With the war in Ukraine on our minds, we talk to author Catherine Liu about how class position affects daily life, particularly on the issue of war and peace. How does your class identity shape your understanding of and interactions with American militarism? Catherine makes the great point that the massive wealth commanded by the American military’s adventurism is a cost paid by American civilians, and that today’s military conflicts are used to avoid the implementation of a robust healthcare system.

But she also connects the development of this militarism through the twentieth century to the rise of the PMC. Think tanks have played an increasingly important role in beating the drums of war, and Catherine points to the idea of “expertise” in foreign policy that they promote, adding a veneer of intellectualism, experience, and professionalism to this country’s practice of destroying the lives of people overseas in senseless, bloody wars.

Listen at Krystal Kyle and Friends.