Can the United States correct itself? Is the balance of forces such that, short of undergoing a major economic and political crisis, the United States can chart a significantly different course? Domestically this would mean a return to New Deal politics and internationally a return to genuine constructive multilateralism. The answer is negative: growing social inequality, political and corporate unaccountability are structurally entrenched, and public forums to address them hardly exist. A case in point is the military-industrial complex as a major source of distortion in the American economy and politics. Privileging military contracts means that the US economy has become uncompetitive.
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