War like any other racket, pays high dividends to the very few. The cost of operations is always transferred to the people who do not profit.
Smedley ButlerIf only more of today's military personnel would realize that they are being used by the owning elite's as a publicly subsidized capitalist goon squad.
Smedley ButlerOut of war nations acquire additional territory, if they are victorious. They just take it. This newly acquired territory promptly is exploited by the few - the selfsame few who wrung dollars out of blood in the war. The general public shoulders the bill.
Smedley ButlerA few profit - and the many pay. But there is a way to stop it. You can't end it by disarmament conferences. You can't eliminate it by peace parleys at Geneva. Well-meaning but impractical groups can't wipe it out by resolutions. It can be smashed effectively only by taking the profit out of war.
Smedley Butler