The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

I really like this book. While I'm not a big fan of books written in first person, I'm well aware of the controversy surrounding the arguments he makes, and I'm not the biggest fan of autobiographies (especially about evil people doing evil things), the underlying point of the book is undeniably correct:

1: US-based international consulting corporations come into developing countries, create/over-exaggerate/outright fabricate sophisticated economic models predicting impossibly spectacular economic growth.

2: These predictions are used to justify taking criminally unfair loans from the IMF/World Bank with strings requiring the money to be spent in a way that would benefit wealthy families, US-based corporations, and corrupt politicians.

3: The country cannot pay back the loans that were offered under false pretenses. Thus the country is forced to shift funds away from things like healthcare, education, and other social services to pay down the blatantly usurious interest rates, ultimately shackling the country in debt. (This is the goal)

4: The IMF sends in goons to demand the country's government offer its natural resources at criminally discounted rates for the benefit of...you guessed it... US-based multinational corporations, and to privatize its institutions, selling them to other multinational corporations.

5: Any nation's leaders who resists in an effort to gasp use the wealth of their nation to benefit the people of that nation are dealt with by the CIA or other covert US government entities, either through intimidation, assassination, or coups. (See: Iran, Guatemala, most of south¢ral America)

6: If that doesn't work, we institute crippling sanctions against the country, leading to thousands, sometimes millions of civilians dying (Iraq - 1990's, DPRK)

7: If that doesn't work, the US military starts drone striking the country (we're currently drone striking 7 countries right now), or it invades and takes over the country (Panama, Hawaii, countless others). Ultimately, a fascist dictator is installed that is more amenable to US corporate interests.

8: begin again with step 1

The goal is always the same no matter the country and is very, very simple: Drain the wealth of weaker nations and funnel it into stronger nations through multi-national corporations. That's how the global capitalist system works. That's Neoliberalism, AKA Neocolonialism.

This book gets into the gritty detail of this system, told by a man directly involved with steps 1-4, and personally knew victims of step 6.

Step 7 is best epitomized by Major General Smedley Butler:
“I spent thirty- three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. [...]
I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912 (where have I heard that name before?). I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.”

Nothing has changed in over 100 years. The only difference is now we just use drones more.

My only gripe with the book is how much the author goes on and on about all the tremendous guilt he feels for all his evil deeds, then the next chapter is him doing more evil deeds and feeling bad about it some more. While the first-person view of the book does make it seem a bit more authentic “I should know, I did it in 19whatever”, I do think it sort of derails the themes by focusing so much on his personal feelings and actions. I'd have liked more a 3rd person accounting of the long list of evils committed internationally by the corporatocracy.

The problem becomes finding enough people to go on record to fill a book devoid of unending details of the emotional baggage that comes with doing countless diabolical things to developing countries, and our own country. He does this more in the final section, which was my favorite part for that reason.

Read just Chapter 43 and the first appendix to explain why I complain so much about 21st-century capitalism.

Read just Chapter 44 to explain why I complain so much about US imperialism and the State.

I do think he fumbled the ending by claiming the solution is just start a revolution of ethical capitalism” which I do not believe is possible and is simply doubling down on the causes of the problems he outlines. “Here's a list of things you can do to be a more ethical psychopathic serial killer....” and “I know these problems are systemic and encompass our entire society, but one of the good solutions is to recycle and drive less and buy less stuff.” Just boilerplate hyper-individualist feel-good solutions that don't get to the core of the problem.

• It is not possible to oppose US imperialism without also opposing the capitalist global corporations that directly benefit from US imperialism.

• It is not possible to oppose the power and wealth of ‘The 1%' without also opposing the capitalist global corporatocracy that their power stems from.

• It is not possible to oppose “the deep state” without also opposing capitalism as it exists today.

• It is not possible to oppose corruption of our democracy without opposing capitalism as it exists today.

Despite my gripes and the greatly disappointing ending, I highly recommend this book and an excellent companion read that overviews this system: “Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism” by Ha-Joon Chang (2007)