John Perkins

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Confessions of an Economic Hitman

John Perkins (b. 1945-) is an economist, activist, and author. His best known and most recent book is Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, a "whistle-blower's" account of the exploitation or neocolonialization of Third World countries by a corporatocracy (consisting of corporations, banks, and the US government) It was on the New York Times bestseller lists for over 40 weeks (in both hardcover and paperback).

Perkins attended Middlebury College during the 1960s. He spent the 1970s working for the consulting firm Chas. T. Main, where he was employed after, he claims, being independently screened by the National Security Agency (NSA) and subsequently hired by Einar Greve, a member of the firm (and alleged NSA liaison, a claim which Greve has denied) to become a self-described "Economic Hit Man". He says he was trained early in his career by a beautiful, manipulative, older woman as one of many "economic hit men" advancing the cause of corporate hegemony.

As a former chief economist at Boston strategic-consulting firm Chas. T. Main, Perkins says that he: "was an "economic hit man" for 10 years, helping U.S. intelligence agencies and multinationals cajole and blackmail foreign leaders into serving U.S. foreign policy and awarding lucrative contracts to American business."

Books

Perkins has also written on indigenous cultures and shamanism. His books on these subjects include:

Psychonavigation: Techniques for Travel Beyond Time, ISBN 089281800X
Shapeshifting: Shamanic Techniques for Global and Personal Transformation, ISBN 0892816635
The World Is As You Dream It
The Stress-Free Habit
The Spirit of the Shuar

Perkins is also the chairman of the board of the Dream Change, "a world wide grass roots movement of people from diverse cultures and backgrounds dedicated to shifting consciousness and promoting sustainable lifestyles for the individual and global community." [link]

External links

[Perkins' web site]
[Dream Change homepage]
[Video: Perkins talks about his book and activism], C-SPAN-2, Book TV, January 15, 2006.
[Big Picture TV] free video clips of John Perkins
Amy Goodman. [Confessions of an Economic Hit Man], John Perkins on how the neoconservative movement uses globalization to interact economically, politically and militarily with countries of less standing. Democracy Now, November 9, 2004.
[How the U.S. Uses Globalization to Cheat Poor Countries Out of Trillions], Democracy Now, December 31, 2004.
[We Have Created the World’s First Truly Global Empire], Democracy Now, February 15, 2006
Thomas Kiely. [The Missing Link: John Perkins’s "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man"], Newtopia Magazine, November 2004.

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