When World War II veterans returned to civilian work and the pent-up demands from war and depression were satisfied, we stimulated the economy to maintain full employment. Buying arms provided a convenient channel for stimulus dollars, producing corporate dinosaurs such as Sperry-Univac too blind to see the transistor revolution, forcing farsighted engineers to start control data. Univac’s Military Products Group secured contracts to build defensive missile systems for our ships, but progress was demonstrable only under artificial test conditions. Hopefully they’ve improved.

We became the world’s primary arms supplier, selling weapons to dictators willing to channel their countries’ natural resources to American firms, starving local producers. To justify military spending, it was necessary to create crises.

Chomsky suggests that Kennedy’s embarrassment over the Bay of Pigs debacle led him to prepare a full-scale invasion of Cuba, derailed only by Russia’s introduction of missiles into Cuba. Meanwhile, we were surrounding Russia with Polaris missile-equipped submarines, overflying Russia with surveillance aircraft and roaming its borders with SAC bombers.

Trump trumpets the need for a stronger military! C’mon, Donald, how many overkills do we need? Possession of such military power tempted adventurers to replace France in Vietnam and to do Iraq. To maintain full employment, we tolerate destructive employment (tobacco products), distractive employment (much of the entertainment industry) and duplicative employment (how many pizza purveyors do we need?). When stimulus fails, we resort to bailouts! Should we prolong this rat race in the hope that scientists can develop a way for the big rats leave the ship they are sinking?

This history proves that capitalism creates devilish work for idle hands. We don’t need more productivity. Our planet can’t sustain full employment. The idea of full employment is a dodge designed to delay reorienting our society to one that allots resources and labor to life-sustaining work and promotes the constructive uses of leisure.

John E. Gibson

Owatonna