Economie du désarmement

War has always been present in the history of mankind, but its relations with the economy have always been dangerous. In this context, the economic analysis of disarmament is recent, mainly present since the last quarter of the 20th century, with mixed and often contradictory results. However, many economists have addressed this question directly or indirectly, from Ricardo to Marx, from Veblen to Keynes, from Pareto to Schumpeter. Disarmament has been analysed as a mainly political factor whose macroeconomic consequences must be measured and on the procedures for converting the arms industries, for other economists it is a utopia in the light of imperialism, of the warlike character of the capitalism and economic conflicts still present. The German historical school insists rather on the usefulness of wars just like certain American economic analyses of the military-industrial complex. Arms race models have highlighted the difficulty of disarmament without political mediation. Finally, UN analyses on disarmament for development have highlighted the difficulties inherent in this strategy.