Scott talks to William Smith about the threat to republican government posed by America’s growing world empire. The founders of this country, Smith explains, knew that perpetual war would lead to the uncontrolled growth of government power, and that meddling in foreign affairs would lead to decline and ruin at home. More recently, Eisenhower warned about the same things in his celebrated military-industrial complex speech. In a recent piece, Smith warns about the use in the 2020 presidential campaign of an artificial intelligence tool originally developed for counter-insurgency tactics in Afghanistan. Smith hopes that Americans will demand a return to the principles of restraint codified by our founding documents before it’s too late to reverse the damage that’s already been done.

Discussed on the show:

• “How empire is destroying the American republic” (Quincy Institute)
• “Randolph Bourne: War is the Health of the State” (Mises Institute)
• “Foyle’s War (TV Series 2002–2015)” (IMDb)
• Transcript of President George Washington’s Farewell Address (1796)
• National Security and Double Government
  

William Smith is a senior research fellow and Managing Director at Catholic University’s Center for the Study of Statesmanship. He received his PhD from Catholic University and has 25 years of experience in government and the corporate sector.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

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