Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
effects of war on national economy
effects of war on the economy
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: effects of war on national economy
One of the more enduring myths in Western society is that wars are somehow good for the economy. Many people see a great deal of evidence to support this myth, after all World War II came directly after the Great Depression. This faulty belief stems from a misunderstanding of the economic way of thinking. The standard "a war gives the economy a boost" argument goes as follows: Let's suppose that the economy is in the low end of the business cycle, so we're in a recession or just a period of low economic growth. The unemployment rate is high, people may be making less purchases than they were a year or two ago, and overall output is flat. But then the country decides to prepare for war! The government needs to equip its soldiers with the extra gear and munitions needed in order to win the war. Corporations win contracts to supply boots, and bombs and vehicles to the army. Many of these companies will have to hire extra workers in order to meet this increased production. If the preparations for war are large enough, large numbers of workers will be hired reducing the unemployment rate. Other workers may need to be hired to cover reservists in private sector jobs who get sent overseas. With the unemployment rate down we have more people spending again and people who had jobs before will be less worried about losing their job in the future so they'll spend more than they did. This extra spending will help the retail sector, who will need to hire extra employees causing unemployment to drop even further. A spiral of positive economic activity is created by the government preparing for war, if you believe the story. The flawed logic of the story is an example of something economists call The Broken Window Fallacy. The Broken ... ... middle of paper ... ... a factor of production which will certainly help economic growth. 2. Stability and Economic Growth in the Middle East If peace can somehow be established in the Middle East, the U.S. government might not have to spend as much money on the military as they do now. If the economies of the countries in the middle east become more stable and experience growth, this will give them more opportunities to trade with the United States, improving both the economies of those countries and the U.S. Personally I do not see those factors outweighing the short term costs of the war in Iraq, but you can make a case for them. In the short term, however, the economy will decline due to the war as shown by the Broken Window Fallacy. Next time you hear someone discuss the economic benefits of the war, please tell them a little story about a window breaker and a shopkeeper.
Horwitz, Steven, and Michael J. McPhillips. "The Reality of the Wartime Economy: More Historical Evidence on Whether World War II Ended the Great Depression." Independent Review Vol. 17, No. 3 (2013): n. pag. Questia School. Web. 2 May 2014.
“However, it seems he ¬¬–Eisenhower, never considered how easily our leaders would turn to borrowing to continue feeding the military-industrial complex war beast. Look at America's financial and social conditions today and consider the validity of Eisenhower's warnings expressed more than five decades ago. One truly unfortunate side effect of the military industry's quest for growth is that wars must be fought to justify and increase demand for its products.”
final reason that I am going to talk about is the cost of the war for
World War II began in 1939, and one definitely can’t say that it was enjoyable. Food was rationed, luxuries were removed, taxes were high and work was dangerous. But the war employed about 16 million people, 22 percent of the pre-war labor force, to work in the military. But that didn’t fully solve the problem, because war is expensive. Funding World War II made the national debt rise from $49 billion in 1941 to about $260 billion in 1945. There’s no evidence that wartime spending restored the labor market to health. So it basically just postponed the recovery of the economy.
War models are essential in demonstrating correlations between theory-associated variables and the risk of war. The econometric model built by Collier and Hoeffler, for instance, provides a fair war measurement by demonstrating opportunity as a source of conflict. It includes predominant variables such as Primary commodity exports, GDP per capita, GDP per growth and population. In most cases, low GDP per capita and slow growth rate increase the risk of war because they provided a low opportunity cost for rebellion. This corresponds to the phenomenon in which many countries that underwent civil war over the period 1960-1999 were poor developing countries such as Congo, Sudan and Zimbabwe. Yugoslavia likewise underwent an economic breakdown in 1989, shortly before the outbreak of wars in 1992. A poor overall economy generates social tensions, leading to war. Meanwhile, a high dependency on Pr...
... unnecessary deaths. Entire economies would be devastated. War can also cause serious psychological trauma for the individuals engaged in combat. However, protecting peace, security, tranquility, and freedom in the world doesn't come at an easy price. The price is regular civilians taking a pledge to devote their lives to utilizing military force to protect those they serve.
This imposes problems on the military and even on the government. One article states that, “Reduced budgets and the threat of sequestration create a sense of uneasiness in the ranks, and those fears are fueled by politicians willing to shut down the federal government rather than compromise.” (Army Magazine) This is because with the increase of budget cuts they start to cause problems for the ones who are working and this creates lost jobs in the military. No one wants to lose their job not even the ones that have put forth a great amount of time and effort in the military. For the ones that have been in the military for a long period of time this can actually have negative effects on their life style and even cause problems when returning
Pascall, Glenn R., and Robert D. Lamson. Beyond Guns & Butter: Recapturing America's Economic Momentum after a Military Decade. Washington: Brassey's, 1991. Print.
One pro to entering the war is there would be more job opportunities available. With all the men leaving for war, jobs will open up. This could be an opportunity for unemployed people to get a job including some women. The United States getting involved in the war will also increase the need for supplies and weapons. Some things we will need will be guns, airplanes, and tanks. These will have to be made by United States’ people which will lead to new job opportunities.
Should the government decrease military spending or should it increase military spending? This is a question that many Americans wrestle with, and politically speaking, is a point of great contention since to many, military might evokes a sense of security. However, when considering this question from a foreign policy standpoint, does current military spending really match the current level of threats faced by the United States, or are too many dollars being allocated for an unnecessary level of military strength? There are certainly cons in making the decision to drastically lower military spending, but they are minimal when compared to the positive ramifications such a decision would have. This paper aims to explore these pros and cons
What does the United States have to gain from a war with Iraq? Supporters of a war with Iraq say it will help prevent the risk of an attack by a weapons of mass destruction developed by Iraq. Critics of a military action that say nothing will be gained, and the U.S. just wants to obtain the oil that Iraq controls. They claim that casualties will be too costly for America to afford. Nonetheless, America should act while others will not for fear of disturbing global peace. Iraq poses a “clear and present danger” to the security of the United States and the security of countries around the world.
... war does not benefit anyone except the U.S. It is obvious that the US wants to get Iraq’s resources and bring peace into its country. However, to do so, the US has to provide many negative affects to the rest of the world. Actually, Saddam Hussein is bad guy who causes many problems. However, there is no reason that many people have to die for him. I hope we can avoid this possible war for world peace.
There is one last main effect from war. It is the effect on towns and communities. It ruins towns and communities by ruining families and children. You can think of it as a link chain: the families and children are the links of the chain, and the town is the whole chain. If one family gets ruined, the link is gone, making it an incomplete chain or town.
Teaching young men how to survive in horrible conditions while America is at peace is a necessity in order to successfully overwhelm and capture a country. If America stays the way it is now and another country such as Russia tries to invade the US, there won’t be enough experienced soldiers and most American citizens wouldn’t even know what to do. That’s why America needs to reinforce conscription in order to be prepared for these worst case scenarios. This also would boost the economy by creating more job opportunities, because people would work and invest in the private sector of the armed forces. Entrepreneurs would heavily focus on the arms market as well as supplementary training camps. As everyone knows a nation can have a strong and large army available, but if your economy is too fragile and can collapse easily then the soldiers could wave the white flag right ahead just like what basically happened to Germany in the Second World War.
War has been around for centuries. From the time modern civilizations began, war has played an integral part in human history. It shaped the world into the modern world we live in. War has been said to be a great motivator, for example, the Great Wall of China was built to fend off the attackers from the north. However, the negative aspects of war far outweighs any positive effects it might have. The destruction of civilizations, cities and countries, mass killings of men, woman and children alike, the disastrous effect it has on economy and the after effects of war can last for centuries.