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    Cover of Confessions of an economic hit man

    Confessions of an economic hit man

    Perkins, John, John Perkins · 2004

    Sinhalese translation of a controversial book on the economic policies of U.S. government with respect to developing countries.

    Biography & MemoirPolitics & SocietyBusiness & Management
    Open LibraryAmazon
    Stats for nerds
    23recommend
    50mentions
    45people
    2007–2026years
    50% recommend46% neutral4% critical

    Mentions per year

    20072009201120132015201720192021202320252026

    What Hacker News says

    1. teekertOct 2026
      The 2 "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" books (mostly the second one) by Perkins do a good job of describing the relation between the US and the Saudis.
      thread
    2. edmundsautoAug 2025
      Debt trap diplomacy is nicely covered in a fun read called Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. Was the standard approach from the US for a while during the Cold War
      thread
    3. OhMeadhbhFeb 2025
      Or maybe the IMF doesn't want the money they "give" to El Salvador to be dissipated into a synthetic commodity masquerading as a deflationary currency.

      I'm not going to defend the IMF here... they're sort of like sharks swimming in the national currency markets (look up "Our Brand is Crisis" and "Life and Debt" for more info, and then read Summers' "The Payment System" for the IMF's take on things.)

      But... I think my point is... I don't think there's any more conspiracy going on here than normal IMF conspiracy. But the IMF is sort of open about it, so is it still a conspiracy? I don't think the IMF or WB care one whit about cryptocurrencies, they just don't even register.

      EDIT: Oh, and "Confessions of an Economic Hit-Man" is also nice and conspiratorial. If half of the author's assertions are truthful, there's WAY more happening in Latin America vis a vis international banking cabals.

      thread
    4. fallingfrogSep 2022
      Typically, hyperinflation is caused by a country trying to print money to pay a debt denominated in an external currency. (Because, the more money you print, the worse the exchange rate gets, so you have to keep printing more and more.). And very often, the crisis is related to imf loans taken under duress. (Venezuela, Zimbabwe, etc etc). Read “confessions of an economic hit man” if you want to know more about how that happens.
      thread
    5. tasubotadasJul 2022
      For anyone interested in similar topics, I would recommend reading "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man"
      thread
    6. jraby3Jul 2022
      Two come to mind:

      The Big Short

      Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

      thread

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