We Need a Much Bigger Leap! John Bellamy Foster on Naomi Klein's 'No Is Not Enough'
Book review

http://climateandcapitalism.com/2017/06/13/we-need-a-much-bigger-leap/
Date Written:  2017-06-13
Publisher:  Climate & Capitalism
Year Published:  2017
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX21183

There is much to admire in Naomi Klein's new book, but she underestimates the danger posed by Trumpism, and doesn't pose a real alternative. She calls for a Leap, but it isn't high enough or far enough.

Abstract: 
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Excerpt:

A new book by Naomi Klein, one of the leading left journalists and critics in North America, and the author of such important treatises as No Logo, The Shock Doctrine, and This Changes Everything is not something one wants to miss, especially when it is on the 2016 election and the rise of Donald Trump. This book, though, written over a few months rather than years, is meant to play a different role than her major treatises. No Is Not Enough is a conversational book aimed at a liberal audience perplexed by the whole Trump phenomenon and wanting to know what to do. Klein’s answer is to resist, but to resist with a purpose.

No Is Not Enough is an attempt to view Trumpism through the triple framework provided by her earlier books, focusing on branding, neoliberalism, and the critique of climate change. This approach works best with respect to branding: the subject of No Logo. Klein unveils the nature of the Trump brand, its origins, and significance, the effect of his ghost-written bestseller The Art of the Deal, his role as a Reality Show star, and how Trump saw the presidency as the ultimate extension of his brand. He even dreamed that he would be the first person to run for president and make money on it. Klein's succinct depiction of Trump the brand, reminds one of Michael Rogin’s 1987 book, Ronald Reagan: The Movie.