"This article examines the bonds between a dominant neo-liberalism, the reference paradigm in the US and Europe despite the theoretical invalidation of some of its dogmatic assertions and its inadequacy in the real world, and world peace, a universal collective public good. To ensure the stability of the neoliberal order and its own hegemony, the US uses militarism as a means of regulating the economy. On the basis of Galbraith’s report on the utility of war, the paper questions the concept of war as a factor for progress and social cohesion. Neo-liberalism and militarism take the form of contradictory injunctions in the US (missile defense and positive peace; permanent war and impossible peace) and in Europe (legal order and positive peace; absence of European missile defense and absence of move toward permanent peace). Faced with increases in global disorders, militarism could be a component of macroeconomic regulation in a profitable process of destruction."