Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
"Stop being so greedy," she said, "and so selfish. Realize that there is more to the world than your big houses and fancy stores. People are starving and you worry about oil for your cars. Babies are dying of thirst and you search the fashion magazines for the latest styles. Nations like ours (sic) are drowning in poverty, but your people don't even hear our cries for help. You shut your ears to the voices of those who try to tell you these things. You label them radicals or Communists. You must open your hearts to the poor and downtrodden, instead of driving them further into poverty and servitude. There's not much time left. If you don't change, you're doomed." (page 53)
So writes John Perkins of his conversation with a young university student in Bandung, Indonesia back in the 70's. John claims to have been one of many "economic hit men," otherwise known as "EHMS." His website states:
As an EHM, John’s job was to convince Third World countries to accept enormous loans for infrastructure development—loans that were much larger than needed—and to guarantee that the development projects were contracted to U.S. corporations like Halliburton and Bechtel. Once these countries were saddled with huge debts, the U.S. government and the international aid agencies allied with it were able to control these economies and to ensure that oil and other resources were channeled to serve the interests of building a global empire.
His book, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, chronicles his involvement in the economic history of many countries over the last 30-40 years. It reads like an action-packed history spy novel.
I enjoyed the book and found it thought provoking, but after reading through most of the reviews on this book over at Amazon, I'm wondering if I'm just a simpleton who loves reading and believing this sort of conspiracy theory pulp.
