John Perkins · Dispatches

Ideas for a changing world

Firsthand stories and essays about economic power, democracy, Indigenous wisdom, and the work of building a life economy.

Featured essay · August 24, 2026

When Economic Tactics Fail, Send in the Jackals

The methods I used abroad have turned inward. Recognizing that system is the first step toward changing it.

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More from John

Recent writing

John Perkins Reveals The Art of the Steal — David Korten

John Perkins Reveals The Art of the Steal — David Korten

What if the deeper story of Trump isn't really about Trump—but about power?

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My Letter to Trump

My Letter to Trump

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A Book about Trump that is not about Trump?!

A Book about Trump that is not about Trump?!

I could think of no better way to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence than to write this book.

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How I Helped Build the System Trump Now Masters

How I Helped Build the System Trump Now Masters

In my years as an economic hit man, I bribed government officials in countries around the world. Legally.

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How I Helped Iran Close the Strait of Hormuz

How I Helped Iran Close the Strait of Hormuz

By John Perkins I spent time in Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz in the 1970s. My company, Chas. T. Main Inc. (MAIN), was hired by the Shah (at the Pentagon’s urging) to help develop...

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The Voices that Guide Us

The Voices that Guide Us

Deep inside a tunnel that 2000 years ago was cut through more than 400 feet of volcanic rock high in the Andes mountains of Ecuador, I thought about questions that humans have asked for m...

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Headed to Latin America. Venezuela?

Headed to Latin America. Venezuela?

In a few hours, I fly to Latin America. This trip has been planned for several months by an Emmy-nominated filmmaker. He and his team are shooting a documentary about the US’s economic hi...

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The Diminishing of America

The Diminishing of America

By John Perkins I recently returned from speaking at major events in Tbilisi, Georgia, and Istanbul, Turkey, and Nashville, Tennessee. Georgia and Turkey are two nations with long histori...

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Dictator! A Revolutionary Update Told to John Perkins

Dictator! A Revolutionary Update Told to John Perkins

Thomas Paine wrote “The American Crisis (1776)” as a call for Americans to take action against the authoritarianism of monarchy – and to act for democracy. It impacted General George Wash...

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A Short Quiz for You

A Short Quiz for You

By John Perkins How well do you know your history? Can you identify the quotations below? Who said them? In what year? Are the countries correct – or should they be reordered? Masked men...

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A Warning from the Ancients

A Warning from the Ancients

News reports and personal conversations these days often focus on fast-exploding events in Washington, the Middle East, and Ukraine. We are hammered by one crisis after another: political...

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