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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

While Israel receives praise for being a "democracy" in the undemocratic Middle East, its surveillance policies mirror those of China, which is decidedly not democratic.

In the aftermath of Hamas's taking hostages in its conflict with Israel, the question arises: Who pays the ransom? State-financed payments lead to the worst outcomes and create moral hazards.