The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

The US government and American corporations combine to dominate foreign countries, fast-talking them into taking out huge loans to pay for infrastructure development, then strong-arming them into accepting onerous conditions when the countries have trouble paying their debts, and finally removing or killing local leaders when they resist. This process works so well that it becomes institutionalized and nearly unstoppable, a system Perkins calls the “corporatocracy.”

A foundation to assist the Shuar people of the Amazon, Dream Change promotes the Shuar belief that “your life, the world, is as you dream it” (196). Through its auspices, Perkins conducts tours to the Shuar homeland, where visitors learn directly from the Shuar, “who were eager to share their knowledge about environmental stewardship and indigenous healing techniques” (196).

Perkins calls himself an economic hit man, one of many who bring rose-colored predictions of wealth and economic growth to developing countries that accept loans to pay American corporations for huge modernization projects. The predictions are exaggerated, and the loans harder to repay than expected. When the loans are restructured, the victimized countries take a huge hit, both politically and economically, and become subservient to US corporations.