Four years after he resigned from the Marines, Gen. Smedly Butler wrote what he had learned about our country’s military policies. He had served for 32 years, had been in 17 conflicts and was the most decorated soldier this country has ever had.
The book was originally written in 1935, but the family had it re-published in 2003 with some additional text by Smedly Butler. The book we have today is 76 pages, though the text of "War is a Racket" is only 23 pages, with five very short but informative chapters.
Chapter One: "War is a Racket" tells how 21,000 business people became millionaires and billionaires from their World War I profits. Of course, none of them served in the military, got killed, had their bodies mangled, minds shattered or hearts broken. The country now had a national debt of $25 billion that the general public would have to pay off.
Butler can see World War II coming by what is going on in Europe and the East. He gives details of military buildup, how we’re changing alliances and bad-mouthing a former friend, Japan, a country we supported in 1904 with the war against Russia.
Chapter Two: "Who Makes The Profits?" In this chapter, Butler gives detail of huge profit increases made in World War I. Normal peacetime company profits are 6 percent to 12 percent, but during World War II, profits went way up, the most extreme case being 1,800 percent. International Nickel Co. showed an increase from $4 million per year in peacetime to $73.5 million per year from 1914 to 1918. Many more examples are given as Butler tells how many things were produced, but soldiers never got them, like six pairs of boots per soldier, but soldiers fighting in Europe only had one pair. And how stuff was ordered that was of no use to men in combat. And how munition makers were selling to both sides — friends and enemies.
Chapter Three: "Who Pays The Bills?" The theme in this chapter is the war casualties. Butler went to 18 hospitals for veterans where there were "50,000 destroyed men!" He talks about how these 18-year-olds were seduced into serving. He also gives examples of seductive recruitment tactics used by some European countries. He tells how soldiers were forced to buy Liberty Bonds and at the end of the month they got only $9 of their $30 monthly pay. It’s only four pages, but they’re very odious!
Chapter Four: "How To Smash This Racket!" He says that all the bankers and business people should get only $30 per month just like soldiers. This would change their fervor for going to war! This chapter is only three pages and at the end he summarizes what it would take to end the racket: "We must take the profit out of war. ... We must permit the youth of the land who bear the arms to decide whether or not there should be a war. ... We should limit our military forces to home defense purposes."
Chapter Five: "To Hell With War!" In three pages, Butler tells how Woodrow Wilson lied about not going to war to get himself re-elected, but five months later said, "We have to go to war to make the world safe for democracy!" This sort of sounds familiar, doesn’t it? He tells how 18 years after the end of World War I there’s less democracy now than before World War I. He tells how the admirals and generals lobby for war so they get more ships and more commands. He also talks about how we’re always working on new weapons and that future wars will be fought using new technology. ‘Sort of sounds like Rumsfeld — "Shock and Awe" or Bush’s "bunker buster nuclear rockets."
The family has added material that Butler wrote several years after publishing the original "War is a Racket." Common Sense Neutrality and a suggestion to put an amendment in the Constitution — Amendment For Peace. There are also some very gruesome photos of war casualties. Today, the entire book is 76 pages with the added introduction also very worth reading. This book should be mandatory reading for every American, especially the young. There are many good books out there, but I’ve never read one this loaded with myth- and lie-breaking in so few pages.