War and Foreign Policy

As war rages in the Middle East, we are reminded of what Mises wrote in 1949 on warfare and its awful effects.

Americans have been fed the myth that US foreign policy from 1919 to 1941 was isolationist. In reality, US policies destabilized already volatile international relations.

Resettling Gazans in America—at taxpayer expense—will be sold as a "humanitarian" effort, but anyone who sees through the propaganda will see that it's really all a cynical effort to please Israeli politicians.

The countries have changed, but the story remains the same. Wealthier countries try to “invest” by lending money to African regimes, where the money disappears. This time, China is the big lender.

Dr. Jonathan Newman joins Bob to break down the history of warfare, how states fund war, and why war is more destructive in the modern era.

Mises Institute president Thomas DiLorenzo joins Ryan and Tho to discuss the moralistic claims behind American foreign policy. 

American exceptionalism, the “treasury of virtue,” has always been the moral cover for all of this greed, racism, barbarianism, and worse. The good news today is that it is hard to think of anyone with a sound mind who would sincerely believe this any longer.

As this author previously has noted, the ideology of statism is responsible for much of the violence that plagues the world. We see this played out in Israel's aggressive retaliatory attacks in Gaza in response to the October 7 killings by Hamas.

Washington never sleeps when it comes to declaring new overseas enemies to destroy. The new “axis of evil” now consists of Russia, Iran, and China.

Murray Rothbard asked this question and concluded that the current American regime, if the wisdom of Aquinas’ words is taken seriously, cannot wage a just war.