confessions of an economic hit man is a partly autobiographical book written by john perkins published in 2004. it provides perkins' account of his career with engineering consulting firm chas. t. main in boston. according to perkins, his job at main was to convince leaders of underdeveloped countries to accept substantial development loans for large construction and engineering projects that would primarily help the richest families and local elites, rather than the poor, while making sure that these projects were contracted to u.s. companies. later these loans would give the u.s. political influence and access to natural resources for u.s. companies. he characterizes his role as being an "economic hit man." although he states that throughout his career he has always worked for private companies, and suggests a system of corporatocracy and greed, rather than a single conspiracy, he claims the involvement of the national security agency (nsa), with whom he had interviewed for a job before joining main. according to the author, this interview effectively constituted an independent screening which led to his subsequent hiring as an economic hit man by einar greve, a vice president of the firm (and alleged nsa liaison).