tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post1690308015407334184..comments2024-03-29T13:09:31.522+01:00Comments on Defence and Freedom: Supply, demand and a weird statementUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-3599204610899253612010-12-16T09:43:16.494+01:002010-12-16T09:43:16.494+01:00"This opens the floodgates for speculations a..."This opens the floodgates for speculations about how much we could reduce military spending without any loss of security."<br /><br />I think of all government departments, defence is the least likely to yield results from this arguement.<br />Certainly on our side of the pond.Domohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00240964731398145995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-92208242966101092902010-12-15T21:27:23.221+01:002010-12-15T21:27:23.221+01:00...and exactly this disconnect between threat and ......and exactly this disconnect between threat and military spending means that we don't spend to counter threats. We spend as much on the military because it's a habit and because our government wants it.<br /><br /><br />This opens the floodgates for speculations about how much we could reduce military spending without any loss of security.S Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03359796414832859686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-55145954000072785242010-12-15T21:09:13.938+01:002010-12-15T21:09:13.938+01:00But countries buy the amount of defense they can a...But countries buy the amount of defense they can afford, not the amount they need for exogenous threats - consider the case of a small country near to a superpower*: it can't possibly afford the defense it needs, so it buys as much as it can afford. Thus the determinant is the political limits put on the resources available, and the purchasers try to maximise the effectiveness of that resource spend - so if the hardware concerned is clearly more effective than alternatives, scaling back the size of purchase is perfectly rational.<br /><br />*of course this works better if you assume (as the Pentagon apparently does) that the US is overmatched by the Rest-of-the-World plus all Terrorists :)Die alte Aechzenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18294141940637952687noreply@blogger.com