Warfare Welfare: The Not-So-Hidden Costs of America's Permanent War Economy

by Marcus G. Raskin (Editor), Gregory D. Squires (Editor)

Overview

This edited volume reveals how a permanent war economy has made the United States unable to spread democracy abroad and has worsened domestic problems. The editors draw from classical readings in political theory, from primary documents (including key court decisions), and from social science research to analyze such issues as the effect of militarization and combativeness on the everyday lives of Americans. The editors also address the dire connection among banking losses, the housing recession, the welfare/national security state, and the challenge of rebuilding America’s infrastructure.

Raskin and Squires ultimately conclude that only by making war an unattractive option and dismantling the warfare system can meaningful progress be made on the current foreign and domestic challenges facing the United States. They also offer steps to replace the warfare system, outlining the ideological and material transformations necessary for peace.

Students of political science, sociology, history, and law will find this a thought-provoking, forward-thinking contribution concerning America’s future at home and abroad.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781597975322
Publisher:	Potomac Books
Publication date:	04/01/2012
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

MARCUS G. RASKIN is a professor at the School of Public Policy at the George Washington University and founder of the Institute of Policy Studies. He is the author, coauthor, or editor of more than twenty books, including The Four Freedoms Under Siege: The Clear and Present Danger from Our National Security State (Potomac Books, 2009). He lives in Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: The Ground on Which We Stand: States of Warfare and Welfare Marcus G. Raskin 1

Part I The Wars Abroad

1 The Traditions of America-Harold J. Laski 17

2 The War and the Intellectuals-Randolph S. Bourne 54

3 Sanctions and the Security of Nations-John Dewey 64

4 Future Peace: The Remaking of Scientists and Soldiers-Chris Hables Gray 85

5 Peace and Realpolitik-Marcus G. Raskin 101

Part II The Wars at Home

6 America's Permanent War Economy-Seymour Melman 139

7 Schenck v. United States-Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (Opinion) 166

8 Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War Against Terrorism-Executive Order of the President of the United States 170

9 The Propaganda of History-W.E.B. Du Bois 175

10 Some Economics of Class-Michael Perelman 189

11 The Social Construction of Disaster: New Orleans as the Paradigmatic American City-Chester Hartman Gregory D. Squires 200

12 Foreclosing on the Free Market: How to Remedy the Subprime Catastrophe-John Atlas Peter Dreier Gregory D. Squires 227

Conclusion: War Avoidance and a Peaceful Framework-Marcus G. Raskin 241

Index 265

About the Editors 277

Editorial Reviews

“Marcus Raskin has long been one of the most astute participant-observers on the American—nay, the global—scene. Read this collection if you want to know how to think about the national security state and what’s going on.”—Victor Navasky, publisher emeritus, The Nation; chair, Columbia Journalism Review; and George T. Delacorte Professor in Magazine Journalism at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

Victor Navasky

“Raskin and Squires have done us all—not only scholars and students but the citizenry as a whole—a large pedagogic service. By argument and textual example, they demonstrate that today’s criticism of American empire, and the struggle against its baleful consequences, are direct and legitimate legacies of much of our entire democratic tradition.”—Norman Birnbaum, professor emeritus, Georgetown University Law Center

Norman Birnbaum

“Marc Raskin, one of the bravest of our great thinkers, says obvious things almost with a shrug—even when too many others are afraid to take the risk. Who else would write so casually that “war is the normal state of affairs” for the United States? But even as he skewers the pretexts for those wars—‘spreading freedom abroad’ and ‘making the world safe for democracy’—we continue to look to him to spread real freedom, here and abroad, and through his wisdom to help make our world really safer for real democracy.”—Phyllis Bennis, director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies

Phyllis Bennis

Marcus Raskin has long been one of the most astute participant-observers on the American—nay, the global—scene. Read this collection if you want to know how to think about the national security state and what’s going on.”—Victor Navasky, publisher emeritus, The Nation; chair, Columbia Journalism Review; and George T. Delacorte Professor in Magazine Journalism at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

“Raskin and Squires have done us all—not only scholars and students but the citizenry as a whole—a large pedagogic service. By argument and textual example, they demonstrate that today’s criticism of American empire, and the struggle against its baleful consequences, are direct and legitimate legacies of much of our entire democratic tradition.”—Norman Birnbaum, professor emeritus, Georgetown University Law Center

“Marc Raskin, one of the bravest of our great thinkers, says obvious things almost with a shrug—even when too many others are afraid to take the risk. Who else would write so casually that “war is the normal state of affairs” for the United States? But even as he skewers the pretexts for those wars—‘spreading freedom abroad’ and ‘making the world safe for democracy’—we continue to look to him to spread real freedom, here and abroad, and through his wisdom to help make our world really safer for real democracy.”—Phyllis Bennis, director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies

From the Publisher