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Book Review: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

To the layman, economic development often connotes material accumulation where the chief end is to boost income and consumption. Not that this view is wrong in itself but as economists, we are called to look beyond economic growth when we talk about development. Other aspects such as ability to command basic needs should be taken into consideration but most importantly, human development should be emphasized. Economic growth needs to come hand in hand with an increase in capabilities, freedom and choices for the individual in order for development to be meaningful in a real sense.

Unfortunately, the world today places more emphasis on the former in looking to alleviate poverty in under developed countries such as those in Latin America and the Middle East. Foreign aid is extended to develop modern infrastructures which in turn, would boost income (wages paid to labor) and consumption (when labor spends the wages); thus, recycling the money back into the economy. But one question that begs asking would be this: Who are the real beneficiaries of this huge capital infusion?

John Perkins is one such author to look into this issue. In fact, in his book “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man”, he gave a detailed account of his life as an economic hit man in a march towards global empire. Economic hit men, as described by Perkins, are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars by funneling 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.

As the economist (later promoted to chief economist) for Chas T. Main (MAIN), an international consulting firm with close ties to the World Bank, Perkins was responsible for producing grossly inflated projections of economic growth to justify huge international loans for infrastructure projects on the pretext of development in less developed countries. These funds would then be funneled back to MAIN and other companies through engineering and construction projects. Poor countries such as Ecuador and Panama would forever be indebted to their creditors and would then be subjected to favors such as military bases, UN votes, or access to oil and other natural resources.

Perkins referred to this fraternity of corporate, government and banking heads as the corporatocracy, seeking to expand their empire no longer through wars or crusades but through a modern approach to global imperialism in the form of economic hit men (EHM). According to Perkins, when EHMs failed to deliver, the CIA-sanctioned “jackals” would step in to clean up the mess and those who oppose the corporatocracy would be assassinated such as Jaime Roldos, president of Ecuador and Omar Torrijos, president of Panama; both men who were the source of inspiration for his book.

One of the many conspiracy stories that caught my attention is the Saudi Arabian Money-laundering Affair (SAMA) as termed by Perkins in his book. As oil rich countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia need not incur debts in order to finance its ambitious list of projects, the corporatocracy took a different approach. After the oil embargo that ended on March 1974, U.S. corporatocracy leaders were desperate to funnel petrodollars back to America. This resulted in the deal of the century where Washington offered technical support, military hardware and training, and an opportunity to modernization in exchange for petrodollars and assurances that there would never again be another oil embargo. Under this deal, the Saudis hold their oil earnings in U.S. treasury bonds where the interest is paid by the Treasury Department directly to corporations responsible for modernizing Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure. Perkins also claimed that this alliance allowed the financing of international terrorism activities such as that of Osama bin Laden which ultimately resulted in the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Of course, the situation in Iraq and its leader Saddam were also not missed out in Perkins’ book. According to him, the U.S. administration expected Iraq to be another Saudi Arabia but the refusal of Saddam to buy into the EHM scenario led to the invasion of Iraq and the removal of Saddam from office.

It goes without saying that Perkins worked as an EHM under constant struggle with his conscience which ultimately led to “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man”. In carrying out his work, he also managed to experience and share the lives of people who live in shanty-towns and cardboard houses such as in Indonesia; a side of the country the world never saw. Although he was guilt-ridden and convicted by his experiences, the many attempts (and often successful) by the corporatocracy in the form of bribes and threats prevented him from finishing the book. The final straw that broke the camel’s back was the September 11 attacks as Perkins saw the corporatocracy as the real cause of the pain and suffering in the world; in other words, corporatocracy backfired.

All is good and well with John Perkins’ book except for the lack of sound economic theories, documentary, testimonial and empirical evidence as noted by many critics. Although there are some figures littered throughout the entire book, the only solid evidence was a copy of Perkins’ résumé and a barely visible article on his work which was a bylined interview in a magazine. While Perkins’ literary skills are undisputed, the lay reader would find it difficult to distinguish between hard facts and elements of fiction as the story is laced with emotions and exaggeration; often too good to be true. With the repetitive nature of the story, the reader cannot help but to feel that the author lack substance at some point. One would also question, if Perkins’ intent was to expose the corporatocracy for all it is worth (and if he is as rich as he claimed to profit from his work), he would have chosen to distribute free copies of the book instead. It is largely because of this and some irregularities in his book with statistical evidence that Perkins is discredited as a conspiracy theorist looking for fame and profit.

Nevertheless, much can be learned from this exciting, non-fictional adventure thriller even though not everything can be taken at face value. The lay reader would find it a comfortable read as the book is not heavy with technical economic theories. In his epilogue, Perkins reminded us that the problems confronting us today are not the result of malicious institutions but rather fallacious concepts about economic development. He called for a revolution in our approach to development that would see the corporatocracy function instead to clothe and feed the world’s poor in environmentally beneficial ways. With this parting message that highlights his intent, we can give John Perkins the benefit of the doubt against the sea of criticisms leveled against him.

 

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