The Perma-War
In less than a year, we went from a world at peace to a world at “war.” Like previous US wars on drugs and terrorism, this war will cost us far more than any benefit it provides.
What’s going on?
Slowly, over the last year, we have stumbled into a vast global perma-war against “anti-democratic forces.”
A new “cold war” with Russian “anti-democratic” imperialism.
An escalating “war” with China over trade and Taiwan (to coerce them into disconnecting Russia).
A war on domestic anti-democratic forces (MAGA Republicans).
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“We are engaged in a great battle for freedom. A battle between democracy and autocracy. Between liberty and oppression.” ~ Biden
"The MAGA Republicans don’t just threaten our personal rights and economic security. They’re a threat to our very democracy" ~ Biden.
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The “War On” Framework
The US has a long history of declaring “wars” on complex problems (an unfortunate political artifact of the long-running Cold War with the USSR). Previous examples:
Early: The war on poverty. The war on crime.
The war on drugs.
The war on terrorism.
This simplistic “war on” framework provided the government (and its political supporters):
Legitimacy (‘we are justified in taking extreme measures’),
Wealth and political power (trillions in new government spending, plentiful opportunities for pork barrel spending)
A warlike orientation (troops to muster, enemies to fight/subdue/kill, etc., opponents to this orientation are traitors/sympathizers).
However, these frameworks usually do much more harm than good (where the losses caused are more than the gains).
The war on drugs. An unprecedented and massive increase in the prison population. Destruction of community policing. Damage to Mexico and Central/South American states.
The war on terrorism (abroad). Terrorism was used to justify the disastrous invasion of Iraq (despite the lack of any connection) and a multi-trillion dollar nation-building disaster (~$300 m a day for 20 years) in Afghanistan.
The war on terrorism (at home). The unnecessary militarization of police (new weapons, 4x growth in SWAT, an upward trend in police shootings after 2001, etc.), justification for widespread domestic surveillance (Patriot Act, etc.), and the (return of a WW2 era policy) targeting of “suspect” domestic populations.
The Perma-War
Unlike our previous “wars” of this type, this war wasn’t launched by the US government. A networked swarm launched it.