"War is the health of the State," Randolph Bourne wrote in 1918, a time when corporate influence in politics was not as great as it is today. To update his essay we might say war is the health of the corporation, in so far as corporate interests have taken over the levers of government. From private contractors like Blackwater to sweetheart oil deals in Iraq the war has opened up new markets that have meant big profits for private companies. And it's not just the war. Deregulation, privatization, and free trade have all weakened the role of the state in the face of numerous crises from Hurricane Katrina to wildfires in California. Who replaces the state when it is no longer effective? The private sector. 

In a recent article in the Nation, Naomi Klein outlines how multinational corporations are taking advantage of high oil prices, the housing crisis, and the Iraq war for their own advantage. It's a state of extortion and private companies are exploiting fear and disorientation for profit. In this interview Klein discusses her new book, The Shock Doctrine and what can be done to counteract the forces of disaster capitalism.