Hardcover, 250 pages
English language
Published Nov. 9, 2004 by Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is a semi-autobiographical book written by John Perkins, first published in 2004.The book provides Perkins' account of his career with engineering consulting firm Chas. T. Main in Boston. According to Perkins, his job at the firm was to convince leaders of underdeveloped countries to accept substantial development loans for large construction and engineering projects. Ensuring that these projects were contracted to U.S. companies, such loans provided political influence for the US and access to natural resources for American companies,: 15, 239 thus primarily helping rich families and local elites, rather than the poor. According to Perkins, he began writing Confessions of an Economic Hit Man in the 1980s, but "threats or bribes always convinced [him] to stop." Suggesting a system of corporatocracy and greed (rather than a unilateral conspiracy), Perkins claims the involvement of the National Security Agency (NSA), with whom he had interviewed …
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is a semi-autobiographical book written by John Perkins, first published in 2004.The book provides Perkins' account of his career with engineering consulting firm Chas. T. Main in Boston. According to Perkins, his job at the firm was to convince leaders of underdeveloped countries to accept substantial development loans for large construction and engineering projects. Ensuring that these projects were contracted to U.S. companies, such loans provided political influence for the US and access to natural resources for American companies,: 15, 239 thus primarily helping rich families and local elites, rather than the poor. According to Perkins, he began writing Confessions of an Economic Hit Man in the 1980s, but "threats or bribes always convinced [him] to stop." Suggesting a system of corporatocracy and greed (rather than a unilateral conspiracy), Perkins claims the involvement of the National Security Agency (NSA), with whom he had interviewed for a job prior to joining Main. According to the author, this interview effectively constituted an independent screening that led to his subsequent hiring as an 'economic hit man' by Einar Greve, vice president of the firm (and alleged NSA liaison). Confessions of an Economic Hit Man was met with skepticism about the accuracy of Perkins's claims from some.
two complete PDFs, a link to better presentation, online purchase:returnreturnhttps://mcgowans.org/marty3//#Confessions%20of%20an%20Economic%20Hitman
The book itself was pretty bad. The writing was poor, the facts simplistic and the posturing of the author wore thin pretty quickly. And the pedantry of the final chapter was a bit hard to take. But there was plenty to discuss about what the book touched on - the effects of globalization and the return of robber-baron style capitalism; the insularity of the average American and their disinterest in what might be happening in the rest of the world.
This was a really interesting insider's view of the US and corporate empire. How the World Bank and US corporations conspire to put countries in hopeless debt while funneling development money through US companies, for example. And how the the US has supported some nasty leaders when it served corporate interests. You've probably heard all this before, but the personal story is compelling and helps to tie things together.
If nothing else, check out the recounting of the Indonesian puppet story, a fabulous insight into another perspective on our global influence.
The frustrating part about reading this confession, is that the author took soooooo long to let his conscience take control. He participated in the system as long as they would pay him. By the time he wrote this tell-all, he had nothing to lose.
