ABSTRACT
Ever since the end of the Second World War, defense contractors have been trying to use their special talents in other areas of the economy. There is a substantial history of defense contractors trying to weather defense cutbacks via converting—or to use the more business-like term, "diversifying"—into civilian markets. A pertinent anecdote is told by Seymour Melman, a staunch advocate of "conversion" planning. He described the case of a defense firm attempting to produce a class of civilian vehicles. It is ironic that the strongest support for the conversion of defense companies comes from those who had most strongly attacked the wasteful cost-plus operating environment of the "military-industrial complex". It should be expected that they would welcome the opportunity to move resources out of those companies to more efficiency-minded civilian-oriented enterprises. Some perspective will benefit both the defense companies and their employees, including those who fear that they will soon lose their jobs.
