Scott Horton: The Case Against War and the Military Industrial Complex | Lex Fridman Podcast #478
Lex Fridman
Aug 24, 2025
Scott Horton argues that U.S. foreign policy is driven by a 'conspiracy of interests' rather than national security. By manufacturing threats and exploiting bureaucratic incentives, the state creates perpetual instability, ensuring that the military-industrial complex remains permanently engaged and profitable, regardless of the human or economic cost.
Key insight: The military-industrial complex is described as a 'self-licking ice cream cone'—it creates the very chaos it is then paid to fix, ensuring its own survival through endless intervention.
