War is a racket: In memory of Smedley Butler

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Chapter 1 in The Economics of War, 2019, pp 1-10 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: War, which is a state of armed conflict between states, governments, societies and factions, has been a part of human history for thousands of years and has become increasingly destructive as technology advances. The morality of war has been the subject of debate for thousands of years, leading to the emergence of the concept of a “just war†, which can be waged only as a last resort. In 1935 retired US Marine Major General Smedley Butler published an essay in which he characterised war as a “racket†, identified war profiteers and specified who bore the cost of war. He recognised two forms of war profiteering by the industrialists who supply war material and bankers who finance the warring parties. However, other forms of war profiteering can be identified as war is the ultimate enterprise.

Keywords: Economics and Finance; Politics and Public Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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