CHAPTER XVIII.
THE ARMAMENT TRADE.
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It is fitting that at least a short mention should be made about the armament industry, because of the importance it has acquired in the present stage of world economy.
It is a drain of public resources and public money for the private profit of some business and corporations. It is also a debilitating factor for the struggling economies of the developing Nations.
The beginning of the arms race can be traced to the beginning of our history. In ancient times, with primitive technology and materials, every man, tribe and nation could fabricate their own weapons.
With the development of technology and mass production, mass wars became possible.
The manufacture and the sale of arms became a big and profitable business for some sections of the capitalist class in the industrial countries, and a source of employment for a section of their workforce.
During the 'cold war', with the polarisation of forces in the capitalist and socialist fields, and with the simmering unrest of the emerging Nations trying to adjust after the breakup of the colonial empires, the arms industry has assumed a great importance in the world economy.
To give an indication of the importance of the arms race to an industrial country, nearly fifteen percent of the economy of the United States is related to defence and the armament industry for home and for export.
Could the United States' capitalist economy stand the trauma of total disarmament? Would business and corporations which profit from arms production and have influence in government, be interested in permanent peace? What would happen to the workforce directly and indirectly employed in industries related to the arms race?
We can see clearly the connection between Capitalism and war
There are no rational plans, nor interest, in capitalist ruling circles to facilitate a transition from a war to a peace economy, especially in the present stagnant market situation.
In a planned or guided economy, at least in theory, such transition would be beneficial and could be effected, because the right to work and the sharing of available employment could be guaranteed. There cannot be such guarantees in a capitalist economy because of the reasons that we have examined earlier in the second part of this analysis. One is that there cannot be long term planning, another is that a continuous state of uncertainty and fear of unemployment are an essential part of the mechanism of capitalist production.
Another reason why the arms race is so important for an industrialised capitalist country is that, in a saturated market environment, an escalating and wasteful arms race offers very good opportunities for investment and expansion of capital. The public is taxed to pay for armaments: arms are the ideal commodities because they continually become obsolete, in war they are quickly destroyed, therefore they continually have to be replaced.
These are the main reasons why, in the nature of capitalist economy, most capitalists are moved to prefer the waste and potential dangers of an armament industry rather than the elimination of poverty and insecurity, which would diminish the prospect of war.
Capitalism today is kept in motion by the profits of the merchant, the wants and fears of the worker, and the waste of the products. The arms race, therefore, is an ideal activity for a number of business and corporations.
In the end, it is always society at large that pays for the arms race, especially the poorest sections, because they are deprived of essential commodities and services that could otherwise be available to them.
In the industrial countries the public pays either through taxation or, if they are not in that bracket, through the reduction of resources that could be used for public utilities.
With the armament industry, some sections of the work force are provided with employment and some businesses have an opportunity to make a profit. Therefore, there is a pressure for the maintenance and expansion of the industry. It is a new organism, interacting with the others, within the larger organism of the Nation. This new organism will try its utmost to perpetuate itself and, if possible, to grow, as it seems to be in the nature of all living things.
This is probably another reason, beside the U.S. imperial ambition, why NATO has been kept alive and still growing after the demise of the Soviet Union.
It would be interesting to know just how much of the arms race and the cold war were justified by real threats and how much by the machinations and lobbying of powerful vested interests that profit from the politics of fear.
The same economic necessity which compels all producers to 'export or perish', today applies also to the producers of arms. A very keen competition has developed in this field of export amongst all industrial countries. The main victims of this trade are the populations of many developing nations that are still in a process of adjustment and in turmoil after the trauma of colonial and Neocolonial interference.
These people, besides having to pay for weapons they cannot afford, they are also often subjected to their devastation. To pay for these arms, or to repay the debts incurred to purchase them, these countries have to sell their produce and their raw materials at low prices on the depressed world market, and this will further depress the markets. The populations get no benefit in return, they are under pressure to replace their life subsistence food preoducing agriculture with cash crops to repay their debts. But some merchants and manufacturers are growing fat on the profits of this trade; some governments in the exporting countries congratulate themselves for achieving a favourable balance of trade, and having provided work for their own population. This is the morality of the merchant.
What is the justification for this trade in fear and death? It is mainly capitalist economic necessity: There is profit to be made, capital to be invested, employment to be provided, and these reasons justify everything. Business is Business!
On the personal and moral question, the capitalist merchants and manufacturers of arms say that it is not their responsibility; they claim that all they do is to satisfy a demand for goods and services; Granted, but so do their cousins - the pimps and the criminals.