My father, an avid reader of history and unwitting owner of many Ludwig von Mises published works, still has trouble getting on the same page as me in regards to American military excesses. Although he is not a Neo-con, per se, he believes that interventionism is justifiable in certain circumstances (including the removal of Saddam Hussein, etc.). He also believes that WWII effectively ended the Great Depression. He raised the difficult to answer (for me, at least) question of, "What harm could WWII have done to our economy before we were physically embedded in the violence and were simply supplying our Allies? Why does that not count as a jump-start for our choked economy?"
What would be some good starter bodies of work for him to read/view that would most persuasively champion the cause of non-interventionism?
Thanks
Will T:unwitting owner of many Ludwig von Mises published works
...as in, they take up space on his shelves because his son gave them to him? ;)
From The Ultimate Beginner meta-thread...
I would also strongly recommend Tom Woods' Meltdown as it not only applies Austrian theory to the latest crisis, he has a chapter in which he goes over WWII as well. Very easy to follow, very well presented. Easily digested material that a man like your dad would actually probably read.
There's also one of the more comprehensive sources, Bob Murphy's The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal.
And on top of that, a couple of recent posts:
Robert Higgs on War (Higgs is basically the go-to Austrian historian on the whole WWII myth)
More Evidence that WW II Didn't End the Great Depression
Parable of the Broken Window for the ww2 question:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG4jhlPLVVs
Also you want to tell him that if we avoided WW1 in the first place, there would likely not have been a WW2. Our intervention caused germany's downfall, which led to the punishment treaty (forgot the fucking name), which put hitler in the perfect place for exploitation. Also if we did not enter in WW2, USSR wouldve won the war and defeated germany anyway (by the time us entered the war, ussr had pushed germany back from its land), also thousands of us soldiers wouldnt have died.
The way War damages economies is because resources are wasted (tanks being built, then destroyed), the currency is inflated, rationed meat/butter.
Check this link out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQnarzmTOc
“Since people are concerned that ‘X’ will not be provided, ‘X’ will naturally be provided by those who are concerned by its absence.""The sweetest of minds can harbor the harshest of men.”
http://voluntaryistreader.wordpress.org
"Did WW2 End The Great Depression" Thread:
http://mises.org/Community/forums/t/19823.aspx