John Perkins - can a thoughtful, spiritual James Bond save America?

Stories of the profound practical wisdom mobilised by forms of shamanic spirituality make this unfamiliar world surprisingly accessible. The struggle for survival in a world threatened with destruction by economic hit men adds further credibility.

Stories of spiritual discovery among native shamans are built around a deep but shifting sensitivity. Initial days as a wide-eyed Peace Corps volunteer in remote and primitive villages are followed by subsequent hit man travels surrounded by privilege, sycophantic attendants and murky conspiracies, and then by a role as guide and leader of small groups of spiritual explorers, venturing into the Amazon and other threatened environments.

A capacity to see the mundane daily imperatives of human life in many contrasting environments is a basic strength of these stories. Readers are introduced in a most convincing manner to the surprisingly practical uses to which native spiritual powers are put. These range from the power to track down and destroy a rogue tiger in the jungle to the capacity to navigate vast distances at sea without charts or other recorded knowledge.

Ultimately, one may question whether Perkins offers serious readers any realistic way forward. He cannot be faulted for his criticism of economic hit men and their plundering corporations and one cannot but applaud his revelations about endangered shamanic cultures. But does he address these issues and their implications for humanity with some sort of strategic insight?

The 21st century world of rapid global communications is ruthless in exposing the vulnerability of communities that are not organised to advance their own interests. Perkins Anglo-American world is one that has used the corporation to great effect as an empire-building tool. It is one, however, that has neither the disciplined subtlety of the Japanese nor the strategic wisdom of the Chinese. These are the areas where Asian shamans have displayed a burgeoning power but they are not areas where Perkins is well equipped to comment in more than one or two brief passing stories.

It would be misguided to criticise Perkins on these grounds. He is modest in his claims to expertise. Yet his writing covers such a broad spectrum and is so authoritative in speaking of hope derived from tribal shaman traditions that it becomes necessary to suggest broader issues. It is a reflection of his value that he prompts an informed reader to ask questions about the striking failure of contemporary American corporate culture before the spiritual and organisational subtleties of East Asian culture.

Unquestionably, John Perkins is a figure with convincing and disarming talent, with spiritual and moral depth and with political and economic discernment. Men with these qualities who are prepared to speak clearly are rare, even in democratic America.

Should the continuation of economic hit man stories lead to a series of adventure films that recall James Bond this is only likely to increase Perkins influence and importance. It will be hard for such films not to be educational in terms of the way the world works and sobering in terms of exposing the strategies that have constructed the Anglo-American Empire. They may also begin to open the popular imagination to long neglected spiritual realities that challenge false post-Enlightenment certainties. Perhaps no greater service could be rendered in these days of imperial strain and insecurity.