It is a book authored by John Perkins and published by Berrett Koehler Publisher in 2004. Mr. Perkins's core message in his book is that American corporations and government agencies employ two types of operatives: "economic hit men," who bribe emerging economies, and "jackals," who may be used to overthrow or even murder heads of state in Latin America and the Middle East to serve the greater cause of American empire. In ensuring the system works there emerges a group of professionals corps, educated at the elite universities of the world, carefully selected by the National Security Agency, recruited by corporations and let loose on the world. Based on overblown growth projections, these professionals convince developing countries to take on loans to buy modern infrastructure. The money goes from the World Bank, USAID, or other organizations straight to the corporations that were contracted to build the projects, leaving the country up to their neck in debt.
And since those growth projections are invariably overblown, and the infrastructure needs constant maintenance, the country remains in debt and grows more and more dependent on the good will of the United States.
Written in a dynamic first person voice, Perkins explains how he began as an EHM and his professional activity with Chas. T. Main, an “independent” utilities consultant to the governments of various developing countries. He would write exaggerated predictions on potential utilities use (i.e. hydroelectric generators) and convincing leaders to take on loans that they couldn’t possibly repay, in order to commission American engineering companies to build the infrastructure. Perkins traveled all over the world and witnessed key events including Saudi money-laundering affair, the fall of the Shah of Iran, the assassination of Panama’s President Omar Torijos and the subsequent US invasion of Panama.
In 1980, Perkins quit his job and founded an alternative energy company. He prospered, in part because of favors from former colleagues in return for keeping quiet. He also stayed on the payroll of various corporations and received generous commissions. In 1990, he dropped out. He sold his company and started to fight for the rights of South American indigenous cultures, whose environments he had helped to destroy in the first place. Finally, the events of Sept. 11, 2001 convinced him to finish writing the book and publish it.
Often it is assumed that the failure to reap the successes from international construction projects has been due to naive optimism, or that intervening circumstances can be blamed which could not have been foretold. But Perkins makes perfectly clear that MAIN, the international financial community, and the US government knew perfectly well the game being played.
The book is also being taught in classrooms at DePaul University here in Chicago and at Wheaton College in Norton, Mass. Hollywood has also shown an interest: Beacon Pictures bought an option to make a movie from the book as a prospective vehicle for Harrison Ford.
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