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Machan's Musings - The Return of Marxism Reassessment (Hamilton Books, 2004), one might imagine this is nothing but a plug. But in fact my reflections are prompted by the new movie, Why We Fight, made by Eugene Jarecki. Its theme is, coming from the horse's mouth itself, that America is prone to go to war because the kind of society we have is captive to what President Dwight Eisenhower called "the military industrial complex." In particular, the movie claims that Americans do not fight wars for ideological reasons, not at least after World War II (which, one may assume, Jarecki considers a just one, free of dubious intentions). Now Ike was probably right to warn of the possibility of the pure economic basis of military adventurism. It is perfectly understandable that people get caught up with their economic well-being no matter what endeavor provides for it, academic, athletic, media, entertainment, or military. All that government bureaucracy, as public choice theory holds, is probably in large measure a function of bureaucrats wanting to make a living at something they deem respectable. And given that defending one's country seems like a pretty respectable undertaking, the various industries that grow up around it would naturally appear to many people to be respectable too. Ergo, a large defense industry, with huge numbers of people striving to make it even bigger so as to ensure their own economic well-being. In a free society, however, this is supposed to be reined in by means of the democratic political process. If civilian officials of the government did their jobs instead of going about doing everything for everyone whether or not it has to do with defending the country, they could in principle make sure that the military impulse does not get out of line. All human endeavors are corruptible, of course. Just consider education, where a great many people are not involved in teaching but in preaching. (My own students, indeed, my own children, can back up my own personal knowledge of this by telling pretty scary stories from the various so called educational institutions they have attended.) But the message of Why We Fight isn't that there is a danger that the defense industry will become corrupt so that instead of focusing on legitimate national defense issues it will simply grow so as to enrich those involved in it. No. The message is that America, in particular, this supposedly capitalist country-which it really is only partially-is bent on war. That is, of course, one of the central themes of Marx's analysis of capitalism-the system is innately imperialistic. It is the very nature of a free market system of commerce that it must conquer other countries so as to create markets for its products. This myth, that war makes for a better path to new markets and wealth than peace, was one way that Marxists, who were hell bent on building a top-down planned economic system, wanted to discredit capitalism. The system produces war, you see, so why would you want it? Today, after the collapse of the Marxist-Leninist experiment in the old USSR and its colonies, one would hope that this nonsense has been sent to the dustbin of defunct ideologies. But far from so. Instead, we have the themes of the old left being resurrected but not up front, openly, but by making it appear that they come from a famous, beloved American president, Ike. Very tricky, indeed. But it will not wash. I am under no illusions about a vital part of what defense industries aim for, just like most industries, namely, more income from what they produce. Naturally-so do I. But many of those in the industry still know that it is a "defense" industry, meaning, it is supposed to support the defense of a country, not military adventurism. At least many of those watching over it recall this-the pundits, the think tank wonks, and, yes, film makers who while exaggerating the hazards of the military-industrial complex do encourage many to pause and reflect on whether perhaps the drive for making good weapons hasn't overshot its proper objective. The thing not to fall for, however, is that somehow it is the uniquely American features of our society-its free market capitalist elements-that create the dangers of the military-industrial complex running amuck. They do not. It is bad ideas about America's role in the world-what one military officer's bumper sticker announced, namely, that the US Marines are "the 911 of the world"-that are mainly responsible for such a prospect. The idea that America per se is militaristic is slanderous. The opposite is the truth-capitalism and free trade are the road to diminishing military hostilities among countries.
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