John Perkins Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

It's been awhile since I've done a book review.  Most of my reading is school or research related but I've had a few books around since last year and this is one of them.  Wow.  And here I am planning this post for Earth Day.  Normally I would write about the importance of eliminating plastic - esp. the water bottles, recycling, using cloth shopping bags and on and on.  These things are important and you either do them or do not do them.  This post IS about the earth in a twisted way - and how we are living on it.  I always suspected this thievery and lies was going on.  You probably did too.  So here goes.

If you ever wondered just WHY the U.S. is so hated around the world, this would be telling you.  I'm no fan of government/politics to begin with but John Perkins tells how as an economic hit man for an international consulting firm, he convinced developing countries to accept enormous loans  to "improve" their countries, and how that money was then funnel into U.S. corporations.  Then the American government requests their pay back which includes (since these countries have no money) total access to the natural resources, military and politicals support.  In essence we have these poor manipulated countries in a vice grip and have taken over whatever good resources are available.

The poor people all this money supposedly was to aide, were given roads built by American companies who profited greatly.  You cannot eat roads.  "We" gave money under the stipulation that American companies would profit, not so that the poor would have food or farm equipment to grow their own.  Boy we were told some pretty lofty stories by our politicians.

Hard for me to feel proud to be an American when I read all this governement and corporate manipulation based on greed, power and "ownership".  I haven't felt this badly since I read "Alaska" by James Mitchner.  Total disregard for the people of the land.  It's just wrong.

So I guess it is weird that I'm doing a review of this book, eh?  It was a New York Times Bestseller after all, and the first of several "tell all" books Perkins has written.  He does admit that he just knew too much - and that knowing gave him a very, very troubling conscience.  It ate away at him for years, he started this book several times.  At one point he was threatened not to write it so I don't blame him for waiting to expose all of this. 

In his words "As I reflected on those incidents and all that I had experienced while working for MAIN, I found myself asking the same questions over and over:  How many decisions - including ones of great historical significance that impact millions of people - are made by men and women who are driven by personal motives rather than by a desire to do the right thing?  How many of our top government officials are driven by personal greed instead of national loyalty?  How many wars are fought because a president does not want his constituents to perceive him as a wimp?"

Let me ask you this - what do you remember about the invasion in Panama?  Clearly something that happened so long ago isn't right there for me to grab on to either, so don't feel badly if you don't immediately know all the circumstances.  I'm just thinking there is a lot of truth about our history that sure explains why America is not the revered awesome buddy of too many "foreigners".  

Did I need to know that?  Do YOU need to know that?  What would serve us best?  To know some truth or be given "stories" that always make us look golden?  If this is the time in the world where transparency is of the utmost importance, where clarity of intention matters,  where illusions of grandeur need to be re-examined, then perhaps a read thru a book like this will do everyone some good.  It's certainly a wake-up call.  It might even change your political thoughts in this election year, who knows?

There is significant history packed into this book and it is well worth knowing about.  So much of the "good" and "help" we have given other countries is really baloney.  You'll quickly understand why we give so much "aid" to other countries because it circles right back into the corporations like Bechtel, Halliburton etc. making them larger, wealthier and more powerful, so no politician will stand up and say no more aid to foreign counties.   Well except for Ron Paul.  Perhaps he knows the truth? As for the people who need aid.........let them eat road????