CannCon and Ashe in America open Book 4 of Badlands Book Club with Smedley Butler’s explosive anti-war classic War is a Racket, breaking down Butler’s life, military career, and how a twice-decorated Marine Corps general became one of America’s fiercest critics of war profiteering. They read and analyze the first chapters, highlighting Butler’s blunt claim that war enriches the few while destroying the many, his examples of corporate greed masking as patriotism, and the staggering profits made by bankers, munitions makers, and industrialists during World War I. Ashe and CannCon compare Butler’s era to today’s military-industrial landscape, discuss the psychological and physical toll on veterans, and examine how propaganda, politics, and financial interests continue to shape public support for conflict. It’s a sharp, eye-opening start to a book that proves shockingly relevant nearly a century later.
