Other recent articles under: War Profiteering as of Jun 27, 2010
Topic: War Profiteering
The Jingling Jingoes
The war profiteers, wallets flush with cash, are more than happy to prolong war and human suffering in order to make money. Such conduct is condemnable at best and unpatriotic. by Alexander Massa
(libertarian)
Sunday, June 27, 2010
War profiteering, as it has come to be known, is, unfortunately, one of the darker sides of Capitalism. While many countries forbid it over the years, such as Nazi Germany (it is specifically outlawed in the National Socialist 25-Point Programme), it has not ceased in the United States. Now let me first say that I am not an anti-Capitalist of any sort. I am entirely and completely opposed to even the most benign forms of collectivization and socialism, but I am also a nationalist. And as a nationalist and also a capitalist, I hate to see companies collect gross profits from overseas conflicts and foreign wars. While I have no problem with profit and the making of money (again, I am an unabashed, unashamed free marketeer), seeing money being made on the backs of our dead troops frightens me and enrages me at the same time.
President Eisenhower, in his Farewell Address upon leaving the office of the Presidency, warned us about the now oft-mentioned "military-industrial complex". While I hesitate to use that word, mostly because it is used far too often as a buzzword by the extreme left in opposition to capitalism in general, I feel nevertheless that it is a good definition of what we are seeing in America - a kind of corporatism whereby the State acts hand in hand with corporations in profiting off of foreign engagements. Indeed, I would not be surprised if corporate lobbies in Washington were a driving force behind our invasion of Iraq. We do know that they are absolutely clamoring for a war with Iran.
I guess a lesson in restraint and self-control are in order here. Simply because we operate under a Capitalist system and you (corporations) have the ability to profit off wars and our dead and dying troops, doesn't mean you should. There are a lot of things I can do right now. If I wanted to, I could jump out this second-story window. Would that be a good idea? No, of course not. Likewise, it is immoral and unjust to the families of the dead to profit so immensely off of conflicts in which so many good men and women have died on the frontlines of battle. Now, of course, the companies manufacturing armaments need and have an absolute right to make money. I am not at all disputing that. It is simply an affront to my capitalism and my nationalism to see such large corporations, many of which have exported jobs overseas and are simply exploiting us for their own gain, make such vast sums off America's wars.
However, as I said before, Capitalism really isn't even to blame for this war profiteering, as we are witnessing much more Mussolini-style Corporatism than we are true free-market capitalism, especially when one looks at corporate subsidies and tax-breaks. People all too often confuse the two, equating corporations with capitalism. Really, when one deconstructs both concepts and looks at them from an unbiased angle, it is plain to see that the whole idea of a corporation is quite anti-capitalist at it's core. The whole point of them is to essentially become a leviathan and dominate the market, thus crushing competition and creating a monopoly. If competition is the engine of Capitalism, and it most certianly is, than how are corporations, which create monopolies (not that mom and pop shops wouldn't if they could, but they simply don't have the capacity to do so) to eliminate competition, in any sense capitalistic? Also, they are, in a sense, communitarian - corporations are owned by the stockholders, not the board of directors or the CEO (although they do hold large amounts of stocks themselves usually). If anything, massive corporations are leftist entities, while sole proprietorships and small businesses are truly capitalistic ventures.
The question of war profiteering comes down to common decency. Is it right to try to prolong wars via lobbyists and get more innocent American boys murdered overseas to create more profits and bigger cash flow? No, not at all. It is downright evil and unconscionable, worthy of the highest condemnation. While we are all, as Libertarians, Capitalists and supporters of the free market, let us not forget common sense and patriotism. Some things, like war, should not be strip mined like a gold deposit in search of profit. While wars are necessary, they should never be prolonged for any private entity, especially a global corporation which calls no country home and is willing to exploit anything and anyone in the mad rush for the dollar.
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The views expressed
in this article are those of Alexander Massa only and
do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates.
Alexander Massa is solely responsible for the contents
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Unfortunately, the byword "military, industrial complex" is not used by the left anymore. as you can witness the modern left liberal is deeply in favor of wars and their state corporate wards that you mention in the article, although not quite as brazenly as the modern conservative right.
The "extreme" [libertarian] left does still recognized the entrenched corporate war machine and would agree totally with your opinions in the article.
