Modern Day Slavery is a theme. The narrator makes it very clear towards the end of the book that the corporatocracy is merely an empire that controls the nations and people around it, using them for labor and resources in order to feed, clothe,and provide for its own. John Perkins states that this is simply another form of slavery, especially in the way that the empire almost forbids the "slaves" from ever rising up and improving their lives by making sure that their countries are indebted forever. This is very similar to the way an indentured slave would work, or the way an African slave was controlled in colonial America. What makes this type of slavery different is the complete disconnection from the slave and the slave owner. The modern-day slave owner never sees the slave, never hears him screaming for freedom and compassion when the whip of imperialism is slashed across its back. All that matters is that the work is done quickly, cleanly and efficiently. The mess of the slave and the exploitation of the land is left abroad, outside the walls of the empire.