The Political Economy of Militarism

High levels of military expenditures are one key aspect of militarism, which is the set of material and ideological manifestations that promote militaristic values in the political, social, and economic domains. This chapter examines the determinants and economic costs of military expenditures with respect to different schools of economic thoughts, including neoclassical, Keynesian, and Marxist. There has been a growing literature on the role of military spending in capitalism in general and its impact on economic growth in particular. As Rosa Luxemburg noted, military power and the ideological influence of militarism were key mechanisms of primitive accumulation in the history of capitalism. That is, capitalism needs non-capitalist systems to expand, and military power makes it possible. Therefore, one key strategic motive of high military spending by core capitalist nations is to sustain the hegemony over peripheral countries and to regulate the rivalry between them. Resting upon this background, the chapter emphasizes three issues about the role of militarism: First, its role in capitalist accumulation and absorption of surplus with special attention to Luxemburg, and Baran and Sweezy; second, the use of militarism to the imperialist interests; and finally, its impact on employment and economic growth.