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The Secret History of the American Empire by John Perkins

 

New York: Dutton (Penguin Group Inc.)

 

June 2007

 

            John Perkins writes out of guilt.  Carrying on in the tradition of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, The Secret History of the American Empire is a form of atonement for the author to right his wrongs after what he feels were years of exploiting the weak as an employee of major corporations.  However, this time around, he aims to do more than merely confess.  His purpose is to effect change.  Perkins maintains a positive perspective, despite the fact that the bulk of his account revolves arounda

depressing theme of the destruction of the earth and its inhabitants, perpetrated largely by the greed and materialism of the United States.  In the Prologue he states, “I want to emphasize that you will not find gloom and doom in these pages” (2).  He stresses optimism and the necessity of positive action.  While his work has the potential to inspire would-be movers and shakers, it is somewhat weighed down by the blurring of the timeline of events and a heavy reliance on his own memory that leaves a question mark in the area of credibility.  Still, the book carries enough weight to be a powerful tool for advocates of economic, social and environmental responsibility as it is both a history of American imperialism and a resource for how people can begin to change the existing system. 

            Perkins purpose in writing this book is outlined in both his Prologue and his concluding chapter.  The author expounds on his previous work, which was a biography of his years as an “Economic Hit Man” (EHM), to include confessions from other EHMs and members of corporations, governments, NGOs and the Peace Corps.  These reports are linked to the history of how the United States has used the developing world as an extension of their own resources, and the violence, unrest, and extreme poverty in developing countries that have occurred as a direct result.  In doing so, Perkins hopes that he can spread the idea that things must change, and that every individual has a responsibility to do his or her own part to effect this change.

            In order to accomplish his aims, Perkins organizes his account into four regions, with Part 5, entitled “Changing the World,” being reserved for his main message.  The regions include nations in Asia, Latin America, The Middle East and Africa.  Most of these are former European colonies, now developing countries who have struggled economically under loans from the IMF and World Bank.  Each section covers both the history of economic colonialism in the area, as well as his personal accounts of his own sins and those of other “Economic Hit Men” and jackals.  While EHMs use their influence to pave the way for Western corporations to exploit resources, jackals employ threats, violence and assassination to enforce the West’s economic empire.  Perkins employs all forms of writing-narrative, descriptive and expository- in order to give us a complete picture of the history, setting, and problems of the regions he describes.  He is a gifted storyteller, and as such uses every tool in his arsenal to appeal to both the emotions and intellect of his readers.

            The first section (Asia) sets the tone for the rest of the book.  Perkins describes Asian cities where the population is ravaged by either a foreign government or foreign investors who mould their country into one which forces them into either unemployment or work in one of Asia’s notorious sweatshops.  Against this backdrop, corporate executives and corrupt government officials live lives of shameless opulence, chuckling to themselves at their own fortune and cunning.  Near the end of the section, Perkins describes an encounter with the Dalai Lama that informs both his decision to become an author, his work with non-profits, as well as the content of the rest of the book.  The Dalai Lama’s encouragement to, “practice compassion,” (65) shows in Perkins’ willingness to treat even the greatest economic offenders with respect and forgiveness.

            The next section on South America continues the trend, but with the addition of what Perkins refers to as “Maya killers,” men who are either bodyguards of the corporate elite or part of a dictator’s military, mainly trained at the School of the Americas (now the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, or WHINSEC) and whose main role is to subjugate an oppressed population.  It is in the South American division of the book that Perkins’ fascination with and sympathy towards indigenous cultures comes through.  The author of several books on aboriginal cultures, Perkins lauds the indigenous movements of Latin America, praising political leaders who take pride in their heritage.  He points to men like Che Guevara, Hugo Chavez, and Evo Morales who rose from the indigenous community and stood up to Western imperialism as being the forces of unity in the continent that have inspired people groups all over the world to hope for change.  The importance of the earth to indigenous cultures also becomes a theme, contrasting sharply with the lack of environmental responsibility most foreign companies in Latin America display. 

            The Middle East is where Perkins really channels the post WWII spy thrillers, which he alludes, may not have been so far from the truth with their back alley deals and silent assassinations.  Espionage plays a big part in this section, as Perkins essentially attributes the creation of EHMs to CIA agent Kermit Roosevelt Jr., a precursor for private sector employees sent to create favourable conditions in developing countries for Western corporations.  The story of the Middle East in Perkins’ account is mainly one of a race for oil, a race that has caused rampant unrest and war in the area, as well as the kind of culture clash Samuel Huntington described between the Christian West and the militant Islamic parts of the Middle East. 

            The next section (Africa) is closely linked to the Middle East, but adds diamonds, gold, copper, tantalum (coltan) and uranium to the list of resources that the United States aims to control.  Perkins links the modern exploitation of Africa to two events: the rise of independence movements searching for a way into the new world economic system and the OPEC embargoes of the 1970s that left the United States and other Western Nations searching for new sources of oil.  Africa had what the West wanted, and in many cases African leaders were willing to give in the demands of the United States in order to either fill their own pockets, or make a misguided attempt at jumpstarting their country’s economy.  Including Africa as the last region is also strategic in terms of his message.  Africa’s history of slavery, colonial exploitation and genocide is a useful springboard to ensure we are paying attention to the last part of the book, the one Perkins fittingly titles, “Changing the World”.

            In the last chapter, Perkins attacks what he feels is the main detractor to people standing up to corporations: fear.  He describes the social justice exploits of everyone from college and high school students to reformed executives to prove that it can be done.  Perkins relies largely on the actions of the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), an organization he is intimately involved in, as inspiration for how NGOs are forcing corporations to become more environmentally and socially responsible.  The last chapter concludes with a call to action that assures readers that they have the necessary tools to start making a difference. 

             The division of the book into these regional stories is the main reason that the dates of events get lost in the shuffle.  Perkins jumps from one decade to another depending on which story best suits his theme at the time.  For those to whom the sequence of events is important, this structure can be off-putting.  The jumble of history, personal encounters and second-hand accounts can become confusing if you are attempting to take the book as a true historical work.  However, this tactic also gives Perkins an air of world-worn wisdom as it emphasizes the scope of his work as a Peace Corps volunteer, EHM, non-profit worker and public speaker.  

            Despite the organization of how they are interspersed in the work, Perkins’ addition of well-known historical facts, public figures, and big-name corporations lend credibility to his work.  If his experiences are indeed as he says, Perkins is an authoritative source for telling the story of American economic imperialism.  The main detractor from this writing tactic is his penchant for recreating entire conversations, some of which occurred thirty or more years ago.  Although he says in the prologue that he has attempted to recreate these events using his own personal correspondence and notes, as well as historical records, one has to wonder how much has been lost to the passage of time.  While the dialogues have the benefit of making the book a more interesting read, recounting them complete with facial expressions and pensive silences take away any chance of this work being accepted as a true history of events.          

             As a best-selling author, Perkins ensures that The Secret History of the American Empire has something for everyone, both the older generation, worried about their future, as well as the younger generation, worried about their present and the responsibilities they now must shoulder.  The author understands the American public well.  For more critical readers, he lays down cold hard facts and statistics.  It is difficult to fault his critique of the brutality of sweatshops and the intervention of the United States in foreign governments, as these are views that are held by a large percentage of the world, including many academics who have written extensively on both subjects.  However, he also makes sure that the average reader, picking his book off the shelf at a Coles on whim, is not easily bored.  Using cliff-hangers at the end of each chapter, much like a best-selling work of fiction, Perkins style reads like a suspense novel about the shady history of our modern Western affluence.  His final chapter also goes beyond the boundaries of age and race and speaks to readers from the developing world in order to mobilise and encourage them towards living more sustainable lives.  A list of ideas for how to do so and appendices of charities, NGOs and advocacy groups dominate the end of the book.  Perkins leaves no room for excuses of ignorance from his readers.   

            While The Secret History of the American Empire may not be useful as a credible academic source, it is a powerful interpretation of the experiences of individuals and countries that have come into contact with the ruthless greed of American imperialism.  Despite the content, Perkins keeps his promise of maintaining optimism throughout the book, and ends with an assumption that we are going to answer his call to action.  His urgency is effective.  If we take anything away from his account, it is that the corporations of the United States, in collusion with the American government, have been allowed to use the earth and the people in it as they please for far too long, and that some kind of change is necessary.  John Perkins has made, and continues to make his change with speaking tours, his non-profit the Pachamama Alliance, and notably, his written works.  “Today is the day,” (329) for us to decide what ours will be.  

Lalo Schifrin, composer of Mission: Impossible and Mannix, is still going strong at age 77. These were from a few years ago, and it shows that Mr Schifrin is as lively today as a pianist and conductor as he was in his prime.
   One YouTuber described him as a ‘living legend’. The term seems very applicable here.

There’s still no rhyme or reason on when Vox allows me to access my blog here. This morning, I got in a private post, but clicking ‘Create’ again, nothing happened for the next hour.
   I wanted to share this opening title from Bullitt, after posting another one from Pablo Ferro on my Tumblr blog. This remains my favourite Ferro design. Though set in Chicago, only the skyline scene was shot there; the rest was in San Francisco.

   There’s something great about US design in 1968. From there, as someone mentioned to me, it went downhill.
   I see ’68 as a positive year for a lot of design there, while ’69 began to look garish, particularly in fashion and hairstyles.

To crack and break

Twisted off like a twig

Thrown outside the circle

Discarded to the birds

Ignored

 

To bend and sway

Dipping with pain

Deep in your belly

And tears that stream

So to wash it all away

 

To push and shove

Till your arms are aching

Breathing in gasps

Eyes…burning

It still, unmoving

 

To stand strong

Though you are naked

On a pedestal, high

With eyes raking

Over your pride

 

To smile slowly

With sorrow behind

That makes your hands

Reach out to another

Sweetly

 

To hold a small one

Close to your heart

And feel as though

You will die

If they do

 

To clasp hands

With others like you

With a song in your souls

To share

And keep, keep on sharing

 

To look to the sun

And dream without shame

With a fierce audacity

That won’t be quenched

To Be of God

To glow

(This is a poem that I wrote and will read on December 7th for the Women's Triumps and Tragedies Art Show put on by the New Democrats at my university.)

I wanted to find some clips to pay tribute to the late actor, Edward Woodward. Strangely, the day he died (at a time when I did not know he had passed away), my mind kept thinking back to a joke my friend Ann told me (‘If there were no ds in his name, he’d be called Ewar Woowar’). But here is Woodward in his prime, in shows such as The Baron and The Saint, decades before he became a household name in the US in The Equalizer.

Woodward won the Best Actor award in the UK in 1970 for Callan: In 2000, Woodward, still looking quite healthy, recalled his time on the show: And who knew that he could sing? Here he is in Morecambe & Wise:    The last shows I saw Woodward in were CI5: the New Professionals, in which he was hampered by some terrible scripts that kept getting changed so his performances were never polished, and in the last La Femme Nikita season, where he is revealed as Peta Wilson’s character’s father. My heart goes out to Michele, his widow.

Wow. Six minutes to load the compose screen. That’s definitely this week’s record.
   This is the other photo I wanted to show:

   A beautiful 1969 Ford Mustang Fastback with a 351 in³ V8 under the hood. I asked the owner for permission to photograph his car which, sadly, had lost all oil pressure. I drove him to the petrol station in case the car was ‘out of gas’; when I came back along this route a while later, his car had gone, so I hope he was able to get it started.
   He says he has a friend with a Cobra Jet 428, which we both thought was the best of this series, and that this shape was probably the nicest before Bunkie Knudsen’s fat Mustangs hit the streets for the 1971 model year. Sometimes I like the ’68s, and the ’65s, but right now, the ’69s seem to appeal to my taste in 2009.

They no longer look this nice, thanks to some strong winds on Sunday. But they grew to a beautiful size, considerably larger than last summer’s.