Von Mises is reputable. Murray Rothbard is less so, in my opinion. I say so based on my own research on two issues that he has written about, the history of the Great Depression, and the history of money. He is, unfortunately, a lightweight when it comes to history. Careless and superficial in his research. He's ok if you just want a broad overview, so I wouldn't advise against reading him. He's got some interesting ideas.
With respect to the issue you raise, the inter-relationship between government and what Eisenhower called "the military-industrial complex," there is no question that some corporations make a lot of money by providing what is needed to wage war. But I suggest to you that it is short-sighted to focus on the armament industry alone.
Think of all the billions which have been spent on the Internet, computers, telecommunication devices. Think of all the billions which have been spent on the interstate highway system. Think of all the billions which have been spent stockpiling petroleum in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Think of all the money that's being spent on clever devices for scanning faces at airports, or smallpox vaccine.
The United States federal government budget is in the range of $2 trillion annually. US GDP is in the range of $10 trillion annually, so the feds spend about 20% of US GDP. That's an amazing amount of money.
In 1929, a year I know fairly well, US GDP was about $12 million. A lot has changed since then, hasn't it? |
