Scott talks to Ryan McMaken about nuclear proliferation. McMaken describes two lessons that other countries have learned from the U.S. about nukes: (1) America will use the threat of an emerging nuclear program as an excuse for invasion, as it did in Iraq and threatens to do in Iran, and (2) America has so far been unwilling to make serious threats against any nuclear-armed country. Although the first trend seems like it would be an obstacle for any country wishing to protect itself from the threat of war with the U.S., North Korea provides a recent example of a country that chose to pursue a deterrent nuclear program. But although it greatly lessens the possibility of war, this isn’t necessarily a good thing. A nuclear-armed world may make us safer in some immediate respects, but overall, only greatly increases the possibility of disastrous global conflict.

Discussed on the show:

• “”Weapons of Mass Destruction”: The Last Refuge of the Global Interventionist” (Mises Institute)

Ryan McMaken is a senior editor at the Mises Institute. He has degrees in economics and political science from the University of Colorado, and was the economist for the Colorado Division of Housing from 2009 to 2014. He is the author of Commie Cowboys: The Bourgeoisie and the Nation-State in the Western Genre.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Photo IQ; Green Mill Supercritical; Zippix Toothpicks; and Listen and Think Audio.

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