It Is Dangerous to Be Right When the Government Is Wrong - Andrew P. Napolitano [102]
More fundamental is the fact that, although resources may be redistributed toward those Americans who are manufacturing military supplies, there is no actual wealth being created. When the farmer grows his corn crop, he exerts labor toward creating something that will literally nourish society, thus making us all better off. It is for this wealth creation that he receives money in exchange, and it is for this value that we are willing to give money. Transactions for defense supplies do not, however, share this attribute. War creates no more prosperity than hiring one hundred individuals to dig a hole and fill it back up again. After the defense contractor has received his pay for building nuclear submarines, precisely who is it that is “nourished” by their standing idly at the bottom of the ocean? Unlike a Web site that connects consumers with sellers, neither a submarine in the sea nor bullet in a soldier’s gun produces wealth. What benefit is it that we as taxpayers are receiving from this exchange? There is none; it is wealth redistribution by another name.
174
Wartime prosperity: We are anything but prosperous during times of war. War is a time of death, grief, and tragedy. The only entity that prospers in war is the state and its close friends. And as General Butler asks, “How many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle?” No, my readers, war creates no prosperity; it only bankrupts our savings accounts, our cradles, and our sense of human decency.
Perpetual War: The “New Normalcy”
Of all the enemies to public liberty, war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. . . . No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.
—JAMES MADISON
Sadly, the need to limit the government’s use of war is greater than ever. The War on Terror could go on forever. In fact, shortly after the attacks of September 11th, Vice President Dick Cheney stated that the war on terrorism “may never end. It’s the new normalcy.” While this statement may prove to be true, the government is not there to ensure that war goes on; the government is there to ensure that war stops. This, however, is not the reality. War is the health of the state, and the state will do whatever it can to ensure that war continues in some form or another because, in the words of President Bush, “the war on terrorism is a new kind of war.” Once the government knows the power and the control it can hold over its people, it is unlikely ever to give them up.
175
Conclusion
President John Quincy Adams stated that this country “goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy” while President George W. Bush claimed, “We must take the battle to the enemy, disrupt his plans, and confront the worst threats before they emerge.” As long as presidents continue to spout comments that induce fear and anxiety, the government will continue to be “in business.” Our most recent culprit, President Bush, taunted that “intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised” and that “the danger is clear.” There is no doubt danger exists, but as discussed throughout this chapter, the state is merely using alarm and despair as a platform for government expansion in size, scope, and power. As for President Bush’s disingenuous, alarmist nonsense about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction,