Just finished Confessions of an Economic Hitman. Wonderful book. Even more, important book.This book dives into the dark world of the International Banks, Third World Debt, Greedy Nation-Corporation Marriages...and all from first-hand experience. Perkins does not write a survey on something he has researched...he's writing a personal confession.
Pulling back the curtain (so to speak), he shows how all US invasions post-WWII were economically driven. Even further, they were all attempts to excercise imperialistic power in aquiring another nation's natural resources...and setting the country up to be in debt to US (er, I mean international) banks and corporations.
CIA asassinations, US-led coups, supporting dictatorships, hundreds of thousands dead...this is the stuff of some action movie...but it's his personal memoir.
It's not all gloom and doom...and he calls people to wake from their slumber and stop the atrocities. We, the masses, he believes, are the ones making these decisions...by allowing our leaders to act in such ways. He offers some pro-active steps to curtail the US imperialist tendencies...and ways to make a difference for the better in the world.
And there's an interesting few details about the whole Jim Elliot missionary expedition that is quite eye-opening.
An excerpt:
The real story of modern empire...has little to do with what was exposed in the newspapers that morning and has everything to do with us. And that, of course, explains why we have such difficulty listening to the real story. We prefer to believe the myth that thousands of years of human social evolution has finally perfected the ideal economic system, rather than to face the fact we have merely bought into a false concept and accepted it as gospel. We have convinced ourselves that all economic growth benefits humankind, and that the greater the growth, the more widespread the benefits. Finally, we have persuaded one another that the corollary to this concept is valid and morally just: that people who excel at stoking the fires of economic growth should be exalted and rewarded, while those born at the fringes are available for exploitation.
A timely book indeed.
Now, I'm off to start Hegemony or Survival. Anyone want to be a reading buddy? I'm one chapter in and would love a discussion partner.
6 comments:
I could be in on the Noam-reading. Haven't read much from him except some spare articles here and there. I'll let you know when/if I get a copy and start reading.
Keep me posted. Would love to have you along for the ride.
I'm just finishing The Post-Corporate World by David Korten--another excellent read. Korten is another insider who finally opened his eyes. I may be up for a little Hegemony action. Let my see if I can find it in the library.
Keep me posted man. Did I hear that the "Tracks" podcast made it to Emergent?
It's on its way. I have 1 other project I'm trying to edit to send off with it. Keep your ears open.
As a soon-to-be big papa, want to encourage you to check out the new story project collaboration between Kid Cultivators and Emergent. We're inviting parents to re-imagine how they share the biblical narrative with their children. I look forward to your contribution.
the question is... how do you pronounce that word? i've heard a handful of europeans speak recently and say that word... He gem ah knee.. (g as in game)... but my north american accent says hedgeahmony. :) okay totally worthless but still. to get a good grasp on what exactly hegemony is anyway you should look up some of gramsci's prison notebooks stuff. btw- i'll tell you my cali dates soon. promise.
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