World on Fire
Fire season has come upon us within California. With 11 brush fires burning in the state in just June alone, it is looking like it is going to be a very ferocious fire season. Over 200,00 acres of land have already been affected as a result of these fires. 2017 was said to be the most intense fire season, but it seems like 2018 may just take the title. California is very well known for the devastation that fires cause throughout the year. Numerous homes are lost to these fires, devastating families. A majority of the time, responses to these disasters are swift and effective. People are told to evacuate and everything possible is done to prevent the spread of the fire. There are numerous preventative procedures put into to place to protect the public. California is very well aware of this recurring disaster, and usually does all that it can to prevent them, which is more than can be said for most disasters that occur around the world.However, no system is perfect one hundred percent of the time. Though the devastation and pain is vast as a result of the disasters, there are still people who benefit from them. Those that claim to be charities that sympathize with the victims of the fire, are often interested in gaining their own profit from the disaster. There is a major amount of benefit to be gained in the natural disaster business. There are people who need to be fed, clothed, and given medical assistance. If you think any of this is given for free, you are sadly mistaken. There are people benefiting from the burning of the house’s to the providing of medical aid and these people do not include the victims.This is where the idea of disaster capitalism comes in.
Disaster capitalism is explained very well by Naomi Klein’s the Shock Doctrine. In this book, Naomi klein tells the story of how the free market uses “shocks” or disasters to gain profit. The policies that are in place within the free market are made to benefit everyone except for the victims of the disaster. These policies transfer money that should go towards recovery for the victims of the disaster to an elite few. With this transfer in money, power is also taken away from the majority of the public. These people take advantage of the people who are grieving from the loss of their homes, families and communities. While the victims are most vulnerable, government agencies, corporations, and even charities come in and take whatever they can.The people of the disaster can do nothing about it due to the fact that their foundation has been destroyed. In the book Naomi Klein traces disaster capitalism back through numerous disasters. Examples that she utilizes include Hurricane Katrina, as well as, the collapse of the Soviet Union. Kien uses a variety of disasters, including manmade and natural disasters. This is efficient in showing how any disaster can be used to benefit other people. The author uses numerous disasters to also display how common, but unrecognized disaster capitalism is. Most People do not recognize that they are being taken advantage of during a disaster. They are too busy worrying about their homes and families. They do not expect to need to worry about those who claim to want to help them taking advantage of the devastation that they are experiencing. One of the major arguments within the shock doctrine is that neoliberalism utilizes the shock that is experienced through disasters to push their own personal agendas. When a disaster occurs, new policies are often made as a response. This is a prime opportunities for major institutions to create policies in favor of themselves.
The fires that blaze through California every year is a gold mine for people who utilize disaster capitalism. These fires are extremely difficult to prevent due to the dry climate that California is known for. A fire is always just a gust of wind away from starting and spreading. One way in why some people can benefit is through the loss of homes. When fires destroy homes, this frees up prime real estate for the taking. Corporations often race to build condominiums, warehouses, factories and numerous other things.Instead of building new homes for those who have lost everything, corporations use this as an opportunity to expand. People also benefit from new policies that are instituted as a result of the fires. Fire policies are now beginning to change in an attempt to better prevent wildfires. The main reason for the fires is climate change and the increasingly dry weather. This creates an opportunity for environmental activists to come in and push their own agendas and policies to improve climate change. There are numerous ways in which disaster capitalism can be seen within the fires that devastate California every year. It is a recurring disaster that people can count on happening every single year. The amount of beeneft that it brings to those who utilize disaster capitalism is immense.
