This link has been bookmarked by 8 people . It was first bookmarked on 13 Nov 2007, by Marco Díaz Calleja.
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15 Oct 13
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Noam Chomsky, a critic of military Keynesianism, contends that military Keynesianism offers the state advantages over non-military Keynesianism. Specifically, military Keynesianism can be implemented with less public interest and participation. "Social spending may well arouse public interest and participation, thus enhancing the threat of democracy; the public cares about hospitals, roads, neighborhoods, and so on, but has no opinion about the choice of missiles and high-tech fighter planes." Essentially, when the public is less interested in the details of state spending, it affords the state increased discretion in how it spends money.[5]
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10 Nov 11
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In fact, the English economist John Maynard Keynes advocated that government spending be used to "in the interests of peace and prosperity" instead of "war and destruction"
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13 Nov 07
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Military Keynesianism is a government economic policy in which the government devotes large amounts of spending to the military in an effort to increase economic growth.
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this direct spending induces a multiplier effect of general consumer spending
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increased military demand for goods and services is generated directly by government spending
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military might act as an employer of last resort
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military spending on research and development (R&D) increases the productivity of the civilian sector by generating new infrastructure and advanced technology.
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cycle of constant war and continually high military spending.
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ignores what the baker would have bought had he not been forced to buy a new window
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It requires high levels of taxation to fund military spending, and that taxation must come from the productive sectors in the economy, thus being a long term drag on economic growth
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policies are no longer viable for developed countries because military strength is now built on high-technology professional armies
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Examples of Military Keynesianism
There have been no clear cut historical example of military Keynesianism in action. 1930s Germany, which rebuilt a crippled economy with enormous military production under a National Socialist government has been cited as an example of military Keynesianism. This example illustrates both the potential positives of such policies in generating rapid growth, and also the negative social effects presented by critics, however the aim of heightened German military production in the 1930s was preparation for the Second World War.
In today’s discourse, the term is most frequently discussed in relation to the United States, particularly the administration of President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. Reagan’s administration pushed for significant tax cuts, while increasing military spending to combat the Soviet Union. While this was in practice a policy suggestive of military Keynesianism, Reagan’s reasoning for the policy was not that it would spur economic growth, but that military spending was necessary to combat Communism.
For many in the United States worried about the adoption of these economic policies, fears of this were somewhat averted by reduced military spending in the 1990s in what was commonly described as a peace dividend for the end of the Cold War. However, the ongoing "War on Terrorism" and current Iraq War have brought such concerns to prominence once more.
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