The Current Warfare/Welfare Alternative and the Evidence from Technology

This chapter consists of four parts. The first deals in a principal manner with the past limitations of the dialogue between economic science and peace research. The reasons for this are seen, both in the Smithian and Marxist tradition, in the continued dominance over social science of traditions of social thought which have their origin in the past when military activities were less significant for economic life than they are today. Second, the old ‘bread vs guns’ dichotomy is examined in relation to military spending and economic growth and productivity in countries with different systems and levels of development. This point is substantiated by scrutinising in part III the evidence on the economic dividend of military R&D funding, and by deriving conclusions about demands on future economic analysis of the matter. Fourth, and most importantly, with a view to the unsatisfactory results of economic research into the priority which military programmes enjoy, an argument is submitted about the intertwining of forces of industrialism and militarism, and the oscillation between private enterprises and government establishments in running R&D projects.