People will point out that US health does get a decent chunk of money, though they’ll leave out that it goes to others (insurance profit) so the care part doesn’t actually get that value. Like how US spends more just in tax per-capita than many countries with universal care spend total, but we get significantly less for it.
So really it should mirror the war table but with a fat CEO or two smoking a cigar, with the emaciated doctor excluded from the table.
Hey, now. Sciences gets a little bit on their dish when it makes something for war.
It’s a sausage, shaped like an A-bomb
Science is in the kitchen, redoing the duck confit for the third fucking time.
Anti-Chef, is that you?
Context: this is translated image from soviet magazine issued in 1953, right after Stalin’s death.
Also Sciences table is Libraries table.
Valid criticism, even though Soviet Union fell victim to the very same thing later on
This just proves we are not getting smarter as time goes on.
No really we are.
The Wermacht absorbed 25% of Germany’s GDP in 1944. Today it doesn’t reach 1.4%. Even Russia is spending “only” 6% of its GDP on its army, and the US 3%.
Can you fucking imagine the US spending 25% of its gdp on the military? Jesus fuck we could build a death star
I am sure that is currently in planning
Somehow, MacArthur returned…
There was once a Congressional Petition that got enough signatures to be read aloud in the US House of Representatives but it got rejected on the floor.
Probably Jeff Bezos’s next project.
Well, Germany was in an all-out war that was fought partially on their soil. It was very obvious to the Nazi leadership that there was a very real risk of losing that war.
That’s not comparable at all to the wars the USA or Russia have fought in this century. Even in WW2 there was never any serious risk of anyone invading the USA.
The last time the USA has had a war on their territory that actually threatened the existance of the USA was, I guess, the civil war.
If it was about the existance of the USA, they’d also be spending a little more on the war effort.
(Just to make sure that nobody misunderstands me: Nazis are scum and as an Austrian I am really happy they lost the war. I was just talking about defence spending strategy.)
Fair objection, but my point still stands.
Let’s check US post-WWII military spending and you notice a definite trend down as a % of the GDP: https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/military-spending-defense-budget
Same in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and most big spenders. Now I’m not going to analyze every single country, and I’m sure you can find exceptions, but my bet is that at least in Western democracies the trend is down.
Because there hasn’t been any credible threat for decades.
But now that Russia is back as an evil “superpower”, defence spending is sharply rising in Europe.
And so far there is no real indication that Russia will ever take the Ukraine let alone attack the EU/NATO. If Russia or China were to directly attack NATO, you’d see defense spending going up pretty sharply.
But even now, nobody believes that Russia or China will dare to attack NATO in the near future. It probably will be limited to a proxy war (proxy for the NATO side) in the Ukraine and/or Taiwan.
Your point does not explain
- Why US military expenditure decreased even during the Cold War
- Why China’s military expenditure is going down: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS?locations=CN
As to Ukraine, Russia tried. And as to the future, I’m afraid I don’t have a crystal ball.
Still, the assertion that war expenditure trumps everything else in today’s West is provably false.
If you don’t plot defence spending against GDP but use absolute values it’s higher now than ever: https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/military-spending-defense-budget
Most of the fluctuations you can see in the GDP based graph are caused by GDP fluctuations, not by defence spending fluctuations.
And since the US GDP rose much more than inflation, the military also got more actual value from that defence budget. From 1960 to 2021, the cumulative inflation in the USA is 815% (+100%, since the inflation only measures increase not the value that was originally there). In the same time the GDP rose to 4564%, so 5 times faster. So if you have the same % of GDP defence spending in 1960 as you have now, the military has 5x the budget, adjusted to inflation.
China is in a similar boat, but much more extreme. China’s defence spending vs GDP stayed pretty much on the same level since 1990. But in the same time their GDP rose from $361 billions to $17.7 trillions. Their GDP multiplied by a factor of 49 and so did their defence spending. Inflation over the same time was just 107% (again +100% to make our calculation correct). So adjusted for inflation, their military spending went up by a factor of 23.6.
TLDR: Your measurement measures the wrong thing, so you get the illusion that spending goes down while it actually increases quite a lot.
Still, the assertion that war expenditure trumps everything else in today’s West is provably false.
I never argued that. Though it’s not hard to argue that government funds are precious and could be used elsewhere to better effect.
And I never argued that military expenditure was going down in absolute value. But if we return to the comic strip, it absolutely suggests that governments are devoting to defense a similar share of GDP as 80 years ago, as exemplified by “war” getting all the money while others are left without. This is hyperbole at best.
defence spending is sharply rising in Europe.
From “nothing” to “almost nothing”
That’s a good distinction. Even most anti-war people would probably do everything in their power to repel an existential threat on their soil, to say nothing of the cost.
Wonder what Ukraine’s GDP spending percent is?
And Healthcare in the USA is between 18-20%.
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Why didn’t we become smarter? isn’t it’s time already
To understand as a matter of fact that more important
To stop the clutter of hammer of war?
Elysium, Tanks
Well, our systems and societies grow ever more complex and stable, but yes there was a sudden drop in average IQ due to leaded anti-knocking agents being added to fuel, among other pollutants affecting development.
Metal Gear solid is what really opened my eyes to a global economy being supported by war. I know war and conflict is to an extent, part of being human. But it’s been monetized and it’s become too big to fail.
The military industrial complex has become too big to fail, because it is jobs provider for many places that don’t have much resources. It’s not a coincidence that many defense contractors are headquartered in peripheral regions like the American South West desert and Scotland. These places don’t have much to offer in terms of resources so they became dependent on the industry. Either that, or they become tax haven like other small entities like Ireland, Luxembourg and Seychelles.
I’m not trying to justify the existence of MICs by the way, I’m explaining why the industry became intertwined. Although, I believe there is just war if a country is either provoked or to stop atrocities, such as the NATO intervention in Yugslav wars and supporting Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
Yeah, the writing in that game was too on point.
They did a great job of blending the surreal nature of MGS with the real world and current events.
Which one, all of them? Where would you recommend I start
Metal Gear solid is a good start. But so is snake eater which is getting a remake release this coming year
Thanks a bunch
That’s because the people who are in charge haven’t changed much. Sure, their names have changed, but they’re largely the same type of person who do the same types of things.
Clearly 830Bn budget for Military every single year is too goddamn much, but at the same time I’m all for supporting NATO and opposing Russia. I think slowly reducing the military budget of the USA would be good, but keeping active operations overseas alive. As much as I realize the USA has caused more harm than good, I also realize suddenly ending our operations can be just as harmful, such as when the Trump Admin released 5k Taliban Fighters and withdrew from Afghanistan, to which the Biden Administration followed through with.
This is longer true. Social security, Medicare, and medicaid are all less than 80 years old and make up more of the federal budget than defense spending.
These are the top 5 budget item according to the us treasury for 2022. Social security 23% Heath 15% National defense 13% Medicare 13% Income security 13%
“Veterans benefits and services” is another category which I guess could be considered war spending or healthcare.
Social security is paying back what people have put into it, nobody alive today is collecting from it without having paid in to it their entire working life. It seems misleading to call this an expenditure in the sense that military spending is.
There is also a distinct difference between healthcare spending and healthcare being received. The US spends a lot on “healthcare” that is actually insane insurance profiteering or useless administrative costs. There’s a reason the US has the highest expenditure per person in the world, but the worst health outcomes among any industrialized nation (and worse than some developing nations if you’re a minority).
Preach! “Medicare-For-All”, Single-Payer, whatever you want to call it, we need universal healthcare! It’s literally better and cheaper.
It’s not true because it’s Russian propaganda
History doesn’t repeat, it plagiarizes.
History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.
Looks like it’s from 1953 Soviet Union?
Ah, after certain Georgian dictator died
This cartoon is from 70 years ago. 80 years ago was 1943 which was in the middle of World War 2. At that point, war getting a sizable chunk of the GDP was perhaps more understandable. So the caption on the cartoon actually undersells it.
What’s the point of science or healthcare if your neighbors comes in and kill you all ?
False dichotomy
Well kinda depends on the country. Switzerland spends 2 bilion for the military but 8 bilion for education and 35 bilion for health care. I am sure, the balance looks pretty similar or even more extrem in the northic european country
it was true 800 years ago
Always been, always will. Neglect defense and your fate is decided by others.
I think this day and age people prefer the katana as the “default sword.”
I know a hundred Scotsmen who would disagree with you
