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Forever War.
Not just a shooting war.
Propagate the perception of a threat and maintain it indefinitely.
Place no limits upon drawing from the attention and resources of a population in the creation of the increasingly expensive and sophisticated technologies required to resolve this problem.
Recognise this lucrative structure for what it is. A problem is deliberately maintained and never resolved, to permit a deep mine to be drilled into the resources of a now highly motivated population.
However, a Forever War cannot be sustained by a fiction. The threat that sustains a Forever War must be a real threat. It can be no weak conspiracy. It must be a clear and present danger, ripe for exploitation. If built upon such a firm foundation, this Forever War may never end.
This might make us wonder if the Forever War described by Haldeman need not be a shooting war.
What other global crises could be framed as a Forever War ?
Does the provision of sustainable technology offer everything required to foment a Forever War?
A fearful population are surrounded by an existential threat.
Sophisticated technology is required to defeat this indistinct but implacable foe.
Victory can be collectively funded from each directly, or indirectly via a tax obligation, or financed with inflationary stealth. Perhaps all three, simultaneously. We could realise many new sources of revenue.
Victory seems ill-defined and decades away.
If victory never arrives these collective obligations will become permanent.
Why would this Forever War ever end?
A population made fearful must confront the formidable foe of climate change with all the weapons we can supply. The bigger our army, the more weapons they will require. The more ammunition they can expend, the more we must…
