ABSTRACT
Militaries throughout history have, to varying degrees, been forced to feed and arm themselves. 1 In pre-modern societies, individual warriors or soldiers were responsible for supplying their own armor and weapons, and in fact, socioeconomic status was one of the most important determinants of warrior status. 2 In the field, the lack of an effective supply system often led to pillaging and looting of the surrounding battlefield, living off the land regardless of whether it was enemy or friendly territory. Only the modern nation-state has sought to provide complete financial support for the military, largely to buttress corresponding notions of apolitical civil-military relations. 3 In only a few Western nations, such as the United States, has the goal of complete financing been fully realized. In many other cases, militaries are funded by a combination of central fiscal contributions and internal military production and commerce. The Chinese case is a new variant of this latter type of arrangement.
