A summary of Naomi Klein's Fences and Windows: Dispatches from the front lines of the globalization debate

Fences and Windows: Dispatches from the front lines of the globalization debate. Klein, N. (2002). Toronto, ON: Vintage.

Through personal and deep rooted ideals, Naomi Klein provides a chronological account on two and a half years of various protests and speeches all over the world that revolve around the issue of globalization. "Fences and Windows" is a tightly bound compilation of newspaper articles and speeches packed together to encompass basic themes of a dwindling democracy caused by the "...internationalization..." of a neo-liberalist ideology. (p.78)

Essentially, Klein's various articles and speeches devote themselves primarily to the international debate of free trade, privatization, and capitalism, while often conceptualizing the fundamental sociological principle proposed by Mills-stating that often, private troubles cause public issues.

Klein provides an international perspective, capturing the essence of what she refers to as the "movement"- which is a collective epicenter in opposition to the various abstract-economic theories that effect society.

English: Naomi Klein on Thursday, Day 21, of Occup...

Naomi Klein

Fences and Windows

An economically driven "infrastructure " gives Klein the image or metaphor of fences and windows. The concept of the fence is used interchangeably, stating that tangible fences are "...needed to enforce the virtual ones...that put resources and wealth out of the hands of so many." (p.11)

As well, windows are conceptualized to represent freedom of speech, gateways to "...the liberation of democracy..."(p.33), equitable substance distribution, and an access for change that the movement so powerfully fights for on a global scale.

The windows of dissent can be a representation of an intricate process of thousands of people tying their destinies together through a network of "hubs and spokes"(p.11) simply by sharing ideas and telling stories about how economic dominance affects their daily lives. Klein's windows are not portraying violent protests against globalization, no, they simply can provide an image of a deeper and more responsive democracy on...