Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at 10:08PM It’s almost something out of a fictional movie. Even the title "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" instills images of grandeur, secrecy, something straight out of James Bond. Imagine if globalization had a sinister purpose, and capitalism’s gross inequalities were not from the nature of capitalism, but done by the United States government. What if all the accusations that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated about an American empire were really true, and instead the media just hid the truth from the public? What if the NSA helped build a global economic empire? According to John Perkins, it’s true and more. Introducing the Economic Hit Man:
Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. They funnel money from the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other foreign “aid” organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet’s natural resources. Their tools include fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization.I should know; I was an EHM.
- Excerpt from Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
The truth is always wrapped by a web of lies. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to see that all the stories are plausible; a quick Google search on the Bush administration gives heavy credence to Perkins' claims. This is the book's greatest strength: it succeeds magnificently in forcing the reader think about such issues.
Perkins does not offer much analysis of the stories he tells, nor should he. The title says it all. The book first and foremost is a confession: A way for Mr. Perkins to clear his conscience. This allows for much more leeway in the book's presentation. He throws out the obvious and boring trudge of a fact-laden approach and instead immerses you into a fictional imaginative world parallel to ours, with the kicker that it’s not. He runs you through a fast-paced tour of duty, hitting strategic points of interest, while wrapping it around a veil of secrecy.
Despite the plausibility of the stories and personal accounts of historical events presented in the book, they should not be taken as historical fact. They should simply be used as a gateway to further research. In that regard, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man fantastically illuminates deep issues within our current system, while keeping the presentation irresistibly addictive. Highly recommended.
* This is my first book review, any feedback is welcome. Thanks in advance!
Books 
View Printer Friendly Version
Email Article to Friend
Reader Comments (5)
Makes me want to go to the local bookstore and buy this book! Great review!!! A++++++
Nice review...however, i truly believe a better book (and may i suggest you review this next) is Shapeshifting: Techniques for Global and Personal Transformation
Looks like someone had his dictionary and thesaurus in front of him as he wrote this review.
I've read many reviews of this book...some pan it as the self-involved machinations of a guilt-ridden sinner.
But a little research and even less experience in the school of hard knocks will back up its credibility.
However, there are very few who deny its probability. (Except you...)
And THIS:
http://usinfo.state.gov/media/Archive/2006/Feb/02-767147.html
The fact that the US government has actually come forth and denied it as misinformation is strong enough even to overcome the blow to Perkins' credibility that his new age publications tend to deliver.
Perhaps plausible was the wrong word to use. His stories are certainly credible as I mentioned in the review.
However, I still think that you cannot use it as a historical fact in the same way that you can point to an encyclopedia and say this is hard fact. I take it with the same granularity of credibility as I do with wikipedia.