ABSTRACT

This chapter examines, with reference to Canada and the United States, the way in which a sustained commitment to a warfare state undermines social and economic development, publicfinances, and corporate culture. It also examines the evidence indicating the different trajectories of the Canadian and the US economies in this century, as well as their different relationship to arms spending. The chapter reviews the literature on human development, highlighting the work of Ruth Leger Sivard, who was among the first to intimate a connection between warfare, welfare, and development. It offers evidence on how contemporary militarism has severely damaged the public finances of the United States. The chapter suggests that the ways in which a long-term overemphasis on militarism can damage corporate culture. It has contrasted the defense spending of the United States with that of Canada and shown that the US federal government has been the center of military expenditure in the world.