Perkins writes that his primary role at Chas T. Main was to convince leaders of underdeveloped countries to accept substantial development loans for large construction and engineering projects, thus trapping them in a system of American influence and control.

According to the author, this interview effectively constituted an independent screening that led to his subsequent hiring as an 'economic hit man' by Einar Greve,[4] vice president of the firm (and alleged NSA liaison).

"[1]: xii  Perkins suggests that, in many cases, only a small portion of the population benefits at the expense of the rest, pointing to, as an example, an increase in income inequality, whereby large U.S. corporations exploit cheap labor, and oil companies destroy local environments.

Perkins describes what he calls a system of corporatocracy and greed as the driving forces behind establishing the United States as a global empire, in which he took a role as an "economic hit man" to expand its influence.

They funnel money from the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other foreign "aid" organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet's natural resources.

"[8] Mallaby said that Perkins' conception of international finance is "largely a dream" and that his "basic contentions are flat wrong" because "the poor don't always lose" when developing countries borrow money.

[8] A press release issued by the U.S Department of State (DOS), said there was a lack of documentary or testimonial evidence to corroborate Perkins's statement that the NSA was involved in his hiring by Chas T. Main.

According to Perkins, the leaders of Ecuador (President Jaime Roldós Aguilera) and Panama (General Omar Torrijos) were assassinated by U.S. agents for opposing the interests of the owners of their countries' foreign debt.

[11] Greve, who first offered Perkins a job at the firm,[1]: 10  agreed that foreign debt represented a poor economic strategy for developing nations:[12]Basically his story is true.… What John's book says is, there was a conspiracy to put all these countries on the hook, and that happened.