Naomi Klein: ‘In Praise of a Rocky Transition’

By Ben Trott

Claiming that the current US administration’s handling of the economic crisis is both incompetent and criminal, Naomi Klein in her regular column for the Nation argues that Obama needs to come through with his pledge for ‘change’, rather than continuing to concentrate on smooth transition and continuity. She argues,

‘There is no way to reconcile the public's vote for change with the market's foot-stomping for more of the same. Any and all moves to change course will be met with short-term market shocks. The good news is that once it is clear that the new rules will be applied across the board and with fairness, the market will stabilize and adjust. Furthermore, the timing for this turbulence has never been better. Over the past three months, we've been shocked so frequently that market stability would come as more of a surprise. That gives Obama a window to disregard the calls for a seamless transition and do the hard stuff first. Few will be able to blame him for a crisis that clearly predates him, or fault him for honoring the clearly expressed wishes of the electorate. The longer he waits, however, the more memories fade.

‘When transferring power from a functional, trustworthy regime, everyone favors a smooth transition. When exiting an era marked by criminality and bankrupt ideology, a little rockiness at the start would be a very good sign.’