John Perkins Exposes How Economic Hitmen Enslave Developing Nations— Similar Systems Exploit Taxpayers in Wealthy Countries In his book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, economist John Perkins describes a deliberate strategy in which "economic hit men" target resource-rich developing countries and arrange massive loans from institutions such as the World Bank. These funds do not go to the countries themselves, but rather to Western corporations for infrastructure projects, such as power plants