America and its Past war economy
There is very little doubt that a 'true' war is one of the most economically sound events in which a government could participate. War is good for business. Excluding the enormous cost of life and other social and political ramifications, war is one of the best things that can happen to a society. Both Malthaus and Marx argue that capitalist societies require war to survive and expand. Throughout history there are many examples of how wars have stimulated economies and created new avenues of development for industry. In fact much of the development of countries such as the United States, happened during and directly after wars. Erik Janeway insists that "War had been the direct and immediate cause of America's cycles of expansion. War has become an increasingly good opportunity for businesses and government. This was particularly so after the employment of Keynes' economic theories in World War Two. Keynes suggested that in order to stimulate an economy, there must be an increase in deficits. After this increase in deficits, more and more employment will be created, spending will increase and the wealth and more importantly industry of the country will increase. This is actually the basic model of a wartime economy. As soo
This helps to sustain defence industry in places such as the United States. Health care, social security, hospitals and especially education usually suffer the most during wars. With so much extra spending, 'wartime' economies begin to boom. For investors there is an increasing opportunity for successful ventures. Particularly through ownership of factories that produce goods for the armed services. Peacekeeping spending also contributes to the permanent wartime economies that have developed throughout the world. Economists such as AJ Brown, suggest that there has been the development of a permanent wartime economy. Governments used to start spending money to win the war, but as soon as the war was won, or lost for that matter, resources were moved from defence to other areas. Governments are usually forced to 'catch up' whilst paying their inevitably enormous war time debt. Such situations exist at levels below a conventional war but above the routine, peaceful, competition amongst the states' . Furthermore, for lower positioned nations wars are considered disastrous. This may however, be because the world community is unwilling to label most modern conflicts as wars. For example, one most consider the financial aftermath of wartime economies. Wars can often end with both the victorious and defeated parties in severe debt leading to economic slumps. Due to these low intensity conflicts, America's economy does not reap the benefits of a war time economy.
Common topics in this essay:
Cold War,
War Keynes,
World War,
AJ Brown,
World Bank,
Malthaus Marx,
,
Erik Janeway,
wartime economies,
wartime economy,
world war,
low intensity conflicts,
forced 'catch up',
permanent wartime,
torn countries,
nations wars,
wars governments,
forced 'catch,
war torn countries,
'catch up',
true wars,
|
Acceptance Essays
