Milton Friedman and the Fraser Institute’s brand of disaster capitalism is just that
To the Expositor:
It was never my intention to influence Shane Desjardins’ determined mind set, as he obviously has drunk the conservative think tank/pro-fossil-fuel/Doug Ford buck-a-bottle kool-aid, about the “impracticality” of “renewable/sustainable power generation.” I’m not surprised that my reasoned and evidence-based arguments are disregarded as a “leftist looney rant,” which is why I joked about it. For the sake of brevity, my sources, included in my original letter to the editor, were edited out. Yet, I continue to dispute the biased and misinformed sources, that this author bases his opinions on. For starters, Milton Friedman was a founding father of the Fraser Institute and it’s important to understand his and their contribution to neo-liberalism, responsible for the economic chaos in the world today.
The following is a quote from Naomi Klein’s brilliant revelation, ‘The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism’ (2007):
“Milton Friedman nurtured his ‘shock doctrine’ to create unfettered or laissez-faire capitalism, at the ‘University of Chicago School of Economics’. He considered capitalism’s core tactical nostrum is to dismantle all government regulation of banks and corporations, privatize all government assets, cut back all infrastructure spending and social services, health-care and education; and, eliminate all resistance to corporate plunder of natural resources. The best way to do that was to exploit a large-scale shock or crisis, whether it be a clandestine, so-called, ‘terrorist intervention’ or an act of God, (“act of Man”?). Since the seventies, Milton’s Chicago School movement has been conquering territory around the world. ‘9/11’ was when shock therapy came home to roost in the U.S.A. Doesn’t matter what party is in power, as this philosophy of corporatism is calling the shots.” (Sadly, this applies to Canada, as well as the United States.)
My fact-based contention is that hallowed sources, like the “Auditor General of Ontario” have been lying to the public for years, especially about the hidden costs of the extremely subsidized nuclear power industry. As Mr. Desjardins is so prone to information from conservative think tanks, he would do well to peruse a policy paper published by The Hoover Institute, eight years ago. This is an excellent study, though biased in favour of natural gas thermal power generation (which has its own problems), about ‘The High and Hidden Costs of Nuclear Power’ by Henry Sokolski.
In regards the determination to embrace “climate change denial” heavily financed by the fossil-fuel industry for decades, I can only suggest listening (and possibly singing along), to a wonderful old country tune by Johnny Cash, ‘How High is the Water, Momma?’
Happy tails,
Derek Stephen McPhail
Providence Bay
