Debt Weapon: John Perkins on Global Power Plays: The Art of The Steal | John Perkins

What if nations aren't conquered by armies anymore, but by loans, fear, scarcity, and the quiet seduction of power?

In this explosive conversation, former economic hitman John Perkins pulls back the curtain on how countries are controlled, how leaders are bought, and why the same machinery once used abroad is now being used on ordinary Americans.

But this episode goes deeper than geopolitics.

It reveals how good people get trapped inside corrupt systems, not because they are evil, but because identity, debt, status, and fear make truth too expensive to tell.

In this episode, we explore:

How John Perkins was recruited at 26, fresh out of the Peace Corps, believing he was helping nations grow
Why GDP can be a deeply misleading metric that hides elite extraction behind national "growth."
The four pillars of the economic hitman system: fear, debt, scarcity, divide and conquer
How Trump didn't invent the system, but made it visible, branded it, and turned it inward
Why attacking a nation often strengthens the very regime you claim to oppose
The difference between the American ideal people still believe in, and the darker mechanisms operating beneath it
Why China has outplayed the U.S. economically in much of the world, and what that signals about the future of power
The crucial distinction between a death economy built on short-term extraction, and a life economy built on long-term benefit for all life
John's five-question framework for how listeners can stop feeling powerless and begin becoming part of that life economy

Let's be clear, this isn't a partisan episode. It's a forensic look at how power actually moves, how identity gets manipulated, and what it might take to build something better.

About the Guest John Perkins is the bestselling author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man and the brand new: The Art of the Steal: Trump and the Economic Hitman Presidency. A former chief economist, he now writes and speaks about global power, economic manipulation, and the urgent shift from a death economy to a life economy.

Resources John Perkins: https://johnperkins.org

About the Host Dov Baron works with elite leaders, teams, and organizations to decode the emotional source code driving behavior, power, culture, and decision-making, so they can lead from meaning, truth, and purpose rather than unconscious survival patterns. Contact info and resources: https://DovBaron.com

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