War and Foreign Policy

Ludwig von Mises explains how the weakened state of German liberalism left the door open to German socialism which paved the way for Nazi ideology.

The year 1898 was a landmark in American history. It was the year America went to war with Spain—our first engagement with a foreign enemy in the dawning age of modern warfare. Aside from a few scant periods of retrenchment, we have been embroiled in foreign politics ever since.

US aid to foreign regimes helps free governments from having to raise funds from their own people. So, the recipients of foreign aid are likely to become less responsive and more corrupt.

All arguments in favor of mandatory service rest on the idea that an individual's life belongs not to him- or herself, but to the state.

Terrence Malick's new film about conscientious objector Franz Jägerstätter is a subtle film. But perhaps too much so, and we need to look deeper to understand why this one man so vehemently resisted the Nazi state at the cost of his own life.

Bob Murphy and Tareq Haddad discuss how US authorities pressured the OPCW to change the report to fit their desired narrative, and how powerful groups control the corporate media.

Bob Murphy gives a pragmatic case for pacifism.

Sanctions have a long history of failure. The US government's recent sanctions on Iran will likely be no different, but they will certainly be harmful to the Iranian people.

What is a national-security state? It is a totalitarian-like governmental structure that consists of an enormous military-intelligence establishment with extraordinary powers, such as indefinite detention, torture, secret surveillance, and even assassination of both citizens and foreigners.

The US's enthusiasm for sanctions means Europe is learning the price of doing business with the United States and with the dollar.  They're now developing new ways to work around the the US-dominated financial system.