John Perkins is an American economist and author who became known for his critiques of economic imperialism and corporate manipulation. In his book Confessions of an Economic Hitman, Perkins revealed how Western corporations exploited developing countries for profit. His story urges us to think critically about global systems, use our knowledge for good, and strive for economic and social justice in the world.
"Basically, what Economic Hit Men are trained to do is to build up the American empire. To create situations where as many resources as possible flow into this country, to our corporations, and our government, and in fact we've been very successful."
"Had Roosevelt been caught, we would have been in a lot of trouble. It would have been very embarrassing."
"And in Iraq we tried to implement the same policy that was so successful in Saudi Arabia, but Saddam Hussein didn't buy. When the economic hit men fail in this scenario, the next step is what we call the jackals."
"I was initially recruited while I was in business school back in the late sixties by the National Security Agency, the nation's largest and least understood spy organization; but ultimately I worked for private corporations."
"So we make this big loan, most of it comes back to the United States, the country is left with the debt plus lots of interest, and they basically become our servants, our slaves. It's an empire. There's no two ways about it. It's a huge empire. It's been extremely successful."