Reddit Reddit reviews Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

We found 32 Reddit comments about Confessions of an Economic Hit Man . Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

Biographies
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Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
corrupt practices of U.S. corporationsthe story of the American republic turning into a voracious economic empire
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32 Reddit comments about Confessions of an Economic Hit Man :

u/karmadillo · 28 pointsr/worldnews

If they simply "stopped paying attention", how would you explain the CIA's orders to the Jeddah consulate to grant Al Qaeda operatives visas into the country?

How do you explain the fact that once in the country, the alleged hijackers received training at secure military installations.

It is you, sir, who needs to read some books:

Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II

Confessions of an Economic Hitman

Tragedy and Hope

Wall Street and The Bolshevik Revolution

Wall Street and The Rise of Hitler

Foundations: Their Power and Influence

Bank Control of Large Corporations in the United States

Wake up to reality my friend. These people are not, and have never been, incompetent or negligent. If they were either, they wouldn't be in the positions of power they are in today.

u/Let-them-eat-cake · 21 pointsr/worldnews

Confessions of an Economic Hitman would be relevant here.

u/poli_ticks · 12 pointsr/politics

> when his actions would likely do them far more good than harm.

His actions, in the context of the 2012 campaign, consists solely of standing in front of Republican audiences, and telling them stuff like we ought to end the Wars, close all our foreign bases, end the Empire and end the War on Terror and the War on Drugs, because if we don't we're going to go bankrupt.

That is, in fact, anti-Empire, anti-War. And it is also anti-Wall Street and anti-Corporate. Because Wall Street is the financial nerve center of US Big Business and the Corporate world. And it is in fact, linked to the wars and Empire.

Read e.g.:

http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/imp-hsc/

Read also:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard66.html

And:

http://www.fas.org/man/smedley.htm

And:

http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Economic-Hit-John-Perkins/dp/1576753018

u/shadowsweep · 11 pointsr/aznidentity

> always dressed up in a new moral justification.

It's crazy how sick they are.

"Table 4.j - The Evolution of Western Soft Power Timeline – Propaganda vs Reality

Lie: Christianity (0 to 1950’s) - We’re here to “save your souls”

Truth: Doctrine of Discovery: A scandal in plain sight

http://ncronline.org/news/peace-justice/doctrine-discovery-scandal-plain-sight

Summary: Rape, torture, enslavement, genocide, and plunder.

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Lie: Democracy (1950’s to today) - We’re here to “give you democracy and freedom” Killing Hope

Truth: http://www.amazon.com/Killing-Hope-C-I-Interventions-II--Updated/dp/1567512526

Summary: Communism (people over profit) threatened western-styled capitalism (profit over people) so the West waged genocidal wars to install pro-capitalist pro-west puppets.

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Lie: Free Market (1980’s to today) - We’re here to “give you prosperity” Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

Truth: http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Economic-Hit-John-Perkins/dp/1576753018

Summary: Leaders of developing nations are offered a choice: “Give us cheap access/control to your market/resources/public assets and you’ll be rich. Defy us and we’ll overthrow you, kill you, and possibly invade you.”

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Lie: NGO(s) (1990s to today) - We’re here to “give you a vibrant civil society and democracy and human rights and free speech.”

Truth: NGOs: The Missionaries of Empire

http://www.globalresearch.ca/ngos-the-missionaries-of-empire/29595

Summary: USA’s so-called NGOs like National Endowment for Democracy(NED) subvert sovereignty by spreading propaganda under the guise of “free press” and “free speech”

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Lie: Foreign aid (1970s to today) - IMF and world bank is here to “save your economy and give you prosperity.”

Truth: See Free Market entry above.

Summary: The west traps developing nations with “financial loans” with impossible conditions to economically enslave. The West privatizes public assets, free trade allows Western firms to dominate its markets, etc.

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Lie: Humanitarian intervention (2000s) - We’re here to “help” you.

Truth: Wars against Syria, Yemen, Libya, etc."

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image version http://i.imgur.com/SeEYfzK.jpg

u/ychromosome · 9 pointsr/worldnews
u/MekkaLekkaHigh · 7 pointsr/conspiracy

Conspiracies do exist, and its sad that the words "conspiracy theory" have such a negative connotation, because these things do happen. I don't believe Obama is a muslim, or that the moon landing was faked btw.

I'm not sure if I believe the US perpetuated 9/11 itself, or if it merely allowed it to happen, or maybe they were not involved at all. But my Reichstag example is still true. Conspiracies happen. To say that its impossible is naive.

Is this 4 star general also a conspiracy theorist? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7NsXFnzJGw

What about the author of this book? http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Economic-Hit-John-Perkins/dp/1576753018

u/BinLeenk · 6 pointsr/Documentaries

read up on all of central and south america..plus the middle east, southeast asia, AFRICA...Oh! The list goes on and on!

Read John Perkins book Confessions of an Economic Hitman to get a good understanding of how things work.

Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine is a good supplement.

u/Philosopher_King · 6 pointsr/worldnews
u/HerbertMcSherbert · 5 pointsr/books

I bought this book when I was a development worker in the third world. Had great expectations, and was already living amidst the legacy of colonialisation and exploitation.

I have to be honest, I don't think I've ever been more disappointed in a book. So much of it seemed to devolve into self-indulgent diatribe, it was incredibly light on specifics, and he seemed to have the kind of romantic anti-Western "Oh my god, this culture is so much better" we Westerners are so good at exhibiting for the first few months living in exotic cultures.

I wanted some depth. I wanted specifics. The basic premise is pretty well-known, but the depth behind it unfortunately wasn't particularly present in this book.

From checking out some of the less positive reviews on Amazon I see I'm not the only one who got the same impression from this book.

u/MyFartAir · 5 pointsr/conspiracy
u/JulezM · 3 pointsr/AskReddit

If you want to find out how it all works, read Confessions of an Economic Hit Man - by John Perkins. In short, the US instigates everything from the presence of those corporations in those countries, to the wars being fought over (like bigmacd24 said) nationalization of those industries. It's a fascinating read.

u/whattodo-whattodo · 3 pointsr/SeriousConversation

> You often say oh hypocrite Americans you are all a bunch of immigrants let them all in you benefited from it

In terms of immigration, I think that you've missed the point. The reason that Americans are criticized for the current stance on illegal immigration is not because Americans benefited from it. It's because Americans created it.

1942 - USA creates the Bracero program. A short term program to allow immigrant laborers into the US to take low level jobs that soldiers would leave behind. Immigrant laborers would be the equivalent of indentured servants & would receive citizenship after 20 years of work. Scheduled to be terminated at the end of WWII.

1945 - WWII ends. Soldiers come back & don't want those jobs. Local farmers also don't want the American soldiers. This semi-slavery program means that these farmers won't slip up (even once) for risk of losing their shot at becoming Americans. The program is extended indefinitely.

Interim A lot happens between here and 2000. Noriega, United Fruit, Panama Canal - the list is long. The US regularly arms militias in South America for personal gain. Every country has a different story but the net result is that the US uses economical levers to profit from and keep countries controlled. I'm not going to go into detail but if you actually want detail "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" goes into more than you can stomach.

1969 - The US officially terminates the program. This part is key because it is now illegal but encouraged by the government & wanted by the employers.

  1. Laborers can still come into the country (illegally) to work, but they are not promised citizenship.

  2. Labor laws are pretty much suspended. Minimum wage does not apply to those who are not legally here. Labor laws. Even common laws (like rape) are mostly handled by deporting the victim.

  3. The US continues to use economic practices to keep a steady supply of laborers. In particular, Mexican politicians who are favorable to the US gain power while others are either black balled or just disappear.

    1986 - US grants amnesty to many of the undocumented residents. Taking ownership of the half century of exploitation & promising to end it.

    1989 - US grants amnesty to others who were not included but should have been

    1989 - 2001 - It's about as neutral as it gets. The US does nothing to crack down on immigration but it also doesn't provoke the issue.

    2001 9/11 attacks change everything for the US. It now needs to monitor and protect it's borders to assure that contraband isn't coming through & it can't do that with a lax policy.

    .

    So, do you need to support something that you benefited from? You certainly don't need to support continuing it. But that thing you benefited from didn't just appear in a vacuum. It was probably created. And if it was created by someone or something (like a country) which you do support, then I do think that you can't completely disavow what happened when it stops being convenient.

    Edit - Added references
u/DavidByron · 2 pointsr/AskReddit

For politics there's a lot of heavy heavy stuff which is good but if you want something light and more story orientated but still good try Confessions of an Economic Hitman It's about how America came to dominate and exploit the third world.

If you can handle something a little heavier I'd suggest the free on-line copy of A People's History of the United States. It's an upbeat history of ordinary people struggling for their rights against the rich - stuff you don't get told at school.

Many people will suggest George Orwell's 1984 which is also free on-line but I'd read only half way through if you want to keep it a bit lighter because the ending is pretty goddam nasty and all the buzz words that the book entered into the English language (apart from "Room 101") are in the first half of the book.

For a great book on pre-history try Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel. Famous book with ideas you'll find very useful in conversations. It answers the question as to how come it was White Europeans going and beating up on everyone else instead of vice versa?

If you're not a conservative (and why would you be) you'll enjoy Bob Altemeyer's The Authoritarians. It's his research on why some people seem to act in irrational ways and it's free on-line again. Bonus: his writing style is very easy to read and it's short.

u/unwashedmasses · 2 pointsr/todayilearned

You might pick up and read the book: Confessions of an Economic Hitman

u/trekkie80 · 2 pointsr/politics

You forgot the big daddy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Is_a_Racket

http://warisaracket.org/

http://archive.org/details/WarIsARacket

And the other big one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_of_an_Economic_Hit_Man

http://www.economichitman.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Economic-Hit-John-Perkins/dp/1576753018

http://www.johnperkins.org/

When insiders do turn around and try to expose them they are vilified, shamed and crucified like Bradley Manning, Daniel Ellsberg (Pentagon Papers), Thomas Drake, Jesselyn Radack, Gwyneth Todd, etc

Daniel Ellsberg was hounded and shamed just like Wikileaks, Bradley Manning and Julian Assange are being now.

u/pikindaguy · 2 pointsr/WTF

Reading that book made me absolutely hate our position in the world. I'm sure the interview is great but definitely recommend the book as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Economic-Hit-John-Perkins/dp/1576753018

u/Rad_Spencer · 2 pointsr/AskReddit

Two sources of the outrage, the first is the emotional outrage people see when watching people in dirt poor areas slaving away to make a luxury good for someone in another country. That just solicits outrage from many people.

The second source is from people who see large companies use their resources to keep poor people perpetually poor for personal gain.

You are right the people have a choice to either work or not to work, but if not working means death for you and your family it is not really a choice. Many factory workers are not just working for themselves, but for their family as a whole.

I would suggest a couple of books that go into the issues you are asking about pretty thoroughly.

Nickel and Dimed:

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

Also the first episode of 30 days

The 30 days episode shows how being poor can cause people to continuously be ground down to a point where even the smart and responsible ones find themselves unable to cope.

u/g8trboi · 2 pointsr/IAmA


Since we are giving unsolicited reading advice, for you I suggest:

Antony Sutton's Wall St. Triology

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4565730-wall-street-and-the-bolshevik-revolution

John Perkins' Confessions of an Economic Hitman
http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Economic-Hit-John-Perkins/dp/1576753018

G. Edward Griffins The Creature from Jekyl Island
http://www.amazon.com/Creature-Jekyll-Island-Federal-Reserve/dp/0912986212

when you can discuss the cited historical facts with some authority, let me know- in the mean time, feel free to send me a sample of your reading list

u/zmobie · 1 pointr/AskReddit

I can't say I'm not a little bit skeptical about this book, I can say it was an eye opener and it got me interested in pursuing more information.

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

u/tob_krean · 1 pointr/politics

I have to call this out:

> Typically the worst thing a corporation (Isp or whatever) can do to me is piss me off enough so that I won't buy whatever it is they're selling.

The worst? The WORST? What rock have you been living under? I'm sorry, now that just pisses me off. You have broken with reality. Hell, you probably won't even be pissed off long enough to not buy from them in the future. My god, go take a look at what corporations DO without and GOD DAMN OVERSIGHT. No oversight is just moronic.

India convicts 7 in 1984 Bhopal gas disaster "Nearly 26 years after a toxic gas leak killed thousands in Bhopal, India, seven former executives of US chemical giant Union Carbide's ..."

Corporations don't kill people? Bush hasn't been brought to justice? Maybe its first come, first served.This happened in 1984 and STILL has not been properly addressed. Corporations kill people every day and would kill more if nothing stood in their way.

You just pay attention when government is starting illegal wars, yet turn a blind eye when it also does bidding for the corporation. But the Libertarian playbook forces you to always see that one is always evil, and the other is manageable. You are dogmatic because you have to pull out von Mises and quote from it blindly.

Bush hasn't been brought to justice? How about Union Carbide in the example above? If you do not view government AND corporations (or any other large social institution) in the same light you are only addressing half the problem. And sadly, I think that is the only half you will ever see.

u/Canadian_Infidel · 1 pointr/worldnews

Not paranoid. I just read Confessions of an Economic Hitman


You're not arguing with my point of view, you are arguing with this guy. I just happen to believe his story.

u/MasterBob · 1 pointr/todayilearned

You are right. I meant Saudi Arabia. Sorry, I was confused between the two. Thank you for calling me out, I have corrected my original post.

I read it in [Confession's of an Economic Hit](http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Economic-Hit-John-Perkins/dp/1576753018 "Amazon") [Man](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_of_an_Economic_Hit_Man "wikipedia"). Perkins states that in a conversation with a Saudi diplomat in 1974 the diplomat remarked to Perkins that goats were the Saudi answer to their trash. He later goes on to state that once the U.S. got involved, in an effort to secure an oil source, they began to use garbage trucks.

u/sedriss · 1 pointr/AskReddit

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man turned me from Republican to Democrat in a single reading.

http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Economic-Hit-John-Perkins/dp/1576753018

u/Anybodykiller · 1 pointr/Philippines

http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Economic-Hit-John-Perkins/dp/1576753018

You should check this book out. I agree that we can't get used to playing the victim card, but I think there definitely is a predatory nature to the IMF, World Trade Organization and World Bank.

u/lundah · 1 pointr/reddit.com

Read "Confessions of an Economic Hitman". It will make you angry.

u/EvilDuke · 1 pointr/AskReddit

Funny, my PC interview is next monday. So, check (assuming I get nominated and then invited).

I'm sort of aware of the business-like nature of international development (in fact, read a book which actually made the accusation that the field was often used as a political weapon/line people's pockets, cue IMF rants etc, except this guy was like you, someone who used to work in the field, and got pretty high up it seems: http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Economic-Hit-John-Perkins/dp/1576753018 ).
However, I didn't know any of those names you mentioned. So thanks for that, I'll be looking into them.

What sort of role could having a Masters in International Development play? What about having an MBA?

Ideally my 5 year plan looks something like this: Peace Corps, get out, get grad school (not sure whether that'll be soft or engineering). I'm banking on the fact that whatever ten year plan I set will probably be severely challenged by the man at the end of my five year plan, so I'm mostly trying to investigate my various options.

From what you've said, it sounds like an MBA would still track me to project management, but would it start me in a high position? Or would I still be better off moving in laterally as a professional?

Thanks a lot for the post, candid is valuable. Pointers to that reading material would be amazing. Screw that scenario with the unpaid internships that you painted, that sounds worse than the physics academia I'm running from (grad school, post doc, post doc, shitty first position in Nebraska, then finally move to somewhere big and get on the tenure track).

Also- is there much connection between Intellectual Property Law and International Development? I was thinking about IP law for a while but honestly I don't agree with many of the ways IP Law is used, if anything I'd be fighting against the corporations that can pay. Not sure if I want to do the time in corporate sell-out land, not as a lawyer anyway.

u/epitaph25 · 1 pointr/politics

Confessions of an Economic Hitmen is also a good read on the subject. If you just want a gist of the book, here's a 1 min video

u/burrowowl · -1 pointsr/pics

http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Economic-Hit-John-Perkins/dp/1576753018

http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine

International money is not designed to help. It's designed to put countries into permanent debt and forced privatizations of public infrastructure paid for by generations of that nations tax payers. Every single nation that has been on the receiving end of this has gotten fucked. Every single one. The Greeks, or any other nation, would be fools to accept the terms offered.

Read the books. Then talk.