Modern War's Subtler Threat to Democracy

America in 2014 is in no imminent danger of slipping into authoritarian rule. Nor are Ashton Carter’s scientific credentials a sign that the United States is becoming a technocratic state beyond the reach of political accountability in matters of war and peace. But it is time for US citizens to recognize that, manned by volunteers and mercenaries, powered by high-tech machinery, and financed substantially by foreign-floated government debt, America’s war machine is increasingly off the public’s radar. Only if Americans acknowledge the historical reality that they owe their voice in politics – both their motivation to participate and the seriousness with which they are heard – to a military priority on the common defense, will they undertake the vigilance required to keep US democracy healthy.