Puerto Ricanstruction: Naomi Klein on “Disaster Capitalism”

CONGRESS PUERTO RICO
In this Aug. 2, 2015 file photo, a private security guard sits in front of a closed down business in the colonial district of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Congress edged closer to delivering relief to debt-stricken Puerto Rico as the Senate on Wednesday, June 29, 2016, cleared the way for passage of a last-minute financial rescue package for the territory of 3.5 million Americans. Ricardo Arduengo / AP Photo
CONGRESS PUERTO RICO
In this Aug. 2, 2015 file photo, a private security guard sits in front of a closed down business in the colonial district of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Congress edged closer to delivering relief to debt-stricken Puerto Rico as the Senate on Wednesday, June 29, 2016, cleared the way for passage of a last-minute financial rescue package for the territory of 3.5 million Americans. Ricardo Arduengo / AP Photo

Puerto Ricanstruction: Naomi Klein on “Disaster Capitalism”

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

Over a decade ago, author Naomi Klein coined the term “Disaster Capitalism” to describe a form of hyper exploitation amid human suffering. When Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, Klein described it as a textbook example. Klein published The Battle for Paradise: Puerto Rico Takes on the Disaster Capitalists about some of the grassroots resistance to outside interests taking advantage of the environmental destruction there. We’ll discuss Puerto Rico with Klein today on Worldview. Klein was recently named Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University. As such, she has been vocal in gender issues as well, including the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh. In a recent interview on Mehdi Hasan’s Deconstructed podcast, Klein said “[President Trump] would rather risk the credibility of the entire [Supreme] Court in front of the entire world than run the risk of losing this one seat.” In the second half of the conversation, we’ll hear her thoughts on the conversation surrounding sexual assault and our highest court.