7.4.6 Economic Pressures on Military Activity
There are conflicting economic pressures on military activity: ongoing affordability, the desire to make arms sales, and the cost of war.
Defence spending is necessary if a country wants to use military force, either to protect itself or for aggressive purposes. It includes the costs of equipment and ammunition, the people in the armed services and the public servants who administer the spending.
If a country engages in military action, or provides support to another country for that purpose, it consumes materiel and that increases its defence spending.
A foreign policy that includes the use of military force, realpolitik (6.7.7.4), is expensive. An Independent Institute article, The Cold War Economy, recorded that American defence spending during the Cold War arms-race averaged 7.7% of its Gross National Product (GNP).
A popular desire for a strong military capability is a factor when considering the overall size of the budget. The Republican Platform 2016, for example, put these words in first place:
“We dedicate this platform with admiration and gratitude
* * * * *
To all who stand strong in the face of danger
So that the American people may be protected against it —
The men and women of our military….”
The Republicans won the election, so they must have correctly judged American public attitudes at that time.
Politicians govern public spending in democracies (6.7.1), and the cost of defence competes with other political priorities. And there are other considerations – as described in the following sub-sections:
● A country makes a security assessment when deciding how much to spend on its defence (7.4.6.1). It can reduce, but not completely eliminate, its defence spending by joining an alliance.
● Defence forces can be used to keep the population in check, to prop up a government, but sometimes they take over in a military coup (7.4.6.2).
● A defence manufacturing industry can create jobs, pay taxes, and make exports – benefiting the economy (7.4.6.3). Its supply chain is a potential vulnerability, though.
● The sale of arms to other countries can be used to strengthen allies and weaken enemies (7.4.6.4). International security can be adversely affected, by making weapons available to the combatants.
● Military action can be sub-contracted, to supplement a country’s own army (7.4.6.5). This also allows a government to distance itself from the issues arising in a conflict zone.
● The total cost of wars is much higher than the spending on the manpower and equipment deployed (7.4.6.6), as illustrated by the cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It includes the cost of reconstructing infrastructure, people’s medical costs, and the loss of productive capacity due to injuries. And there is an enormous social cost: the loss of life, the damage to people’s lives and the flows of refugees.
This page is intended to form part of Edition 4 of the Patterns of Power series of books. An archived copy of it is held at https://www.patternsofpower.org/edition04/746.htm.