On Jun 22, 2007, at 9:07 AM, Russell Grinker wrote:
> Although late SWP (UK) theoretician Michael Kidron invented the
> spurious
> theory of the Permanent Arms Economy as an explanation for the
> period of
> capitalist expansion that followed the Second World War, I think a
> more
> orthodox Marxist explanation would see war production and armaments
> spending
> as a fiscal burden and a drain on profitability for capital in general
> (while of course hugely benefiting some producers).
It's been a huge subsidy to some sectors of U.S. capital, like computing and aerospace. The computer industry would never have gotten off the ground in the 1950s without the Pentagon; private industry didn't get interested in buying the things until the 1960s. Wall Street wouldn't touch it in its early days either. The industry is still living off basic inventions funded by the Pentagon - like databases and graphical interfaces.
Doug