On “Hoodwinked”

“Hoodwinked: An Economic Hit Man Reveals Why the World Financial Markets IMPLODED–and What We Need to Do to Remake Them,” by John Perkins,* is very much like Perkins’ best-selling “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.” The difference is that with this new book he’s talking about the effects of predatory capitalism on the developed world. When I write about capitalism over at Animal Person it doesn’t go well as most of the readers think capitalism is the problem for animals (and everyone else). But though I don’t agree with Perkins on everything (he definitely advocates for animal welfare, but not animal rights, for example), I do agree with him about capitalism.

It’s probably best to begin with what Perkins refers to as “the mutant virus” of capitalism that has “infected” us (5).

“The guiding philosophy for this particular form of capitalism is an uncompromising belief in the privatization of resources, the granting of unfettered powers to corporate executives, and the encouragement of debt so extreme that it results in contemporary modes of enslavement–for countries and individuals alike” (4). In Perkins’ previous books he was referring to countries in the developing world, but “Hoodwinked” is more about individuals/families in the developed world. And the core of his message is our challenge “today to transform ourselves and our economy” (11).

The back story for how we got into our current position is that, in the clash of the economic titans, Milton Friedman defeated John Maynard Keynes. It was all downhill from there, with the election of President Ronald Reagan, the mantras of privatization and deregulation, and the “[expansion of] the money supply and the consumer’s ability to purchase” (58) with new types of credit. Then came further deregulation and the rise of credit card interest rates until the average American consumer was in a similar position as (for example) Ecuador after United States interests (read: Texaco) tried to help them improve their financial position (euphemism!) and “elevate Ecuador from the dark ages to the ranks of a wealthy nation” (63). Americans, like Ecuador, became enslaved by debt.

Another problem in the free market some like to think we have and one of the reasons we don’t, is that we have been using fake accounting for quite some time. The price of our products isn’t inclusive of many past and future costs, indirect costs and life cycle costs, such as the “valuation of the environmental and social impacts of a given product or service necessitated by its existence and disposal” (105).

So what’s the solution? Remake capitalism.

Instead of maximizing profits regardless of the environmental and social costs, profits will be made within the context of creating a sustainable, just and peaceful world. . . . [E]very  . . . definition [of capitalism] I have read . . . does not indicate that capitalists must plunder resources and omit “externalities” from their accounting practices. Nor [do they] suggest that profit should be the sole motive. That the lack of regulation is a requirement. That people and countries must be burdened with debt. That the governments should not provide essential services like water, electricity, and health insurance. Or that the many must be exploited for the benefit of the few (128).

And while we’re at it, we need to do a better job at democracy.

Democracy assumes an informed electorate. When a majority of voters are kept in the dark about some of the most basic aspect of our foreign policy . . . it is difficult to claim that we are informed. . . . We have allowed the corporations to co-opt the democratic process. In adopting our recent form of capitalism, we have taken a government of, for, and by the people and handed it over to the corporatocracy (140-41).

As individuals, accepting consumer responsibility is an investment in the future, according to Perkins. He writes about individuals who have forced companies to change and groups of people who have forced their leaders to change (not in the US).

These new Latin American leaders have opened the door to a new economy. In opening that door, they are showing the rest of us a way to combine a form of capitalism that produces things the world truly needs with the goal of making profits while creating a sustainable, just, and peaceful world (176).

Personal responsibility is Perkins’ call. Political, financial, consumer responsibility. Stewardship. Responsibility to create new ways to address societal ills. Responsibility to wake others from the slumber of unnecessary consumption and accumulation.

And I’d like to add: Any use of sentient nonhumans in 2010 in the developed world, is unnecessary.

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*Here‘s a great interview with Perkins at Democracy Now!