Ike's Lament, Or, the Military-Industrial Complex, the Scientific-Technological Elite, and
- We need a military, Ike tells us. And it has to be the best, so no one will even think about messing with us.
- Ike says the military is way different from how it ever was before.
- This is because the U.S. has to have a standing army, industrial base, and armaments stockpile to deal with the international Communist threat.
- (Before, the U.S. would just call up an army to fight whatever war it had to fight.)
- There are more weapons, people, and money invested in national defense than ever before.
- Ike says this is a new development, and its effects can be felt throughout the country and the economy. It needs to be this way, but we all have to be aware of just how dangerous this state of affairs really is.
- We have to watch out for the rise in power of the military-industrial complex. Unchecked, things could go terribly wrong in a hurry.
- Democracy and freedom have to come first, Ike tells us.
- The crazy power of American armaments industry and the military has to be checked by a well-educated and informed public who knows the right balance between safety and freedom.
- Next up is a warning about the dangers of the technological revolution.
- Scientific and engineering research is way bigger, more complicated, and more expensive than it ever was before.
- Plus, the Federal government has gotten very involved in supporting and directing it.
- It used to be individual inventors and researchers who held the keys to new discoveries and tools, but now, Ike tells us, big teams of scientists and universities vying for government contracts are where the action's at.
- Blackboards are being replaced by computers, Ike says.
- He doesn't want big government and big money to rule over America's intellectuals.
- But he also doesn't want any of America's intellectuals or technology tycoons to have an outsized influence on American governmental policy, either.
- The answer? Balance, of course.