Quote by Naomi Klein: “Disaster capitalism's preferred conditions: people are frightened, confused, and far from home.”

Those in power often exploit crises — wars, hurricanes, economic collapses — to push through policies that people would normally reject. Fear and confusion make resistance harder. This idea warns us to pay attention to what governments and corporations do in a crisis, not just what they say.

Klein published The Shock Doctrine in 2007, two years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and one year before the global financial crisis. Her argument — that crises are exploited by economic elites — felt immediately relevant as privatisation of public services accelerated globally.

Canadian author and activist whose books No Logo and The Shock Doctrine reshaped how a generation understood globalisation and corporate power. Her more recent work focuses on climate change as both a crisis and an opportunity for radical economic transformation.