Confessions of an Economic Hitman 6

As the book comes to a close, John Perkins begins to realize how corrupt many aspects of the government are. He gives us a little insight on this when he says "The jackals had failed. So young men and women were sent to kill and die among the desert sands," (249). The "jackals" are assassins that the CIA sent to kill Saddam Hussein, and since they failed, full blown war has erupted. Many people will die for a cause that isn't even just. Perkins makes it clear to us that he believes the whole war is about oil. He insinuates this when he says, "Could it be that from the point of view of this administration--this oil family--establishing oil supplies as well as a justification for construction contracts, were more important than fighting terrorists?"(250). He is finally beginning to realize that money and resources are the main thing that motivate people, and even government officials can be corrupt. It is this which finally pushes him to write the book.

As the story is finally being oncovered, Perkins talks of the weight that was lifted off of his chest. According to him, he had felt bad about his job the whole time he was doing it. He tells us this when he says, "I always knew that had the doubts, the pain, and the guilt not constantly nagged me, I never would have gotten out," (255). His code of ethics allowed him to break free of the corrupt system and finally do the right thing. Many others in his business would not be so lucky. He finally realizes the truth of his job when he says, "The real story is that we are living a lie,"(257). He was able to break down the wall between him and the outside world, so now he can truly relate to them and realize the atrocities which have been comitted. After seeing this, he has no choice but to right the book.

Confessions of An Economic Hitman #5

In this part of the book, John Perkins has to make the ethical choice on whether or not to betray the people he works for and possibly hurt his career, or stand up for what he believes in. He wrote an article for the Boston globe citing reasons why he believed that the Panama Canal should be returned to Panamanian control. This was ethically the right thing to do, but was destined to cause him grief at his company, MAIN, which frequently exploits developing countries. Perkins tells us that, "It was a bold move on my part, especially since I had recently been made a partner at MAIN,"(120). He obviously new he was doing something risky but he still chose the ethical path rather than the greedy one. MAIN could have fired him, or even killed him, just like they had done to others in the past. His fears were confirmed shortly after, as he received an angry letter from a co worker questioning, "Is this commie really a partner in our firm?"(121). Although the letter was sent by who didn't have enough status to do anything bad to him, the potential for others to do so was still there, and it certainly built on the fact that he did the right thing despite potential harm to himself.

In the next reading, the scene changes back to the middle east, Iran this time. Perkins is again faced with an ethical dilemma. He is approached given a message by a man named Yamin who wants to see if he's "interested in exploring a side of Iran that most people 'in my position' never saw,"(128). He knows that this man is a well known radical who helps the poor and dislikes the current shah in Iran, but his befriending of this man could have consequences for his business. With Perkins resources, Yamin could help alot of people and expose alot of bad things happening in Iran, but Perkins could lose is job. Perkins chooses to see this man, even if its only to find out how deep the rabbit-hole goes. As it turns out, the meeting was just to further convince Perkins to meet someone else, someone who Yamin says is "a man who can tell you a great deal about our King of Kings,"(131). Yamin is trying to expose the shah to the American media and Perkins will have to make the ethical choice on whether or not to risk his job for the greater good.

Confessions of an Economic Hitman #4

In this section of the book, it seems as though John Perkins has finally made up his mind about his actions, and chooses to take the path of greed. His greed only develops more when his job takes him to the oil capital of the world, Saudi Arabia. When the opportunity to exploit the Saudis for great amounts of money arises, he has no problem doing so. What is interesting is the fact that his lust for money is just a reflection of the corruption of more powerful people. The U.S. Department of Treasury actually asks for MAIN's (Perkins' company) help in getting what they want out Saudi Arabia, and like John tells us when he says, "MAIN was rewarded with one of the first major--and extremely profitable--contracts in Saudi Arabia, and I received a large bonus that year," (96) the U.S. government was more than happy to repay the favor. Even governments can be corrupted if enough money is there to persuade them. It wasn't only the United States government that was being corrupted, as there were individuals in Saudi Arabia who were assissting MAIN exploit the country from inside. An influencial man called Prince W. is willing to help Perkins in his endeavor as long as he keeps him happy. He is quite easily corrupted as Perkins tells us that all he expected was, "to be entertained by a woman of his liking, and that he expected her to perform more functions than those of a simple escort,"(107). Even high ranking officials in the goverment lack ethics, and this makes you wonder whether or not corruption like that exists in the government today.

However, that seems to be the opposite in Panama with President Torrijos. He truly seems to want to help his country and will go to great lengths to do so. John Perkins tells us that Torrijos, when referring to the Panama Canal, says, "It's a good time to launch an all-out political battle to win it back,"(119). The canal is an extremely important tool for American businesses and allows them to keep control of Latin America. Torrijos' dedication to get it back in Panamanian hands will make him many enemies and place him in great danger. Perkins, knowing much about what can happen to those who defy the wishes of big corporations says, "I could not help but wonder if the jackals had begun to circle Torrijos,"(121). When he says jackals he is referring to assassins, people who will kill Torrijos if he does not back down. Not only is the president of Panama not corrupted by money, but he also will not back down if his life is on the line