In general, the US has boxed itself into a corner. It has largely deindustrialized itself (outside of weapons) and basically has the entire economy revolving around empire. There is no “Plan B”.

Even timid things like universal healthcare or public tuition can’t happen because it’ll make people less likely to join the military. It’s scary but if the US would actually commit to peace, the economy would sink to that of “undeveloped” economies. What actually exists, agriculture and the entertainment industry, that’s about it.

I haven't read the full article but yes, this goes back to post-war Stanford University under Fred Terman creating the virtuous cycle between universities receiving DoD funding for research, companies subcontracting out professors to develop intellectual property, and products from the companies benefitting the government. It created silicon valley out of ICBMs. It became the model all schools followed because it gave access to near-unlimited government funding, and there is no escaping the cycle of supporting imperialism without a new funding mechanism

Wow this an excellent write up. Thanks for sharing.