The post-WWII operation of the national security state has been a major avenue for the expansion of government. A tremendous military-industrial-Congressional complex built up during the war. Some 40% of GDP was devoted to military purposes. The US in 1945 was the world’s military superpower. Rather than dismantle those forces, the US created a policy of containment of Stalin’s Soviet Union that required those forces in a cold war against what was seen to be an evil empire, even though Russia had been allied with us. Central and Eastern Europe was under Soviet control. Truman took readily to this cold war, but the paying Americans did not. Red Army threats were built up. Tensions rose. The Soviets closed off land access to Berlin in 1948 and the US decided to airlift cargo into Berliners. War was averted. Congress reorganized the military, creating the Department of Defense, the Army, the Navy, and a new Air Force. The same Act created the National Security Council with its own staff. The Central Intelligence Agency also emerged. Outbreak of war in Korea promoted a huge buildup of military that was then used to justify our permanent Cold War. The Korean action ended in a stalemate that continues today. Like Russia, North Korea made atomic bombs. For fifty-five years these situations continue to smolder. Today’s Cold War is the War on Terrorism — a permanent war that can never be won. Two other events were part of the Cold War that made Americans extremely angry: Vietnam and the 1980 hostage taking in Tehran. Bibliography (PDF): Mises.org/CLBib Lecture 8 of 10 from Robert Higgs' Crisis and Liberty: The Expansion of Government Power in American History. Recorded at the Mises Institute on June 26, 2003. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I1i5fJvyO0

Mises Weekends this week features a 1988 lecture from Dr. Hans-Hermann Hoppe on Marxist and Austrian class analysis. It might surprise some that Dr. Hoppe sees some "intellectual affinities" between the two, in the way that each identifies exploitation among a ruling class. Of course, for Austrians, we identify that it is the state — not the bourgeois — who is the threat to the masses. Tune in for a fascinating talk. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhT_kA8EtYE

Simon Guenzl joins Bob to push back on Dave Smith's recent appearance, where Dave had made the case against open borders. Guenzl has published a libertarian critique of the Hoppean framework. The debate revolves around the status of government property. Bob plays devil's advocate, especially with a lightning round of "hard cases" for Guenzl at the end. Simon's paper, "Public Property and the Libertarian Immigration Debate" in Libertarian Papers: https://Mises.org/HAP443a Dave Smith on Open Borders: https://Mises.org/HAP443b Bob on Blockades and Immigration in a Voluntary Society: https://Mises.org/HAP443c Human Action Podcast listeners can get a free copy of Dr. Guido Hülsmann's How Inflation Destroys Civilization: Mises.org/HAPodFree Find free books, daily articles, podcasts, lecture series, and everything about the Austrian School of Economics, at https://Mises.org​​. Twitter ► https://twitter.com/mises/ Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/mises.institute/ Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/misesinstitute/ SoundCloud ► https://soundcloud.com/misesmedia/ Apple Podcasts ► https://podcasts.apple.com/us/artist/mises-institute/1280664810 Rumble ► https://rumble.com/c/c-2212754 Odysee ► https://odysee.com/@mises/ Podcasts ► https://mises.org/library/audio-video/ ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37W3i2HKFpU

On this episode of Radio Rothbard, Ryan McMaken and Tho Bishop look at county and city-level secession movements and what it means for political self-determination. In a recent article, Ryan McMaken highlighted renewed calls for Staten Island to secede from New York City, but other recent examples include attempts by taxpayers in areas of Georgia and Alabama to break away from the control of mismanagement of local governments. Tho and Ryan look at the value these initiatives have, and the arguments used to try to stop them. Recommended Reading "Let Staten Island Secede!" by Ryan McMaken: https://Mises.org/RR_150_A Download Anatomy of the State for free at https://Mises.org/Anatomy Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at https://Mises.org/RadioRothbard. New Radio Rothbard mugs are now available at the Mises Store. Get yours at https://Mises.org/RothMug PROMO CODE: RothPod for 20% off ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXW5KFjJd2Y