No Logo: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs by Naomi Klein
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Book Reviews of No Logo: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs
Book Review: A Study in Co-optation--Among Other Things
Summary: 5 Stars
... What does this have to do with No Logo? One important topic that Naomi Klein discusses is co-optation: how Gap mimics the rebels with "Revolution" scrawled on the darkened windows of a storefront, how corporations distance themselves from their contractors who pay less-than-living wages to sweatshop workers in the Philippines or Haiti, how Kathie Lee goes on a televised crying jag over sweatshops that made her dresses. She shows further the ways in which corporations try to co-opt antiglobalizaton movements--Nike, for instance, offers Ralph Nader $25,000 to hold up a shoe and declare "Another shameless attempt by Nike to sell shoes." (Declining this kind offer, Nader comments, "Look at the gall of these guys.") Klein reports similar corporate attempts to co-opt her services as a consultant.
In a way, though, this book is a paradox. As Klein notes herself, the publisher is a Murdoch subsidiary, and she has been, among other things, the recipient of Canada's National Business Book Award, and a regular journalist for the Globe and Mail, that solid conservative mainstay of Canadian newspapers. As she also states, No Logo will not start a revolution, nor will all the culture jamming and reclaim-the-street parties she meticulously describes.
And this is what concerns me. Thousands will read No Logo, or Maude Barlow's Global Showdown, or Mike Moore's Stupid White Men, and be lulled into believing that, with all that criticism out there, the world will somehow be freed from corporate domination of the world.
Don't count on it. It's the perfect way for the frustrated to blow off steam. ... Co-optation ruled then; it rules now.
Book Review: My Bible......even the Bible can have some flaws, right?
Summary: 5 Stars
People can bash the biased opinion of Klein. People can say that she puts too much emphasis on her little "teenage angst" rebels, but I think they're missing something (either that or I'm seeing something in the book that wasn't there). Certainly, she seems to push for the side of those against the big corporations, but you can't forget that she also takes the time out to talk about how much protesting, activism, and political action is just empty, counter-productive, and hypocritical a lot of the time. It's a call to arms basically. I don't think Klein herself would say that her book is going to change the world, and some people come in ready to criticize. "Just because you wrote a book doesn't change anything about the corporations." True, but once again, would she disagree? In my head, or at least what I've gotten coming out of the book, it's a call to do something but to think before acting. Just because you set up a protest doesn't mean anything. Protests go wrong. Protests buy into the media they're supposedly fighting against. Activism turns into inactivity. Back to my little review title comparing this to the Bible (big stretch, I know, but I had to have a title). You can take this how you wish. It can either be a set of rules to follow for the world where you fit into a regimented life of acting "against" the big corporations or it can be something there to inspire you, to reinforce you, to make you think before acting. You are left to do the work. A book won't do it for you. Plus, I might add, it's pretty entertaining.Book Review: finally one to bind them all...
Summary: 5 Stars
as an environmentalist, i could see that big corporations were behind much of the political pressure to overexploit our natural resources. as a friend of people interested in international human rights and labor law, i knew that big business was somehow involved. however, it was not until i read naomi klein's "no logo" that i understood how these disparate movements have found a common enemy, thus binding them together in their battle against evil. overdramatic? perhaps. but "no logo" is shockingly level-headed. this is not a melodrama like "fast food nation", but a carefully researched and well-constructed book about how big corporations have taken away our public spaces and public voices. the writing is clear and klein's story carries its momentum all the way to the bibliography. is there finger pointing? you bet. but klein goes beyond the usual hand-wringing theatrics, and actually documents campaigns that have succeeded in reforming some unethical business practices.
if you're a nader fan, then this good citizenship stuff is old hat. but even if you thought that bush stole the show from pat buchanan, you should read this book. it appeals to our common humanity and offers a dose of reality prozac to pull us out of the collective helplessness.
Book Review: NO LOGO will fundementally alter the way you think about the world.
Summary: 5 Stars
Naomi Klien's treatise on the anti-corporate movement of the last decade provides tremendous insight into the philosophies behind today's anti-corporate culture, and more importantly, the "branded" society that has spawned it. Well written and intelligent on every level, NO LOGO carefully tracks such disturbing phenomenons as the disappearance of public space, the rise of corporate censorship, and the transformation of living wage jobs for Americans into sweatshop labor in the third world. If you are completely unfamiliar with today's cultural rebellion against corporate control, NO LOGO serves as an excellent introduction, clearly outlining the dubious marketing trend of promoting "brands not products" such that you will never be able to watch commercials the same way again. If you are a seasoned WTO protester or billboard adbuster, NO LOGO will provide you with all the philosophical and factual ammo necessary to start converting your friends away from their unthinking materialistic lifestyle. This book is a must read for anyone who considers themselves and independently thinking consumer, as well as anyone who is interested in the latest cultural rebellion taking place among today's young and disenfranchised.Book Review: Good Starting Point For Wider Discussion
Summary: 5 Stars
The phenomenon of corporate cultural dominance is of fairly recent origin. I highly recommend the book for a discussion of this.
Naomi Klein presents a good description of how much of a presence multinational corporations have become in our lives. The material is well organized and very readable and although presented from a specific point of view alternative viewpoints are presented.
To me the book raises more questions than it answers, but I do not mean that as a criticism. The book shows how corporations have moved into every facet of our lives, how their presence has become inescapable. Some questions raised are: Just how bad is this? What have we sacrificed in becoming a society of consumers? Why have we allowed it to happen? Is pop culture the only culture? What is the alternative?
The book closes by talking mainly about sweatshops. This was a little disappointing because in going after this easy target it failed to address the other issues that were presented. A visit to the author's Web site was also a bit of a letdown because it focuses only on the war in Iraq.