First published 2013
Andrew Bacevich examines the dangerous divide that separates American civilians from their military. The author traces this gap back to Vietnam, when the nation shifted from citizen soldiers to professional warriors. Today ordinary Americans treat war as someone else's problem while the military fights endless conflicts it cannot win. Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates admits that armed conflict has become abstract for most citizens. Bacevich argues this separation corrupts democratic values and abandons the founding principle that citizens should defend their own country. He draws on figures like theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Marine Smedley Butler to make his case. The author warns that without change, America faces permanent warfare conducted by professional soldiers and private contractors while the nation slides toward moral and financial ruin.
Genres: american, political-science, non-fiction, 21st-century, military-history, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: social-commentary, warning
Period: Vietnam War
238 pages · Hardcover · Metropolitan Books