The Military Industrial Complex is Real, Part 1

The Military Industrial Complex is Real, Part 1

YouTube intelligence and national security blogger Ryan McBeth recently posted a video arguing that the military-industrial complex is not real, and subsequently, and quite legitimately, used the video put forth by () to illustrate this point. While Mr. McBeth is correct in noting that the military-industrial complex is not what is described by (), notably in relation to the latter’s ubiquitous logical fallacies, McBeth’s position is a normative one, rather than a factual one, which ignores decades of scholarship on the military-industrial complex, and which is far more reliant on ethos than on logos. In fact, and by using the work of (), Mr. McBeth engages in multiple fallacies, which will be discussed below, and in future posts, that are all cented upon the use of ()’s work in the context of the strawman fallacy.

Here at Prime Rogue Inc, we are all fans of Ryan McBeth’s work. He is a great character, and most of his commentary is stellar. We do, however, believe that Mr. McBeth got this one fundamentally wrong, and will use this series of posts, and their associated videos, to demonstrate why.

What is the Military-Industrial Complex?

At the baseline, and while Eisenhower’s statements regarding the military-industrial complex are foundational, dozens of scholars of politics, economics and sociology have put forth important definitions of the military-industrial complex over time. It is important to look at these so as to develop conceptual clarity with regards to what we are actually discussing. We believe that () actively sowed disinformation regarding the military-industrial complex all the while we suggest that Mr. McBeth’s rebuttal did not actually contain a meaningful operational definition.

C. Wright Mills and Conflict Theory Sociology

Beginning with the work of C. Wright Mills

Another example of the military-industrial complex can be found in the realm of AI. As states around the work seek to weaponize AI, in either offensive or defensive ways, significant military contributions to these developments are being made. At the same time, new hubs are emerging within the AI military-industrial complex as Singapore becomes a critical player in AI cybersecurity and as the United Arab Emirates are pioneering in relation to the development of AI weapons systems research.

As tensions between NATO and Russia continue to rise, notably as a consequence of NATO support for Ukraine in the context of the Ukraine war, the military-industrial complex is also highly active in Poland and the Baltic NATO states as they face multiple potential flashpoints for war with Russia.