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War Is a Racket (1933)

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Re: War Is a Racket (1933)

#111

Post by [deleted] »

modwest wrote: post #31
nostromo wrote: post #7

This is mostly about the WWI era, and WWI was indeed a racket, fought for elites at the expense of everyone else. I'm curious if he would write the same article after WWII.

Yes. War is a racket ESPECIALLY in the post-WWII era, when America became both the world’s armory AND the world’s bank. Every single conflict that America has been in since has been a war of choice designed to pursue capitalist interest. Our wars are imperial wars designed to perpetuate American hegemony. That hegemony is designed to continue/enable the pilfering of global wealth by a relative handful of elites. It i…

[deleted]

Re: War Is a Racket (1933)

#112

Post by throwmamatrain »

rayhendricks wrote: post #67
lacker wrote: post #32

His statements seem clear but upon further reflection they are not clear. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. Okay, so this was written in 1933. The obvious question to me is, would the author have supported US involvement in World War 2? I guess with Pearl Harbor, the US was attacked. But the Japanese at the time might have said that the…

The United States should not have embargoed Japan. The United stars should not have been involved in any of the world wars. Sweden has been neutral in all conflicts since 1814 and that has worked out quite well for them.

You are correct in that there were no soldiers fighting from Sweden for either side, but in Sweden it is also known: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit_of_German_troops_throu...

Re: War Is a Racket (1933)

#113

Post by commandlinefan »

cheeko1234 wrote: post #43
aazaa wrote: post #17

> Beautiful ideals were painted for our boys who were sent out to die. This was the "war to end all wars." This was the "war to make the world safe for democracy." No one mentioned to them, as they marched away, that their going and their dying would mean huge war profits. No one told these American soldiers that they might be shot down by bullets made by their own brothers here. No one told them that the ships on wh…

This radiolab podcast goes into detail of men deciding to do nothing on both sides in WWI, but it got complicated really fast: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/segments/10401...

The whole “white feather” campaign during WWI (women would hand unenlisted young men a “white feather” which was understood to represent cowardice and shame men into enlisting) really contrasts with the unemployment that British soldiers faced after the war: “no former servicemen need apply” was a common warning on shops in the early 20’s. They were treated like garbage before the war, during the war, and after it, too.

Re: War Is a Racket (1933)

#114

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

aazaa wrote: post #17

> Beautiful ideals were painted for our boys who were sent out to die. This was the "war to end all wars." This was the "war to make the world safe for democracy." No one mentioned to them, as they marched away, that their going and their dying would mean huge war profits. No one told these American soldiers that they might be shot down by bullets made by their own brothers here. No one told them that the ships on wh…

> Long after Hitler has been replaced by the next boogeyman

I don't envy the people living in those times. Hitler is one hell of a boogeyman to top.

Re: War Is a Racket (1933)

#115

Post by lostcolony »

jacquesm wrote: post #96
lostcolony wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So WWII as being necessary to stop Hitler, I can see withstanding the test of time. The things that caused WWII, Hitler's rise to power, and the systems that enabled and, frankly, bent him and the Nazis towards the evils they committed, I think we were culpable for, for how Germany was positioned on the world stage post WWI. Germany was ripe for a demagogue, and people needed the sense of security mindlessly followin…

What made America ripe for a demagogue?

Increased unaddressed income inequality, a growing partisan divide that led to a large group feeling disenfranchised enough to rally around a candidate whose whole platform was "burn the status quo to the ground", etc?

I mean...we didn't have an unnecessary war that left us in a bad state; we got there ourselves.

Re: War Is a Racket (1933)

#116

Post by harumph »

jacquesm wrote: post #96
lostcolony wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So WWII as being necessary to stop Hitler, I can see withstanding the test of time. The things that caused WWII, Hitler's rise to power, and the systems that enabled and, frankly, bent him and the Nazis towards the evils they committed, I think we were culpable for, for how Germany was positioned on the world stage post WWI. Germany was ripe for a demagogue, and people needed the sense of security mindlessly followin…

What made America ripe for a demagogue?

My take has always been:

How we positioned ourselves in the wake of WW2, and the resulting mythology that grew up around it, coupled with the fact that enough time passed that we now believe the myth as fact.

Re: War Is a Racket (1933)

#117

Post by TurkishPoptart »

commandlinefan wrote: post #113
cheeko1234 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This radiolab podcast goes into detail of men deciding to do nothing on both sides in WWI, but it got complicated really fast: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/segments/10401...

The whole “white feather” campaign during WWI (women would hand unenlisted young men a “white feather” which was understood to represent cowardice and shame men into enlisting) really contrasts with the unemployment that British soldiers faced after the war: “no former servicemen need apply” was a common warning on shops in the early 20’s. They were treated like garbage before the war, during the war, and after it, t…

Why were they discriminated against after the war? In the US, former servicemen got the world handed to them on a silver platter.

Re: War Is a Racket (1933)

#118

Post by minikites »

deciplex wrote: post #107
jacquesm wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What made America ripe for a demagogue?

The capitalist project has failed, and our Constitution - poorly written even for the time - is wholly unequipped to deal with the crisis, nor the emergence of highly ideological political parties.

I agree overall on both points, but it's worth noting that the founders intended for the constitution to be amended much more frequently than it has been.

Re: War Is a Racket (1933)

#119

Post by Apocryphon »

TurkishPoptart wrote: post #117
commandlinefan wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The whole “white feather” campaign during WWI (women would hand unenlisted young men a “white feather” which was understood to represent cowardice and shame men into enlisting) really contrasts with the unemployment that British soldiers faced after the war: “no former servicemen need apply” was a common warning on shops in the early 20’s. They were treated like garbage before the war, during the war, and after it, t…

Why were they discriminated against after the war? In the US, former servicemen got the world handed to them on a silver platter.

Not after the Vietnam War, so it seems like the near-veneration of veterans in the modern world didn't happen until fairly recently.

Re: War Is a Racket (1933)

#120

Post by 8note »

socialdemocrat wrote: post #71
aazaa wrote: post #17

> Beautiful ideals were painted for our boys who were sent out to die. This was the "war to end all wars." This was the "war to make the world safe for democracy." No one mentioned to them, as they marched away, that their going and their dying would mean huge war profits. No one told these American soldiers that they might be shot down by bullets made by their own brothers here. No one told them that the ships on wh…

I know it is not a popular view but I think WWII was a major mistake. We could of course not have stopped Hitler's initial actions, but it was the West's choice to wage war against Hitler. I think that was a mistake. The rational was to keep Poland and the Czech republic free. However at the end of the war neither country was free. They had fallen under the Soviet sphere of influence. The goals they set hence failed.…

fortunately the mistake was made, or even more people would have died in the concentration camps.
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