The Permanent War

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Or, as Dan Briody put it in his 2003 book The Iron Triangle, the result is an American juggernaut "trolling the planet in search of enemies."

BENITO MUSSOLINI SAID FASCISM wasn't the correct term for his blend of corporate ownership and government muscle: "It should more properly be called 'corporatism,' since it is the merger of state and corporate power." The blueprint for the military-industrial complex didn't originate in fascist Italy, however. It began in England prior to World War I with the government seizing control of the country's oil industry.

Corporate socialism in the United States began with the development of radio. The Wilson administration effectively nationalized the electronics industry by sponsoring a cartel, Radio Corporation of America (RCA), privately owned by four well-connected corporations: AT&T, Westinghouse, United Fruit, and General Electric. The government was more than happy to dole out research dollars, since radio was considered too vital to national security to allow German companies to surpass us in its development. This same government-corporate alliance was extended to the oil companies -- also for national security reasons -- since oil had long been considered a primary defense resource (you can't sail destroyers or fly planes without fuel). After World War II the national security rationale was extended to hundreds of companies -- the military-industrial complex identified by Eisenhower. The bottom line is this: The public funds these projects while corporations keep all the profits.

Some call this the New Economy. We've had socialized radio, socialized automobiles, socialized computers, socialized hamburgers, even socialized football -- but not socialized medicine. It's the biggest swindle of all time. Companies don't even bother with the national security angle anymore. They cite "job creation."

But fear is still the great lubricant of the wallet: Bogeymen appear on the horizon, and taxpayers throw magic money to hold them at bay. The intermediary is a defense contractor with a wheelbarrow and a shovel. Most of the time threats do the trick, but every once in a while a real war is necessary to justify the fat handouts. The Bush administration had to come up with the weapons-of-mass-destruction argument because it needed a credible threat in order to attack Iraq. Liberating that country and bringing democracy to the Middle East were mere afterthoughts.

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