- 5. The United States: The Land Of The Free Has Become A Country Of Prisons -- 6. The United Kingdom: It's The Outsourcing Of Violence -- 7. Australia: If You Have A Pulse, You Have A Job At Serco. Antony Loewenstein. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "Présentation de l'éditeur : "Crisis, what crisis? How governments and corporations profit from disaster. Best-selling journalist Antony Loewenstein travels across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Haiti, Papua New Guinea, the United States, Britain, Greece, and Australia to witness the reality of disaster capitalism. He discovers how companies such as G4S, Serco, and Halliburton cash in on organized misery in a hidden world of privatized detention centers, militarized private security, aid profiteering, and destructive mining. Disaster has become big business. Talking to immigrants stuck in limbo in Britain or visiting immigration centers in America, Loewenstein maps the secret networks formed to help corporations bleed what profits they can from economic crisis. He debates with Western contractors in Afghanistan, meets the locals in post-earthquake Haiti, and in Greece finds a country at the mercy of vulture profiteers. In Papua New Guinea, he sees a local community forced to rebel against predatory resource companies and NGOs. What emerges through Loewenstein's reporting is a dark history of multinational corporations that, with the aid of media and political elites, have grown more powerful than national governments. In the twenty-first century, the vulnerable have become the world's most valuable commodity." A “keenly observed and timely investigation” of how capitalism makes a fortune from disaster, poverty and catastrophe—“a potent weapon for shock resistors around the world” (Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine ) Disaster has become big business. Best-selling journalist Antony Loewenstein travels across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Haiti, Papua New Guinea, the United States, Britain, Greece, and Australia to witness the reality of disaster capitalism. He discovers how companies cash in on organized misery in a hidden world of privatized detention centers, militarized private security, aid profiteering, and destructive mining. What emerges through Loewenstein’s re­porting is a dark history of multinational corporations that, with the aid of media and political elites, have grown more powerful than national governments. In the twenty-first century, the vulnerable have become the world’s most valuable commodity. Introduction : the mad max economy -- Part I -- 1. Pakistan and Afghanistan: "Looking for the new war" -- 2. Greece: "We are just numbers, not human lives" -- 3. Haiti: "If anybody here says they've had help, it's a lie" -- 4. Papua New Guinea: "Break our bones, but you can never break our spirit" -- Part II -- 5. The United States: "The land of the free has become a country of prisons" -- 6. The United Kingdom: "It's the outsourcing of violence" -- 7. Australia: "If you have a pulse, you have a job at Serco" -- Conclusion : breaking the spell -- Acknowledgements -- Bibliography -- Notes -- Index.