Naomi Klein is a prominent Canadian author, journalist, and social activist, born on May 8, 1970, in Montreal, Quebec. She is known for her incisive critiques of corporate globalization and capitalism, as well as her advocacy for environmental justice and social change. Klein grew up in a politically active family; her mother, Bonnie Sherr Klein, was a feminist filmmaker, and her father, Michael Klein, was a physician. This upbringing instilled in her a strong sense of social responsibility and activism.
Klein first gained international recognition with her bestselling book No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies (2000), which critiques the practices of global corporations and explores the impact of branding on culture and society. The book has been translated into over 30 languages and is often regarded as a foundational text in the anti-globalization movement. She followed this success with Fences and Windows: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the Globalization Debate (2002), a collection of essays addressing various aspects of globalization.
In 2007, she published The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, which argues that neoliberal policies often exploit crises to push through controversial economic reforms. This work further solidified her status as a leading voice in contemporary political discourse. Her subsequent book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate (2014), won the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction and has been influential in the climate justice movement.
Klein’s most recent works include No Is Not Enough: Resisting Trump’s Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need (2017) and The Battle for Paradise: Puerto Rico Takes On the Disaster Capitalists (2018). In addition to her writing, she serves as the inaugural Gloria Steinem Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University and is a co-director of the Centre for Climate Justice at the University of British Columbia. Klein’s activism and scholarship continue to inspire movements for social and environmental justice worldwide.
