I recently read a book called Children at Play by Howard Chudacoff that was really eye-opening. It sort of spoke to something I think we all already know, but are afraid to admit. And, since I’m a former toy designer, goes against everything I did for three years of my life. Here is the write up from Amazon:
Throughout American history, argues Brown University historian Chudacoff (The Age of the Bachelor), parents have sought to control their children’s games and toys, but kids have been determined to set the terms of their play. In the colonial era, children typically played with improvised toys, and parents tried to prevent play from degenerating into idleness, insisting that games must serve God or family. In the 19th century, consumer culture intersected with a new conception of childhood as a distinct, adorable life stage to be cherished, while children increasingly played with toys that brought them into contact with the market. By the 20th century, adults, influenced in part by the new field of child psychology, focused on educational toys and directed kids off the streets and into playgrounds, where they could be carefully supervised. The tension between parental prerogatives and children’s autonomy manifests itself still, says Chudacoff: parents try to keep children indoors for fear of dangers lurking outside, but children take new kinds of risks playing in cyberspace. While a bit dry and broad, Chudacoff’s work gives historical depth to debates that continue to rage over what constitutes appropriate child’s play.
I had just finished this book before going on a trip to visit family. The family included a 11, 8, and 5 year old, so I sort of had a chance to actually see what Chudacoff was talking about. While the kids played with their toys like any “normal” child would, they seemed to be most interested in coming up with their own games or using their toys as they saw fit. It got me to thinking about what I was most interested in as a kid…searching through houses being built in my neighborhood, coming up with sports games with my brother, exploring the woods in Tennessee…these were the great memories of my childhood. And while I certainly enjoyed my toys and played with them, I always made up things to do with them as well. I was big into G.I. Joe, but I think my favorite part was taking the vehicles apart and then putting them back together. In this day and age where parents feel the need to buy everything for their chiild, this certainly gives me pause. And while I’m not that big into education books, I think this speaks volumes about some of the failings of our won education system in and out of the classroom.
The Shock Doctrine
Image courtesy of The Shock Doctrine
When Naomi Klein came out with her second major book, The Shock Doctrine, I was skeptical. Klein had built her name through the publication of No Logo, a well-researched investigation into the impact of globalization. No Logo was excellent, and I wrote about it here. So, I just did not expect The Shock Doctrine to be as good since a lot of folks go on reputation alone to sell books…I was wrong. Once again, Klein has written a well-researched and deeply interesting book about a topic I think we need to spend more time caring about…disaster capitalism. Disaster capitalism is built on the teachings of Milton Friedman. Friedman believed in a truly free market. He felt that government should have a minimal role and just let the market act on its own. With many countries already entrenched in a political and economic system, Friedman’s dream of a “blank slate” to try out his completely free market was almost impossible. During political upheaval in Chile in the 1970′s, many people who studied under Friedman were given the chance to run this completely free market system with Chile in disarray. The idea was that while the people of the country were reeling from political uncertainty and questions of freedom, true capitalism could be installed and no one would question it.
Starting with Chile, Klein examines how installing a completely free market while the country is in a state of shock makes a select few people money and sends the rest of the poor and middle class into a time period of mass layoffs and financial uncertainty. Believers in the teachings of Friedman have received many chances over the years to try out this system during times of political chaos. Argentina, Poland, China, Russia, South Africa, and, most recently, Iraq have been laboratories for this type of free market. And while a select few make a ton of money, the poor and middle class are set in a tailspin. More often than not, the United States backs these markets because so many American corporations end up benefiting. Sadly, many of these policies are set in motion behind closed doors (often, the countries trying to “help” will only provide aid if the country in chaos agrees to a free market) while the politicians and media focus on the newly found freedom of the people. Klein contends
I feel that this is an important book because it sheds light on why the United States has such a bad reputation in the rest of the world. It has also made me think differently about what I saw in the media during the fall of Communism, the destruction of apartheid, and the student blocking all those tanks in Tiananmen Square. Even as we celebrated the triumph of freedom, the real story was taking place outside of the headlines…the establishment of a free market. While I agree with a lot of the reasons behind establishing a free market, I also believe there are some systems that should be taken care of by the government like health care and schools. And, I do not believe that you should ruin the livelihood of your own people just to make money. Klein relates a story about fisherman being displaced from their homes in Sri Lanka while huge tourist resorts were built after the tsunami. I think a lot of people in our government and in our corporations would like to privatize as much as possible and that is scary. It is even more scary that they try to install these free market rules and regulations while some people are just trying to survive.
I wish I could do a better job of encapsulating all that Klein writes about, but I guess that is hard to do in a couple paragraphs. I think it is awesome that she can take these seemingly heavy subjects and write it in a way that makes me not want to put it down.