War, Economy, and State

The True Cost of Modern Industrial Warfare

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Wed, 22 May 2024 11:00:00 -0500

Ryan and Zach talk about how the realities of expensive industrial warfare are still relevant. The Pentagon's fantasy of precision techno-war doesn't apply to wars with peer countries like Russia or China.

Recommended Reading

"In a war of attrition, you want an economist as defense minister" - The Bell: https://Mises.org/WES_21_A

"The Economics of War" by Murray Rothbard: https://Mises.org/WES_21_B

"The Economics of War" by Matthew McCaffrey: https://Mises.org/WES_21_C

"Defense, Controls, and Inflation" edited by Aaron Director: https://Mises.org/WES_21_D

"Guardians of the Warfare State" by T. Hunt Tooley: https://Mises.org/WES_21_E

"Wartime: Understanding and Behaviour in the Second World War" by Paul Fussell: https://Mises.org/WES_21_F

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at https://Mises.org/WES.

Why the GOP Betrayed Its Own Voters on Ukraine

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Wed, 01 May 2024 13:00:00 -0500

Washington Post conservative George Will trots out every tired slogan and bromide in the book to claim that Putin is Hitler and the Ukraine war is a fight for civilization.

Recommended Reading

"So, 112 ignoble, infantile Republicans voted to endanger civilization" by George Will: Mises.org/WES_20_A

"Piers Morgan vs John Mearsheimer" Mises.org/WES_20_B

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.

The West Is Losing Interest in Ukrainian Victory

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 13:15:00 -0500

Many signs are now emerging that NATO and the West are slowly withdrawing support from Ukraine in its war with Russia. How much longer can the war continue?

Recommended Reading

"Intercept of German generals planning Taurus strike on Crimean bridge": Mises.org/WES_19_A

"Army aims to double 155mm shell production by October" by Sam Skove Mises.org/WES_19_B

"The deception behind America’s support for Ukraine" by Malcom Kyeyune: Mises.org/WES_19_C

"Draft-dodging plagues Ukraine as Kyiv faces acute soldier shortage" by Jamie Dettmer: Mises.org/WES_19_D

Remarks by Jake Sullivan and Andriy Yermak in Press Conference: Mises.org/WES_19_E

"Biden's adviser did not mention regaining territories when talking about conditions for Ukraine's victory": Mises.org/WES_19_F

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.

The Pentagon Wants More Socialism

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 16:03:00 -0600

Ryan and Zach take a look at how the Pentagon is now lobbying for a "national defense industrial strategy." In a new report, the Pentagon calls for more central planning and socialism in the name of national defense.

Recommended Reading

The National Defense Industrial Strategy (PDF): Mises.org/WES_18_A

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.

What Does Classical-Liberal Foreign Policy Look Like?

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Ryan and Zach review a new book on the basics of the "classical liberal" theory of international relations. Drawing on the work of Mises and Hayek, Edwin van de Haar's new IR book provides a useful and insightful summary of how a pro-freedom foreign policy differs from the usual foreign policy in Washington.

Additional Resources

"Human Nature and World Affairs: An Introduction to Classical Liberalism and International Relations Theory" by Edwin van de Haar: Mises.org/WES_17_A

"Mises on Nationalism, the Right of Self-Determination, and the Problem of Immigration" by Joseph Salerno: Mises.org/WES_17_B

EdwinvandeHaar.com

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.

Year-End Foreign Policy Predictions

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 00:00:00 -0600

Ryan and Zachary make some guesses about where things are headed in 2024 for both Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war. How long will the US try to keep the Ukraine war going, and what is Israel's plan for Gaza?

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.

What "Just War Theory" Really Means

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0600

Ryan and Zachary discuss the basics of Just War Theory and whether a "moral war" is possible. They also discuss the theory's origins in natural law, and how the theory relates to pacifism, wealth, and war crimes.

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.

Additional Resources

"Get the US Out of the Middle East" by Ryan McMaken: Mises.org/WES_15_A

"American History Is a Preview of the Israel-Palestine End Game" by Ryan McMaken: Mises.org/WES_15_B

"Ethnic Interest Groups Fuel the American Warfare State" (War, Economy, and State): Mises.org/WES_15_C

Douglas Murray on having a "proportionate response” in a conflict: Mises.org/WES_15_D

Ethnic Interest Groups Fuel the American Warfare State

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Ryan and Zachary look at how interest groups representing Ukrainians, Iraqis, Israelis, and others have often lobbied for US intervention in foreign wars that in no way benefit the American population overall.

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.

Additional Resources

"Get the US Out of the Middle East" by Ryan McMaken: Mises.org/WES_14_A

"The Liberty Movement’s Pro-War Fifth Column" by Ted Galen Carpenter: Mises.org/WES_14_B

George Washington's Farewell Address: Mises.org/WES_14_C

"America Has No Duty to Rule the World" by Daniel Bessner: Mises.org/WES_14_D

Tomorrow, the World: The Birth of U.S. Global Supremacy by Stephen Wertheim: Mises.org/WES_14_E

"The Left Is Now Telling Us (Ukrainian) Nazis Aren't So Bad After All" by Ryan McMaken: Mises.org/WES_14_F

"Armed Neutrality Is the Only Moral Foreign Policy" by Ryan McMaken: Mises.org/WES_14_G

Ranking the GOP Debaters on Foreign Policy

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Ryan and Zachary rank the GOP candidates at the debate. They range from "least terrible" (Ramaswamy) to "utterly awful" (Haley and Pence).

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.

The War in Ukraine Is Far From Over

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Fri, 21 Jul 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Ryan McMaken and Zachary Yost look at the many factors behind Ukraine's failure to defeat Russia or move closer to NATO membership. Ukraine is sadly caught between a cynical NATO and a Russia that is in it for the long haul.

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.

The Saudi-China-Iran Partnership Creates a New Middle East

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Ryan and Zack look at how China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia are reshaping the Middle East into a region where the United States no longer dominates. This is a good thing for ordinary Americans.

Additional Resources

"Thanks to Sanctions, the US Is Losing Its Grip on the Middle East" by Ryan McMaken: Mises.org/WES_11_A

"The Petrodollar-Saudi Axis Is Why Washington Hates Iran" by Gary Richied: Mises.org/WES_11_B

"Peace is Breaking Out in the Middle East… and Washington is Not Happy!" by Ron Paul: Mises.org/WES_11_C

"Why the End of the Petrodollar Spells Trouble for the US Regime" by Ryan McMaken: Mises.org/WES_11_D

"Washington Miffed as China Makes Peace" by Joseph Solis-Mullen: Mises.org/WES_11_E

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.

What the Leaked Pentagon Docs Tell Us about the Ukraine War

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Wed, 03 May 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Ryan and Zack talk about some of the details from the recently leaked Pentagon documents. They reveal dysfunctional American foreign policy and just how much contempt the US regime has for its own allies.

Additional Resources

"What the leaked Pentagon documents reveal — 8 key takeaways" by Paul Adams, Jean Mackenzie, and Antoinette Radford (BBC News): Mises.org/WES_10_A

"Fact Sheet on U.S. Security Assistance to Ukraine" (U.S. Department of Defense, 19 April 2023): Mises.org/WES_10_B

"U.S. doubts Ukraine counteroffensive will yield big gains, leaked document says" by Alex Horton, John Hudson, Isabelle Khurshudyan, and Samuel Oakford (Washington Post): Mises.org/WES_10_C

"Arbitrary Use of Power: Punishing Those Who Expose Not-So-Secret Government Secrets" by Bill Anderson: Mises.org/WES_10_D

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.

Wars Cost More Than You Think

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Ryan and Zachary talk about how wars are not nearly as cheap or economically harmless as many Americans seem to think. Rather, taxpayers must give up enormous amounts of resources to fund wars halfway across the globe that have little to do with actual defense. Americans are still paying interest on the trillions spent on Washington's many lost wars of recent decades.

Additional Resources

"On Paying for the Costs of War and War Loans" by Ludwig von Mises (1918): Mises.org/WES_09_A

"The Cross of Iron" by Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953): Mises.org/WES_09_B

"Fact Sheet on U.S. Security Assistance to Ukraine" (U.S. Department of Defense, 4 April 2023): Mises.org/WES_09_C

"How the Fed Is Enabling Congress's Trillion-Dollar Deficits" by Ryan McMaken (2021): Mises.org/WES_09_D

"War and the Money Machine: Concealing the Costs of War beneath the Veil of Inflation" by Joseph T. Salerno (2021): Mises.org/WES_09_E

"As the Pentagon Fails Another Audit, Congress Wants to Spend Even More on 'Defense'" by Ryan McMaken (2022): Mises.org/WES_09_F

"Russia and Ukraine named as Europe’s most corrupt countries" by William Nattrass (3 February 2023): Mises.org/WES_09_G

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.

The Chinese Balloon Hysteria

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0600

Ryan McMaken and Zachary Yost talk about the recent freak-out over the Chinese balloon, American foreign-policy moralism, and what sort of "threat" a balloon really represents. Also discussed is nuclear deterrence, American domestic spying, and why most states—including allies—spy on each other.

Additional Resources

"So Much Hot Air: The (Fake) China Threat Strikes Again!" by Joseph Solis-Mullen: Mises.org/WES_08_A

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.

The True Costs of a US-China War for Taiwan

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 00:00:00 -0600

Ryan McMaken and Zachary Yost discuss new estimates of just how costly a US-China war over Taiwan would be. Things are made even worse by the fact the US is already shopping most of its weapon stockpiles to Ukraine. The US government simply refuses to acknowledge that scarcity exists.

Additional Resources

"The First Battle of the Next War: Wargaming a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan" by Mark F. Cancian, Matthew Cancian, and Eric Heginbotham: Mises.org/WES_07_A

"Taiwan Is Not Ukraine" by Zachary Yost: Mises.org/WES_07_B

"Victory Without Battle: A Smarter Vision for US-Taiwan Policy" by Zachary Yost: Mises.org/WES_07_C

"Rebuilding U.S. Inventories: Six Critical Systems" by Mark F. Cancian: Mises.org/WES_07_D

"Taiwan has nearly US$19 billion in arms sales backlogged in US" by Eric Chang: Mises.org/WES_07_E

"Costs of War" (The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs): Mises.org/WES_07_F

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.

Do We Need a New Monroe Doctrine?

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 00:00:00 -0600

We know that "bring the troops home" is too much for America's foreign policy establishment. But if they can't handle that, a good first step would be to at least "bring the troops home" to the western hemisphere and the Americas. A new Monroe doctrine would be a less bad foreign policy paradigm than what we have now.

Additional Resources

"Wall Street, Banks, and American Foreign Policy" by Murray N. Rothbard: Mises.org/WES_06_A

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.

Biden's Defense Plan: Limitless Global Meddling

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0600

On this episode of War, Economy, and State, Ryan McMaken and Zachary Yost take a look at the Biden administration's new National Security Strategy. The Biden plan is to intervene everywhere and always across the entire globe. In fact, the plan absurdly says "nothing is beyond" the US's capacity to remake the global order.

Additional Resources

"National Security Strategy, October 2022" (PDF): Mises.org/WES_05_A

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.

Russia Isn't Winning. Neither Is Ukraine.

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0600

On this episode of War, Economy, and State, Ryan McMaken and Zachary Yost check in on the Russo-Ukrainian war to examine Russia's strength, the US's blank check, and the prospects of World War III.

Additional Resources

"NATO: Our International Welfare Queens" by Ryan McMaken: Mises.org/WES_04_A

"A Brief History of Pundits Encouraging Nuclear War" by Ryan McMaken: Mises.org/WES_04_B

"The NATO Treaty Does Not Give Congress a Bye on World War III" by Michael J. Glennon: Mises.org/WES_04_C

"U.S. Mutual Security Treaties: The Commitment Myth" by Michael J. Glennon: Mises.org/WES_04_D

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.

Go to War for Taiwan?

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Fri, 05 Aug 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Ryan McMaken and Zachary Yost discuss some of the strategic problems and historical oddities surrounding the relationships between the US, China, and Taiwan.

Additional Resources

"Can China Conquer Taiwan?" Radio Rothbard with Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost, and Tho Bishop: Mises.org/WES_03_A

"The World at War" by Ralph Raico (Video): Mises.org/WES_03_B

"Victory Without Battle: A Smarter Vision for US-Taiwan Policy " by Zachary Yost (PDF): Mises.org/WES_03_C

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.

The Problem with Standing Armies

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Ryan McMaken and Zachary Yost examine some reasons why early Americans hated the idea of a professional standing army, and some of the tactics used to decentralize military power in the US and Switzerland.

Recommended Reading

"Why We Can't Ignore the Militia Clause of the Second Amendment" by Ryan McMaken: Mises.org/WES_02_A

"The Second Amendment's Authors Would Hate Today's Huge Federal Military" by Ryan McMaken: Mises.org/WES_02_B

"Opposing Standing Armies: A Great American Tradition" by Zachary Yost: Mises.org/WES_02_C

"When State Governors Tried To Take Back Control of the National Guard" by Ryan McMaken: Mises.org/WES_02_D

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.

It's Time for America to Ditch NATO

Ryan McMaken, Zachary Yost — Wed, 18 May 2022 01:00:00 -0500

In the first episode of this new podcast, Ryan McMaken and Zachary Yost discuss NATO, Turkey, Russia, and why the USA needs to leave it all behind.

Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES.