Planned Obsolescence in the Warfare Economy

This is a story about the public-private partnerships that manage the U. S. economy on behalf of the Plutocratic War Party (aka the Democan-Republicrats).

For years prior to the revelations of the current economic crisis, the media in this country ran story after story on the shortage of U.S. troops and the hardships that this was causing those currently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. This story was run repeatedly, long after it was "news."

The reason for this repetition was that these stories were not "news," they were attempts by the Pentagon to use the (predictably supine) news media for further recruitment. That is to say, these "news stories" were attempts to appeal to Americans' sense of patriotism. "Uncle Sam Wants You!"

Fortunately, the Plutocratic War Party does not have to depend entirely upon appeals to patriotism for military recruitment. When such appeals fail to produce the necessary numbers, other options are resorted to.

This simple fact was recognized in the early years of the 20th century by Emma Goldman. In her insightful essay "Patriotism," Ms. Goldman wrote:

“… the greatest bulwark of capitalism is militarism. The very moment the latter is undermined, capitalism will totter. True, we have no conscription; that is, men are not usually forced to enlist in the army, but we have developed a far more exacting and rigid force—necessity. Is it not a fact that during industrial depressions there is a tremendous increase in the number of enlistments? The trade of militarism may not be either lucrative or honorable, but it is better than tramping the country in search of work, standing in the bread line, or sleeping in municipal lodging houses…” Emma Goldman, “Patriotism,” Anarchism and Other Essays, New York: Dover Publications (1969/original pub. 1917), pp. 141-142.

The cycles of boom and bust in a warfare economy such as our own are not random. Neither was the Federal Government's rapid aid for Wall Street when the crisis was first announced. Nor is the fact that the jobs being lost due to this crisis are largely in construction and manufacturing: for job losses in those sectors assuredly produce the able-bodied young men (mostly) and women with which the military fills its lower ranks.

If you have asked yourself how it is that this economic crisis could have happened, given the extremely business-friendly environment of the past eight years, not to mention the impressive brain-trust that Wall Street cultivates and maintains on its own behalf, consider the type of economy we have (guns over butter) and the basic needs of the U.S. military for perpetuating its present projects around the world.

Then ask yourself a more difficult question: what is the Obama Administration doing to address the fundamental issues involved with this country's maintenance of a warfare economy?

Resist. Refuse. Renounce.