Economic Hit Man review
Beyond Me
"Confessions of an Economic Hit Man," by John Perkins. It was on the
nonfiction best seller list for quite awhile, so lots of people are
reading it. Heather says he's a really sleazy man with a big ego.
She's right, but it's also interesting that he finally decided to tell
this story.
The book is an autobiography that starts when he is in middle school.
His parents are teachers at an exclusive boys school where John
Perkins attends as a "poor kid" among the very rich. His parents long
to be part of the world of those families inhabit, and pass that value
along to John. So it's not too big a stretch to see why he'd be
attracted to a life that promised him that.
Before John settles down with a wife and family on the way to becoming
rich, he serves a year in the Peace Corp in Ecuador. He's encouraged
to do it by his fiance's uncle (who's his business mentor). While
there he falls in love with the indigenous people and their simple
lifestyle. However, when he returns to New York he's encouraged to
apply for work with a company called MAIN that does 'development
work'. That sounds like things helpful to poor countries like Ecuador,
so John likes the idea. After he's been there for awhile he's sent
for 'training' with a shadowy woman named Claudine who he meets with
for several weeks and never sees again. She informs him that he's
been selected to become an "Economic Hit Man" or EHM. That's actually
what they called themselves in the beginning.
She lays out this entire plan that involves people like him going into
poor and undeveloped countries and convincing them that they could be
much better off if they borrowed a bunch of money from the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) or World Bank, and create major
infrastructure, which MAIN would plan and build for them. Key to the
plan though, was that the undeveloped country would NEVER be allowed
to pay off that debt. The real plan was to place them in a state of
dependence where 'global interests' would have the primary say in
virtually ANY decisions about their country. That means that Western
business interests have usurped the role of government in the welfare
of many 3rd world countries. They no longer have the option of
improving health care or education unless their 'business partners' ok
whatever plan is proposed.
What Perkins observed was that what happened was that leaders of the
country who were susceptible could usually be bought off to go along
with whatever would benefit their own family, their tribe, their
party... and whoever was left out suffered the consequences. He
watched this happen for years as he worked in Latin American and the
orient. It bothered him a lot, but was so lucrative that he couldn't
pull himself away.
He quit working at MAIN when a company president he'd worked with
closely was fired. However, it was the weight of his emerging
conscience that compelled him to do it. After that the story becomes
the one of how he finally writes this book after much backsliding.
After all he was accustomed to a plush jetset lifestyle. figuring out
a way support himself was a real issue, and at least once while he was
working on this book he succumbed to pressure. He'd talked openly
about writing this book, and was approached by a major company who
offered him a cushy job with no duties, if he'd never write about the
subjects in this book. He agreed -- was bought off. After a couple
of years though he couldn't live with himself and left that company.
Now he does consulting, speaks, and I believe he writes on
motivational topics. He has a website.
There's a lot in this book that I haven't mentioned. He knew the
presidents of Panama and Ecuador then -- Jaime Roldos' in Ecuador and
Omar Torrijos in Panama. He respected them deeply as principled
leaders. He's certain both were assassinated by the CIA because their
EHM's couldn't buy them off for American Corporations.
This book answered questions for me about the things that make it so
hard to really make changes for good in the world. It revealed the
shadowy world of greedy men who feel compelled to manipulate whatever
system there is for their own advantage, and to the hurt of many
others.
The day after I'd finished this book I saw the news story on BBC about
the African debt forgiveness initiative that so many churches worked
so hard on a couple of years ago, trying to help the very poorest of
the poor. Within days before the forgiveness of the debt, some
American financier used British law to buy up the debt of the nation
of ... Kenya I believe. Then he demanded that the debt be repaid in
full TO HIM AND WITH INTEREST. At the time of the report a British
judge had said that it was perfectly legal and he could see no way to
prohibit the financier from doing that. The British press was
incensed and Parliament was seeking legal remedy that would prohibit
the move. The business man just kept saying "it was a business
deal... just a business deal."
Those guys are out of control. I hope this book helps us understand
the economic structure that's grown up without our knowledge, and
encourages us to look for some ways to make it more accountable to the
common people who are suffering from the way things have become.
Business can't stop itself - they're too invested in the system. The
governments can't stop them either - they've already been bought off.
The only hope is the will of people to not be bought and sold like
cattle for a minimum wage song. There need to be some structures
built up to encourage that.
My intent has not been to be too intense about this book, though I
know this is kinda long. Hope that if something seems screwy y'all
will ask questions so I can at least try to clarify things. Thanks
for reading.
Beyond Me
serendipityrose
glad you could tell me about it, though, because I think it would have
been more than I could read. There really is just another world out
there that is hard for nice people like us to even comprehend isn't
there. The funny thing about making money, you just always seem to
need more. I guess if you have the drive to keep making it you just
hunger for more, and more.
Has anyone else read this book?
Rose