[.uk] Stormy Weather: Katrina and the Politics of ... (ISBN 1594513295)

A challenge to the prevailing orthodoxy:
"Stormy Weather" by Henry A. Giroux is a penetrating and compelling analysis of the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe. Mr. Giroux places the event within its historical context in order to illuminate how the U.S. has been digressing away from democracy and towards authoritarianism. Intelligently applying Michel Foucault's concept of 'biopower' to discuss how the state chooses to exercise sovereign control over its citizens, Mr. Giroux presents an exceptionally powerful deconstruction and critique of the frightening world that neoliberalism has spawned. Mr. Giroux's erudite and passionate commentary also proposes how we might begin to reclaim our lost democracy. The book has two chapters. The first discusses how the suffering of the poor in New Orleans underscores how neoliberalism has found it more convenient to dispose of populations considered to be economically unproductive than to care for them. Mr. Giroux contends that the media images of the poor, sick and elderly among the predominantly African-American populations who were left to fend for themselves exposed the persistence of racism. Mr. Giroux suggests that neoliberal policies that sacrifice the public interest in favor of privatization schemes and tax cuts for the wealthy are to blame for eroding the social compact where public works projects are gutted and large sectors of the population are marginalized, inlcuding those who were simply unable to leave New Orleans without access to private transportation. Suggesting that the government's response to the disaster was not simply a matter of incompetence but "malign neglect", Mr. Giroux discusses how security forces later cleansed the city of its poor in order to allow redevelopment for the benefit of corporate interests. While much of this has been commented upon by others, a distinguishing characteristic of Mr. Giroux's work is his methodical peeling of the layers of the onion to connect the Katrina tragedy with the inner logic of the neoliberal economic system. To that end, the second chapter discusses the increasingly authoritarian practices of the U.S. government under the Bush administration. Mr. Giroux believes that preemptive war, spying, torture and illegal detentions are proof that the U.S. has embraced militarization as a domestic and foreign policy solution; this is intended to quell dissent and promote a market fundamentalism dedicated to consumerism and free markets where the rich are rewarded and the poor are punished. However, the author hopes that the outrage stirred by the Katrina disaster will compel citizens to challenge the prevailing orthodoxy and work cooperatively to restore justice and democracy. I highly recommend this insightful, timely and powerful book to everyone.