the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Jun 14, 2010
World military expenses increased strongly in 2009, up 5.9%. They reached the colossal sum of 1.5 trillion dollars. Over the last ten years, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), these expenses have exploded by 49%.
The U.S. accounts for 43% of the world’s military spending, with 661 billion dollars spent in 2009, up 7%. This increase is in part explained by the doubling of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan. This sad record delights the stockholders of Lockheed Martin Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics and other merchants of death, but certainly not the peoples against whom the arms are or can be used.
This waste of 661 billion dollars or $2,100 for every person in the country could have been devoted to much more useful production, like health, housing, education and public transit ... and none of the workers employed in the arms industry would have a problem if their abilities were used for socially necessary services.