- Downloads:
- The Misesian July August 2024.pdf
Many millions of Americans fall for the government propaganda that uses wars as excuses to eviscerate American freedoms, spend trillions of dollars and rack up gargantuan deficits that will impose a heavy financial burden for decades to come. In recent centuries, though, there have been many who were not quite so easily fooled. These were the defenders of liberty we now call “classical liberals” or “radical liberals” or “libertarians.” Indeed, the more radically these activists were opposed to state power, the more radically they opposed militarism and war. They understood, decades before Randolph Bourne coined the phrase “war is the health of the state,” that war is among every regime’s favorite tool in growing state power and destroying freedom.
For the radical liberals of that time, the fight for freedom was synonymous with the fight for peace. To fight for freedom meant to oppose imperialism, colonialism, standing armies, and the profligate spending that comes with it all.
The Mises Institute preserves this tradition in the 21st century.
From the Editor—July / August 2024
The federal government uses wars as excuses to eviscerate American freedoms, spend trillions of dollars and rack up gargantuan deficits that will impose a heavy financial burden for decades to come. We oppose this, root and branch.
The Regime’s Wars Are Built on Lies
Ukraine and Israel are current boutique wars of choice, connected to and very much like those the U.S. government pursued for profit and show in Iraq, Yugoslavia, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya and elsewhere. It is imperative to understand why the U.S. fights these wars.
American Imperialism and Our Bipartisan Warfare State
The growth of the state through war included not only developing new technologies for making war, but also coming up with new financial techniques such as inflation and other wealth transfers to the government, which made the increasingly expensive wars possible.
Wisdom from Our Anti-War Libertarian Forerunners
From its earliest decades, the defenders of freedom — known historically as “classical liberals,” “radicals,” and “libertarians,” have sought to reduce and limit the war-making powers of the state. Here is a sampling of thoughts from these liberals.
Why Military Conscription Is Worse Than Slavery
The government can conscript you into its army, can cause your death or mutilation in some war that has nothing to do with national defense, and execute you if you resist.
Evil? Maybe. Crazy? Don’t Bet On It.
It is ironic that the leaders of the American state are quick to condemn foreign dictators as irrational when their own policies are often irrational themselves.
Don’t Court the Court Intellectuals
Like Murray Rothbard, Solis-Mullen is fully aware of the dangers posed by court intellectuals, who defend positions that will give them power and wealth. China is simply the new trough.
