Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

Victoria McDonald spends her summers in Alaska as a bus driver/tour guide and her winters in Bellingham waiting for snow.

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
by John Perkins
Penguin Group (Plume), 2005
280 pages, paper, $15.00
ISBN 9780452287082

If you’ve ever wondered about America’s empire building, many of your questions will be answered by John Perkins’ book, “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.” This book, beginning in 1963 and continuing to the present, is an astounding revelation of American meddling in world affairs and Perkins’ recognition of the misdeeds in which he was involved.

John Perkins’ preface explains “economic hit men” (or EHMs, as they refer to themselves), who persuade underdeveloped countries to assume massive debts in order to finance projects that will bring their nations into the global economy. Money from the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and other foreign aid organizations is borrowed by less developed nations to finance ambitious projects; this money then flows into the bank accounts of huge corporations or wealthy families who control much of the Earth’s resources.

EHMs utilize rigged financial and economic reports, murder, threats, sex and bribes to convince debtor nations to apply for these loans. When the loan cannot be repaid, the debtor nations must yield to the demands of the borrowing nations. The term “globalization” takes on an ominous meaning in the context of these forced obligations.

Perkins began his book in 1982 after working with the president of Ecuador, Jamie Roldos, and Omar Torrijos, president of Panama. Both men applied for loans to help the underprivileged of their countries, rejecting the empire building schemes of lenders. When Roldos and Torrijos died in separate airplane wrecks a few months apart, Perkins blamed the CIA for eliminating men who stood up to the U.S.

Perkins stopped writing following threats but restarted after world crises: the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama, the first Gulf War, Somalia and the rise of Osama bin Laden. All these conflicts led back to the activities of the EHMs. Finally in 2004, Penguin Group, a publisher not owned by an international corporation, agreed to publish “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.”

Despite Perkins’ criticism of American empire building, he often mentions the ideals of the founding fathers and the promise of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” for all people. This idealism brings new men and women into corporations, unaware or unwilling to recognize that economic growth can run amok. Third world workers earn slave wages so multinational corporations can earn tremendous profits.

Drug companies are unwilling diminish their profit margins in order to provide medicines for millions of Africans infected with HIV. The energy industry and unregulated capitalism morph into an Enron. Meanwhile, the U.S. is able to spend over $87 billion for a war in Iraq while the UN estimates that for half that amount we could provide clean water, adequate food and sanitation for every person on the planet.

As he was drawn into the web of economic manipulation, Perkins recognized that the idea of economic growth being beneficial to all is a fallacy. In the beginning of his career one mentor was surprisingly honest when she informed Perkins that his job was “to encourage world leaders to become part of a vast network that promotes U.S. commercial interests.”

When leaders have committed their countries to massive unpaid debts, they are obligated to satisfy the military or political needs of the U.S. Once countries are indebted to big corporations for industrial parks, airports and infrastructure, their leaders become more powerful within their own countries. This overpowering urge of corporations to earn piles of money at the expense of poor nations will ultimately result in chaos, according to Perkins.

Perkins attributes his family’s attitudes as he was growing up to his success as an EHM. His father, a professor at a private boys’ school, encouraged him to have friendships only with well-to-do boys, and to reach for worldly success. Perkins initially accepted his family’s shortsighted view of the world.

In 1965 at the age of 20, Perkins was eligible for the draft. However, his new wife’s uncle, Frank, worked for the National Security Agency, or NSA, the country’s largest and least known spy agency. Uncle Frank arranged for Perkins to be interviewed, and although the young man was opposed to war, he was hungry for a big salary and confessed to lying to protect a friend. This desire for a materialistic life and the willingness to lie were positives for Perkins’ future as an EHM.

After a few years in the Peace Corps, MAIN, an international consulting firm, hired Perkins as an economic forecaster. MAIN coached him carefully; if Perkins developed economic forecasts that projected impossible growth statistics, he was rewarded handsomely.

Perkins’ work took him to Indonesia where he was told he was saving that country from communism. Therefore, he created false economic plans that pleased his bosses so much, they sent him to Panama on a similar project, where he met Omar Torrijos in 1972. Torrijos, a national hero, dared to proclaim Panama’s sovereign rights to the Panama Canal. Torrijos rejected both communism and the School of the Americas but believed he could work with U.S. bankers. Although Torrijos believed that he was not working against the U.S., he was considered too great a threat and was eliminated.

Perkins also worked with the Saudis in a money-laundering scheme, witnessing the House of Saud fund Osama bin Laden’s Afghan war against the Soviet Union. Perkins helped the Saudis bring their country into the modern world, while observing the ties to the Bush family. Perkins did so well working with the Saudis that he became the youngest partner in his company’s 100-year history. He was on his way to becoming a millionaire, his lifelong dream.

Between 1975 and 1978 Perkins visited Iran, during the time the Ayatollah Khomeini deposed the Shah. Perkins was introduced to commoners, who told a different story of the political situation than the version given by the U.S. State Department. After the Iranian coup, Perkins realized the U.S. government was lying about our true role in the world, which led to our shock at the first Islamic revolt.

While working in Columbia on his next assignment, Perkins recognized that his unhappiness was a result of his work. Although Perkins was nagged by his sense of ethics, he was still ruled by his need for money and success. Eventually he resigned from MAIN and formed his own energy company, using environmentally friendly technologies.

Perkins met with influential people in the energy community who were astounded at the rise of Enron. He observed the changes in policy with the election of Ronald Reagan and the emergence of the Bush family. Perkins sold his energy company and was hired as a consultant, earning big bucks, mainly to keep him from writing a book. Finally he resigned, realizing he needed to write about the influence of the EHMs.

At the end Perkins is optimistic about citizens becoming involved in policy change — to speak out and create communities that serve our needs. But he also writes that his book is a confession, an attempt that enabled him to explain the world through the eyes of economic hit men. He encourages us to make our own confessions and examine our lives. This book not only explains many situations that are puzzling, it also encourages us to lead more balanced lives and to stay involved with policy decisions. §