New Confessions of an Economic Hit-Man

This book, by John Perkins, is required reading for anyone who wants to understand REAL economics (not the garbage they teach in textbooks and Ph.D. programs -- see Education of an Economist for my personal experience in discovering that what I had been taught was false theories)

In this post, I will provide some excerpts from the preface to the book. I would like readers to participate in providing summaries of chapters and sections of the book in sequence, so that we can cooperatively read through this book. For those who would like to volunteer to summarize a section or a chapter, please fill out the Google Form: New Confessions of an Economic Hit-Man [bit.do/azehm]. This will also give you access to the book also - Anyone who fills the form can get access to the book, even if they do not want to volunteer.

Excerpts from the PREFACE of the book:

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 US 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, butone that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization.

I should know; I was an EHM.

I wrote that in 1982, as the beginning of a book with the working title Conscience of an Economic Hit Man. The book was dedicated to the heads of state of two countries, men who had been my clients, whom I respected and thought of as kindred spirits — Jaime Roldós of Ecuador and Omar Torrijos of Panama. Both had just died in fiery crashes. Their deaths were not accidental. They were assassinated because they opposed that fraternity of corporate, government, and banking heads whose goal is global empire. We EHMs failed to bring Roldós and Torrijos around, and the other type of hit men, the CIA-sanctioned jackals who were always right behind us, stepped in.

What finally convinced me to ignore the threats and bribes which prevented me from writing this book for many years? The short answer is that my only child, Jessica, graduated from college and went out into the world on her own. When I told her that I was considering publishing this book and shared my fears with her, she said, “Don’t worry, Dad. If they get you, I’ll take over where you left off. We need to do this for the grandchildren I hope to give you someday!” That is the short answer.

[The long answer has to do with ideals and is omitted in this excerpt. The author also explain why he has not been killed – it is because of this book; his assassination would prove his book, and make it even more credible. The author goes on to explain the job of the Economic Hit Men, based on his personal experiences]

In fact, on the day in 1971 when I began working with my teacher, Claudine, she informed me, “My assignment is to mold you into an economic hit man. No one can know about your involvement — not even your wife.” Then she turned serious. “Once you’re in, you’re in for life.” Claudine pulled no punches when describing what I would be called upon to do. My job, she said, was “to encourage world leaders to become part of a vast network that promotes US commercial interests. In the end, those leaders become ensnared in a web of debt that ensures their loyalty. We can draw on them whenever we desire — to satisfy our political, economic, or military needs. In turn, they bolster their political positions by bringing industrial parks, power plants, and airports to their people. The owners of US engineering/construction companies become fabulously wealthy.”

If we faltered (in convincing leaders to take our loans and run our projects), a more malicious form of hit man, the jackal, would step to the plate. And if the jackals failed, then the job fell to the military.

Why a NEW EDITION of the book? It is also time for a new edition because the world has changed radically. The EHM system — based primarily on debt and fear — is even more treacherous now than it was in 2004. The EHMs have radically expanded their ranks and have adopted new disguises and tools. And we in the United States have been “hit” — badly. The entire world has been hit. We know that we teeter on the edge of disaster — economic, political, social, and environmental disaster. We must change.

This story must be told. We live in a time of terrible crisis — and tremendous opportunity. The story of this particular economic hit man is the story of how we got to where we are and why we currently face crises that often seem insurmountable. This book is the confession of a man who, back when I was an EHM, was part of a relatively small group. People who play similar roles are much more abundant now. They have euphemistic titles; they walk the corridors of Fortune 500 companies like Exxon, Walmart, General Motors, and Monsanto; they use the EHM system to promote their private interests.

In a very real sense, The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is the story of this new EHM breed. It is your story, too, the story of your world and mine. We are all complicit. We must take responsibility for our world. The EHMs succeed because we collaborate with them. They seduce, cajole, and threaten us, but they win only when we look the other way or simply give in to their tactics.

By the time you read these words, events will have happened that I cannot imagine as I write them. Please see this book as offering new perspectives for understanding those events and future ones. Admitting to a problem is the first step toward finding a solution. Confessing a sin is the beginning of redemption. Let this book, then, be the start of our salvation. Let it inspire us to new levels of dedication and drive us to realize our dream of balanced and honorable societies.

John Perkins

October 2015