[ExI] extropy-chat Digest, Vol 75, Issue 2

[Mirco Romanato]

Il 02/12/2009 21.17, Alfio Puglisi ha scritto:

> 2009/12/2 Mirco Romanato <painlord2k at libero.it
> <mailto:painlord2k at libero.it>>

>     Liberal, market oriented society don't go in war against each other,
>     nor they go in war against other if not heavily provoked and menaced.
>     Mobilizing an Army is too costly to be done for long. It divert
>     productive young people from more useful jobs and clearly is a bad
>     investment.

> I am not so sure. The US is arguably the most free-market oriented
> nation in the world, and still it spends a huge amount of GDP on its
> military, as much or more than the rest of the world combined. Soviet
> Russia in its days, somewhat the opposite politically, also spent large
> amounts of money to the same end. I don't see much correlation.

The difference is the relative size of the economy.
http://www.truthandpolitics.org/military-relative-size.php
The % of the GDP spent on defense is shrinking over the time, as the GDP 
grow. It went over 10% only during the WW2 and a few years during the 
'50s (build up of nuclear arsenal?). Currently is around 4% (and the 
disponsable spending share is reducing - more is tied to salaries and 
fixed costs).

USSR spending went, in peace time, from estimated 15% to 25% and maybe 
more (depend on how data is compounded - like the climate stuff - 
usually the soviet don't included the money spent to pay the soldiers 
and their upkeep). 15% or 25% of a smaller economy.

Smaller economy than the U.S.S.R. like Ethiopia (Soviet backed) spent 
30-50% and more in their military. In effect, these government were in a 
constant war against their populations, so it is understandable they 
needed so much money for theirs armies.

I think it is smart to devote 5-10% of own earnings to security 
(depending on the security risks present or foreseeable). It is like an 
insurance against bad outcomes, where the insurance level help to reduce 
the bad outcomes frequencies and not to repay for the damages after. We 
also spend money in funding police (internal security), so why not 
spending it in external security also?

The trick is to spend wisely and the needed (or a bit more) and not too 
much (that will cripple  the economy) or not enough (that will be not 
useful to dissuade, repel them or preempt them).

Mirco
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