Michael Swanson > Quotes

“Khrushchev, on October 12, 1964, his fellow Presidium members called him to a meeting and told him they were removing him from power. “Obviously it will now be as you wish,” he told them, “what can I say—‌I got what I deserved. I’m ready for anything…‌We face a lot of problems, and at my age, it isn’t easy to cope with them all. We’ve got to promote younger people. Some people today lack courage and integrity…‌But that’s not the issue now. Someday, history will tell the whole profound truth about what is”
― Michael Swanson, The War State: The Cold War Origins Of The Military-Industrial Complex And The Power Elite, 1945-1963

“Government is conceived as a keeper of the peace, a referee of controversies, and an adjustor of abuses; not as a regulator of the people, or the business and personal activities.”
― Michael Swanson, The War State: The Cold War Origins Of The Military-Industrial Complex And The Power Elite, 1945-1963

“As Albert Einstein said, “I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV”
― Michael Swanson, The War State: The Cold War Origins Of The Military-Industrial Complex And The Power Elite, 1945-1963

“Bernays argued that “the conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”
― Michael Swanson, The War State: The Cold War Origins Of The Military-Industrial Complex And The Power Elite, 1945-1963

“coincidental”
― Michael Swanson, The War State: The Cold War Origins Of The Military-Industrial Complex And The Power Elite, 1945-1963

“In hindsight, looking back from today, we can tell that the rate of Soviet economic growth actually peaked in the late 1950s and entered a downward spiral until it ultimately collapsed in the 1980s. This trend was only interrupted by an increase in oil prices in the 1970s, which helped Russia generate profits from the export of oil. In 1962, meat production ended up being only 40 percent of what the Soviets expected it to be. By the start of 1963, Khrushchev gave speeches preparing people for the reality that their standard of living was not going to go up as fast as he had promised, blaming it on the Cold War.243”
― Michael Swanson, The War State: The Cold War Origins Of The Military-Industrial Complex And The Power Elite, 1945-1963

“the meeting riding in a limo and left driving a Volga sedan. Later in the evening, Khrushchev told Mikoyan, “Could anyone have dreamed of telling Stalin that he didn’t suit us anymore and suggesting that he retire? Not even a wet spot would have remained where he had been standing. Now everything’s different…‌That’s my contribution.”303”
― Michael Swanson, The War State: The Cold War Origins Of The Military-Industrial Complex And The Power Elite, 1945-1963

“Were the Soviet Union to sink tomorrow under the waters of the ocean, the American military-industrial complex would have to remain, substantially unchanged, until some other adversary could be invented. Anything else would be an unacceptable shock to the American economy.” - George Kennan, 19871”
― Michael Swanson, The War State: The Cold War Origins Of The Military-Industrial Complex And The Power Elite, 1945-1963