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The United States has the most powerful military in human history, and it’s not even close.
We spend more money on the military than the next 10 countries combined (seven of which are U.S. allies). We have about 50% of the world’s active aircraft carriers and nuclear warheads. Most shockingly, we have a total of over 800 military bases across 80 countries.
This absurdity was entirely foreseeable. In his 1961 farewell address, Dwight Eisenhower warned of the “military-industrial complex” — the link between profit-minded defense corporations and the politicians who give them contracts.
Sixty years later, the military-industrial complex is stronger than ever. The top defense companies like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Raytheon rake in billions of dollars in profit each year. They employ millions of Americans across all 50 states, creating an incentive for politicians (ever-conscious of the jobs in their district) to do the bidding of these corporations. More war is a win-win for both sides.
The most striking thing about the military-industrial complex is that its support is bipartisan. The opposition party may rhetorically deride war out of political convenience (think Democrats re: Iraq War circa 2006), but as power switches hands between parties, the prevailing consensus never changes. The U.S…
