War is a Racket

War Is a Racket by Major General Smedley D. Butler presents a forceful denunciation of war as a system in which the sacrifices of ordinary soldiers and citizens are exploited for the benefit of a comparatively small group of bankers, manufacturers, shipbuilders, munitions makers, and other commercial interests. Drawing upon his long career in the United States Marine Corps and his experience of American military interventions, Butler argues that patriotic slogans and appeals to national honor conceal the economic interests that repeatedly draw nations into foreign conflicts. He examines the enormous wartime profits made during the First World War, contrasts them with the deaths, injuries, psychological suffering, taxation, and debt borne by soldiers and their families, and contends that the public ultimately pays for fortunes accumulated by war industries. Butler proposes three measures to break this system: eliminate the possibility of private profit from war, allow those who would actually bear arms to decide whether the nation should fight, and restrict American military forces to genuine defense of the homeland. Concluding that disarmament conferences and political promises cannot succeed while powerful interests continue to profit from conflict, Butler calls for removing the financial incentive for war and turning national resources toward peaceful and productive purposes.