military-industrial complex
- noun
- /ˈmɪlɪˌtɛri ɪnˈdʌstrɪəl ˈkɒmplɛks/
- Literature
- We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.
- Russia's military-industrial complex
Couldn't wait to start a war so that the military industrial complex could highly profit off of it.
- Couldn't wait to start a war so that the military industrial complex could highly profit off of it.
- Our politicians are blackmailed by that dark corner of the military industrial complex.
- And unless Joe Biden takes a stand against the military industrial complex and being like we need to pull back.
- They have no problem funding the war and the bombs and the military industrial complex.
- So if you look back at JFK, you've got the the military industrial complex that we were warned about.
- They are former top leadership of the military that's now embedded within the military industrial complex companies.
- Well, you know, some of the greatest innovation in technology obviously comes from war and the military industrial complex.
- So like, you know, like the the military industrial complex, they will contract private military companies, send him overseas.
- In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex.
- And Lenin was obviously challenging the, the military industrial complex and all that stuff.
- Well, let's see, we got future warfare, the industrial, the military industrial complex.
- It's worth noting that the military industrial complex, first, they're very slow, almost intentionally.
- Well, well, since a lot of that is government, what's the relation to socialism and the military industrial complex?
- I mean, the total support of the military industrial complex and empire and war by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton is staggering.
- Well, that kind of does everything that the military industrial complex about which President Eisenhower warned would would want to do.
Examples
-
With the end of the Cold War, the premise of the military-industrial complex is being redefined.
Academic text (1993) -
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought by the military industrial complex.
-
If you think about what the industrial part is of the military industrial complex.
-
Only the military industrial complex could afford to build something this size.
-
Can you explain to us what the military industrial complex is and how the CIA plays a part in it?
-
They support the military industrial complex, but they do not support the men and women that serve.
-
The military-industrial complex once brought up to $3 billion annually to the budget.
-
In a number of countries, the "military-industrial complex" is among the most dynamic sectors in the economy.
Academic text (1995) -
Even Eisenhower, military hero of WWII, warned us about it: "beware the military-industrial complex," he said.
Fiction book (1991) -
During his farewell address, President Eisenhower warned about the potential dangers of the military-industrial complex and its influence on government policy.
Surface Forms
Morphology
military-industrial + complex
A learner who knows 'military' (armed forces), 'industrial' (related to industry) and a general sense of 'complex' as a cluster or interconnected group can plausibly infer this refers to a close relationship or network linking the armed forces and defence industries. However, the specialised political connotation — a powerful, institutionalised alliance exerting influence — is not fully predictable from the basic word meanings alone, so the expression is only partly transparent (and many languages have a comparable term, which aids but does not fully guarantee comprehension).
Etymology
Military-industrial complex comes from a warning by President Eisenhower. He pictured the military as the army and other forces and the industrial part as companies that make weapons joining into a powerful complex or group, so the phrase today means a strong network that can 'influence' government decisions.