Naomi Klein isn’t a big fan of poverty-alleviating and wealth-building liberalization reforms. As a journalist and author, she frequently goes out of her way to use fabricated information and cherry-picked stats to “debunk” the great success capitalism has brought to the developed and developing world. Klein’s magnum opus of anti-capitalism is her 2008 book, The Shock Doctrine. Klein takes aim at capitalist thinkers such as Milton Friedman and singles out his New Orleans school reforms.
Milton Friedman’s reforms
Milton Friedman was an economist who advocated for free-market principles and the privatization of certain industries, including education. After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, Friedman's ideas on education reform were influential in shaping the post-disaster policies implemented in the city. These policies included the closure of many traditional public schools and the expansion of charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately operated. Friedman's ideas were controversial, and were criticized by some for prioritizing profit over the interests of students. However, they were also seen by many as a way to improve education in the city by increasing parental choice and providing more opportunities for disadvantaged students.
Klein strikes
In her book, Klein criticized Milton Friedman's post-Katrina school reforms in New Orleans, arguing that they were a form of disaster capitalism that exploited the crisis to push for privatization and profit-making in the education system.1 However, a new study published in the Journal of Human Resources by two New Orleans economists, Douglas N. Harris, and Matthew F. Larsen, presents empirical data that contradicts Klein's criticisms and shows that the reforms had a positive impact on student achievement and education outcomes.2
Klein fails
One of Klein's main criticisms of Friedman's reforms was that they led to the widespread closure of public schools and the expansion of charter schools, which she argued were motivated by profit rather than the interests of students. However, the study found that the closure of public schools and the growth of charters in New Orleans were actually associated with an improvement in student achievement, as measured by standardized test scores. Furthermore, the data showed that charter schools in New Orleans had higher graduation rates and were more effective at preparing students for college than their traditional public school counterparts.
Klein also claimed that the reforms were implemented without sufficient input from the local community and were imposed top-down without considering the needs of students and parents. However, the study found that this was not the case, and that the reforms were actually the result of a collaborative process that involved extensive consultation with parents, teachers, and other stakeholders. Additionally, the data showed that the reforms were successful in increasing parental choice and improving access to high-quality education for disadvantaged students.
Conclusion
Harris and Larsen’s paper provides empirical evidence that contradicts Klein's criticisms of Friedman's school reforms in New Orleans. While it is important to consider the potential drawbacks of any major policy change, the data suggests that the reforms were effective in improving student achievement and education outcomes in the city. As such, Klein's arguments against the reforms appear to be unfounded and unsupported by the evidence.
Klein, Naomi. “The Shock Doctrine.” The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (2008), pp. 4-5
Harris, Douglas N., and Matthew F. Larsen. “Taken by Storm: The Effects of Hurricane Katrina on Medium-Term Student Outcomes in New Orleans.” Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press (2022), pp. 0819-10367
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