Guilford College, Greensboro NC-1/14-16/2011:
MIC@50: An Ominous Prophecy Fulfilled
Eisenhower's Military Industrial Complex at Fifty

President Eisenhower's solemn warning a half century ago has become a dominant, pervasive reality in American life. And yet the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) is also nearly invisible, rarely mentioned in the media or among social activists.

To mark the 50th anniversary of President Eisenhower's warning, on January 14-16, 2011, this conference undertook to bring the MIC back into the spotlight, as a key factor shaping our society and public life. Our program combined critical scholarship with activism, analysis of the past with practical discussion about plans for challenge and change.

MIC@50 was conceived by Quaker House, a peace project which has been at work since 1969 next door to Fort Bragg in Fayetteville NC. It is presented jointly with the Friends Center at Guilford College, a Quaker institution founded in 1837.

• Find out more about Quaker House here.
• More about the Friends Center at Guilford here.

As President Eisenhower said:

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex… Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

Read the full Farewell Address here.