25. A History of Greed: The “spoil of the poor” is in your houses

    The book of Isaiah in the Old Testament of the Bible contains writings from a prophet who was revered as a spokesperson for God. He lived in Jerusalem from 740 to 701 B.C., and is the most quoted of all biblical prophets. Many of his writings are considered to be accurate predictions of our day. Consider the following verses:

“The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for you have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What mean you that you beat my people to pieces and grind the faces of the poor? Saith the Lord God of hosts.” Isa. 3: 14-15

It doesn’t take too much imagination to see this as a chastisement from God for the vast amount of consumer goods produced by the poor of other nations. Not to mention the plundering of oil and other natural resources to support the lavish lifestyles of wealthy nations. Two important books on this topic are: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, and The Secret History of the American Empire, both written by John Perkins.

John claims to have been employed as an EHM “economic hit man,” which he defines as a person who is employed by a corporation or government body to set up situations that will assist in plundering the resources and labor of developing countries. He describes a widespread interaction of corporate and government officials, the CIA, the military, and other agencies, in a web of corruption, bribery, collusion, even assassination. John says that the United States fits every description of a modern day empire, which he defines as follows: A nation-state that dominates other nation-states and exhibits one or more of the following characteristics:  1) Exploits resources from the lands it dominates, 2) Consumes large amounts of resources- amounts that are disproportionate to the size of its population relative to other nations, 3) maintains a large military that enforces its policies when more subtle measures fail, 4) spreads its language, literature, art, and various aspects of its culture throughout its sphere of influence, 5) Taxes not just its own citizens, but also people in other countries, and 6) imposes its own currency on the lands under its control.

Out of guilt, John eventually quit working as an EHM, and found many high-ranking people who shared the same feelings. He has devoted himself to help making a positive change in the world. In addition to writing and speaking on the topic, he has founded two nonprofit organizations, Dream Change, and The Pachamama Alliance. See Artical here

John Perkins, The Secret History of the American Empire; Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and the Truth About Global Corruption (New York, Penguin Group, June, 2007), p. 4-5