Confessions of an Economic Hitman, John Perkins, 2004:

Book Review
This work is an autobiography by John Perkins, a self-described “economic hitman”. Perkins
book situates himself within a wider historical context and the role he played in convincing
vulnerable nations with vast natural resources to accept economic aid from companies in the
United States. He emphasizes the concept of “corporatocracy” defined as a society or system
governed or controlled by corporations a term which has become more widely used over the past
few decades in mainly left-of-center political thinking for trying to understand modern
capitalism. A major criticism of Perkins’ work is that his writing makes heavy use of conspiracy
theories specifically controversial being his assertion that Ecuador’s President Roldos and
Panama’s General Torrijos were both assassinated by the CIA. Perkins has disputed these claims,
arguing he is not a conspiracy theorist, but a “conspiracy factualist”. Despite his own
denunciation of conspiracy, Perkins’ book remains controversial due to some of its content. His
sensationalist style of writing plays a major factor in this books ability to become a page-turning
bestseller.
Perkins writing is more accepted within a left-leaning perspective as a critique of capitalism and
the global economic empire of the USA. For that reason, both neo-liberals and conservatives,
particularly those in favor of free-market economics, would be critical of Perkins’ negative
interpretation of capitalism-based aid. To them, capitalism is an ideal way to spread freedom and
facilitate economic growth. Most traditional Republicans would disagree completely with
Perkins’ vivid descriptions of how capitalism increases poverty. Socialists and progressives,
particularly those more sympathetic to a critical rethinking of US foreign policy throughout the
late 20th century, are more likely to agree with Perkins views. In terms of parties and presidents,
Perkins writes more favorably towards Democrats such as Carter and criticizes Republicans such
as Reagan and Bush – although he does describe both parties as part of the corporatocracy with
their senior politicians benefiting from oil and construction aid policies. In modern US politics,
Perkins work could easily fit into the mainstream of progressive thought, compatible with the
political views of Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and others who lean further left.
Perkins’ historical narrative begins shortly after the Second World War. He claims that post-
1945, traditional methods of empire through conventional warfare were now defunct, meaning
such empire-building needed to be replaced with economics instead of military force. This
capitalist empire was key to the US’s ideological battle against communism. According to
Perkins’, this spread of capitalism in the 1950’s-90’s had a deeper motive than the widely
accepted propaganda of the time that this was to spread freedom. Instead, Perkins claims that
economic aid was offered by the US to poorer nations in order to ravage their natural resources
and make them dependent on the US economy through debt. Ultimately, these indebted nations
would turn into quasi-satellite states to the US and would surrender powers such as UN votes.
The corporatocracy would thereby build their economic empire, with more money going to the
wealthy, and the poor of the indebted nations becoming even poorer. Perkins’ assessment of
history finishes with the rise of terrorism, his interpretation being that the poor who are victims
of their economies being ravaged become potential terrorists out of their desperation. Perkins’
writing of history here is effective in how it makes the issues feel relevant to the reader,
considering his book was published in 2004 by which point modern terrorism was a pressing
global concern.
Unfortunately, the autobiographical nature of Perkins book undermines some of his historical
claims, as Perkins was not a first-hand witness to some key events he describes. He does not use
many sources or historical methodology to prove his description of events, which would be
important for his argument over Kermit Roosevelt’s involvement in overthrowing the
government of Iran and the controversial claims of CIA assassinations. Perkins describes Kermit
Roosevelt as “the first real economic hitman”, an accusation which he does not back up with
significant evidence except for a brief description of the 1951 coup d’etat9. Similarly, Perkins
argued that the assassinations of Torrijos and Roldos “had all the markings of a CIA-orchestrated
assassination”10 and that newspapers across the world cried “CIA assassination” in response, but
made these claims without providing any supporting evidence, even of the described news
articles. Again, this is not a standard historical book, Perkins writes with sensationalism instead
of focusing on factual details. While creating a more extravagant history that many readers could
find interesting to read, he does not create an analytical piece of evidence-based study to be
proven.
The idea of aid being a form of imperialism is not unique to Perkins writing, more analytical
works on this issue had been written decades earlier by other authors. Teresa Hayter’s Aid as
Imperialism, Warren and Sender’s Imperialism: Pioneer of Capitalism, and Samir Amin’s
Imperial and Unequal Development, among others, were written in the 1970’s and 80’s
exploring post-war aid and dependency theory, which are the main geo-political issues of this
book. What Perkins adds to these existing theories is his own personal experience as someone
involved in subjecting undeveloped countries to corporate dependency. In this sense, the
autobiographical nature of the book has a positive impact on Perkins work as it allows his
readers to experience the oppressive intent of aid through a first-hand account. The main addition
Perkins makes to the wider issues of dependency theory is to introduce the idea of an “economic
hitman” to a larger audience. Considering third-world debt is such a pressing concern in
international economics, it is useful to see the process of those debts being created through such
an intimate and personal narrative that Perkins can provide. That one man and a few companies
can clearly have such influence over global poverty makes the matter of aid and debt much more
relevant to our individual actions. Therefore, Perkins is overall effective at increasing personal
understanding for his readers over the key issues raised in Confessions of an Economic Hitman.