Economics Politics Memoir

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (Summary)

by John Perkins

How does the United States create a global empire? It doesn't start with soldiers; it starts with men like John Perkins. As an 'Economic Hit Man,' his job was to bribe, deceive, and threaten the leaders of developing nations into accepting massive loans for infrastructure projects they didn't need. The loans were then funneled to U.S. corporations like Bechtel and Halliburton, leaving the countries hopelessly in debt and forever beholden to their American creditors. And if a leader refused to play ball? The 'jackals'—CIA-sanctioned assassins—were sent in to clean up the mess.

The Corporatocracy's Three-Step Playbook

Perkins reveals a systematic method for global domination. First, Economic Hit Men (EHMs) use fraudulent economic forecasts to saddle a country with enormous loans. Second, when the country inevitably defaults, the U.S. and its corporate partners demand control over resources and policy. Third, if a leader resists, the 'jackals' are sent in to overthrow or assassinate them.

Perkins details how his firm convinced Indonesia to accept billions in loans based on wildly inflated electricity usage projections. The projects enriched U.S. contractors, but left Indonesia with crushing debt, giving the U.S. immense leverage over the resource-rich nation.

Development Loans Are a Debt Trap, Not a Gift

The massive infrastructure projects funded by international loans are designed to fail the host country. Their true purpose is to transfer money from the World Bank to massive U.S. engineering and construction firms, while binding the target nation in a web of debt that ensures its political and economic subservience.

In Ecuador, Perkins helped secure loans for massive hydroelectric dams. The country was promised prosperity, but the projects primarily benefited the wealthy elite and foreign corporations. The national debt ballooned from $240 million to $16 billion, impoverishing the population and locking the country into selling its oil to U.S. companies at a discount.

When Deception Fails, Violence Follows

The system has a violent backup plan for leaders who cannot be corrupted. Perkins alleges that when principled leaders refuse to cooperate with the EHM's proposals, covert operatives—the 'jackals'—are dispatched to remove them from power, often through assassination.

Perkins points to the deaths of two leaders who defied U.S. interests in 1981: Jaime RoldĂłs of Ecuador and Omar Torrijos of Panama. Both men were working to reclaim control of their nations' resources and both died in fiery plane crashes. Perkins strongly implies these were not accidents, but assassinations orchestrated by the 'jackals' after his own efforts to corrupt them had failed.

The Golden Handcuffs of Greed and Guilt

The book is also a personal confession about the psychological toll of participating in such a system. The lavish salary, extravagant lifestyle, and illusion of power served as 'golden handcuffs,' making it incredibly difficult to walk away despite a crushing sense of guilt over the lives being ruined.

Perkins recounts a conversation with a mysterious woman named Claudine who trains him for his role. She is blunt about the morally corrupt nature of the work but seduces him with the promise of a life where he will 'want for nothing,' framing the exploitation of nations as a sophisticated, high-stakes game.

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