The cliff note version:
The US empire was built without a shot being fired in most small countries. Put the country in debt with a IMF loan and extort "special" favors from then on to forgive the debt.
as time goes on...
A friendly and familiar Economic hit man makes a visit to any newly elected/appointed president of a small nation. The proposition is made for the president to take a couple hundred million for himself and family or take a bullet with his name on it. If a decision is not made even after a reminder what has happened to a long list of people who said no... a jackel is sent in to do the wet work. IF the jackels fail the military goes in.

John Perkins shows how our corporations are more wealthy than most nations and that 41 of the 49 wealthiest corporations are American despite being called a multi national for tax evasion purposes. They control US policy, the US does not control them. Since the end of WW2 the capitalism they practice is of the mafia model with media family working with defense contracting familes toward a common end of profit.

Perkins makes the argument that many CEO's and corporate heads want to do the right thing but are stuck between loyalties. If given the chance to practice "Democratic Capitalism", many would.

Those who will not practice democracy must be defeated by people of great conscience just like when George Washington and his co patriots challenged the greatest empire on Earth at the that time, the British Empire and the Tea Company.

Democracy is the enemy of the current empire. Bought and paid for laws that suspend democracy and civil rights is just round one of a battle to subjugate, control and spy on free people who could threaten the empire and its operations.

The Iraq war is a total success for the corporations involved. As long as it continues so will will their profits paid by our tax dollars. What has the empire worried now is that the Islamic sleeping dog has been awakened and threatens the established scam we have with Saudi Arabia to keep all oil transactions done with dollars. That oil dollar agreement was arguablly the biggest business deal done.

John Perkins encourages us that the empire is vulnerable and that democracy is worth fighting for with every capacity you have as an individual. George Bush and other visible figures are nothing but worker ants. As you may begin to see, the empire is one of corporatism and their enemy is democracy.