Can 'Space Aliens' Save Us?

Paul Krugman thinks so
by Justin Raimondo
Aug. 16, 2011

Why is the United States constantly at war? If we look at the last half century or so, there is hardly a time when we haven’t been engaged in some major conflict with a purportedly global threat to our very existence. The first such threat was Germany (on two occasions), and its Japanese fascist ally, two regimes whose appeal was nationally-limited and whose inherent instability would have defeated them in any case. The second such “threat” was the Soviet Union, and what Louis Bromfield derided as the “international psychopathic cult” of Marxist-Leninism – both of which collapsed under the weight of their own irrationality as the 1990s dawned.

For a while, there was no Major Threat in sight, and American politics soon reverted back to its pre-WWI “isolationist” slumber. With the drain on our economic resources stanched, investment – and its offspring, technological innovation – picked up: the US economy took off, and we enjoyed an era of prosperity. Unfortunately, this didn’t last long: a new Global Threat soon loomed over the horizon – Islamism!

The 9/11 terrorist attacks were a boon to the out-of-work War Party, and they certainly rose to the occasion: two wars, two ongoing military occupations, and a great swathe of the Middle East added to the American empire. And in just a few short years! Great work, except there’s a few problems: we’re bankrupt, saddled with a $14 trillion debt, the economy is tanking, the real unemployment rate is easily double the “official” rate of around 9 percent, and America has become Food Stamp Nation.

But don’t worry, Paul Krugman has the solution...

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