Disaster Capitalism

Paperback, 384 pages

Published Jan. 5, 2015 by Verso, imusti.

ISBN:: 978-1-78478-118-7

(1 review)

How Capitalism makes a fortune from disaster, poverty and catastrophe

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.

2 editions

Martin reviewed Disaster Capitalism by Antony Loewenstein

Mediocre presentation of an important subject

2 stars

This is a good book that could have been shorter. While useful to expose the closer relationship between governments and private companies, the stories often felt repetitive and the chapters lacked a clear flow. The point was made, and made again, and made again, but the successive iterations didn't really develop a deeper analysis or enhance understanding. Overall, while an interesting read, I found it to be underwhelming.