defined as those which have developed the capacity to produce more than is
required for their economic survival (regardless of the equities of distribution of
goods within them), military spending can be said to furnish the only balance
wheel with sufficient inertia to stabilize the advance of their economies. The
fact that war is "wasteful" is what enables it to serve this function. And the
faster the economy advances, the heavier this balance wheel must be.
This function is often viewed, oversimply, as a device for the control of
surpluses. One writer on the subject puts it this way: "Why is war so wonderful?
Because it creates artificial demand...the only kind of artificial demand,
moreover, that does not raise any political issues: war, and only war, solves the
problem of inventory." The reference here is to shooting war, but it applies
equally to the general war economy as well. "It is generally agreed," concludes,
more cautiously, the report of a panel set up by the U.S. Arms Control and
Disarmament Agency, "that the greatly expanded public sector since World War
II, resulting from heavy defense expenditures, has provided additional
protection against depressions, since this sector is not responsive to con-
traction in the private sector and has provided a sort of buffer or balance wheel
in the economy."
The principal economic function of war, in our view, is that it provides just such
a flywheel. It is not to be confused in function with the various forms of fiscal
control, none of which directly engages vast numbers of control, none of which
directly engages vast numbers of men and units of production. It is not to be
confused with massive government expenditures in social welfare programs;
once initiated, such programs normally become integral parts of the general
economy and are no longer subject to arbitrary control.
But even in the context of the general civilian economy war cannot be
considered wholly "wasteful." Without a long-established war economy, and
without its frequent eruption into large-scale shooting war, most of the major
industrial advances known to history, beginning with the development of iron,
could never have taken place. Weapons technology structures the economy.
According to the writer cited above, "Nothing is more ironic or revealing about
our society than the fact that hugely destructive war is a very progressive force
in it. ... War production is progressive because it is production that would not
otherwise have taken place. (It is not so widely appreciated, for example, that
the civilian standard of living rose during World War II.)" This is not "ironic or
revealing," but essentially a simple statement of fact.
It should also be noted that the war production has a dependably stimulating
effect outside itself. Far from constituting a "wasteful" drain on the economy,
required for their economic survival (regardless of the equities of distribution of
goods within them), military spending can be said to furnish the only balance
wheel with sufficient inertia to stabilize the advance of their economies. The
fact that war is "wasteful" is what enables it to serve this function. And the
faster the economy advances, the heavier this balance wheel must be.
This function is often viewed, oversimply, as a device for the control of
surpluses. One writer on the subject puts it this way: "Why is war so wonderful?
Because it creates artificial demand...the only kind of artificial demand,
moreover, that does not raise any political issues: war, and only war, solves the
problem of inventory." The reference here is to shooting war, but it applies
equally to the general war economy as well. "It is generally agreed," concludes,
more cautiously, the report of a panel set up by the U.S. Arms Control and
Disarmament Agency, "that the greatly expanded public sector since World War
II, resulting from heavy defense expenditures, has provided additional
protection against depressions, since this sector is not responsive to con-
traction in the private sector and has provided a sort of buffer or balance wheel
in the economy."
The principal economic function of war, in our view, is that it provides just such
a flywheel. It is not to be confused in function with the various forms of fiscal
control, none of which directly engages vast numbers of control, none of which
directly engages vast numbers of men and units of production. It is not to be
confused with massive government expenditures in social welfare programs;
once initiated, such programs normally become integral parts of the general
economy and are no longer subject to arbitrary control.
But even in the context of the general civilian economy war cannot be
considered wholly "wasteful." Without a long-established war economy, and
without its frequent eruption into large-scale shooting war, most of the major
industrial advances known to history, beginning with the development of iron,
could never have taken place. Weapons technology structures the economy.
According to the writer cited above, "Nothing is more ironic or revealing about
our society than the fact that hugely destructive war is a very progressive force
in it. ... War production is progressive because it is production that would not
otherwise have taken place. (It is not so widely appreciated, for example, that
the civilian standard of living rose during World War II.)" This is not "ironic or
revealing," but essentially a simple statement of fact.
It should also be noted that the war production has a dependably stimulating
effect outside itself. Far from constituting a "wasteful" drain on the economy,
