Led astray by Marxist and Keynesian dogma, the literature on the origins of the permanent war economy has overlooked a leading cause of the elevated levels of U.S. military spending since the end of World War II: the economic rents created by the federal governments monopoly on national defense, and the pursuit of those rents by the labor, industry, and military lobbies. Although the permanent war economy benefits powerful special interest groups, it generates a significant negative externality by diverting resources from other, private uses.
The Origins of the Permanent War Economy
By Christopher J. Coyne, Thomas K. Duncan
This
article
appeared in
the Fall 2013 issue of The Independent Review.
American HistoryAntitrust, Competition, and MonopolyDefense and Foreign PolicyEconomic PolicyEconomyLabor and EmploymentLaw and LibertyRegulationTerrorism and Homeland Security
Other Independent Review articles by Christopher J. Coyne | ||
Winter 2022/23 | Why We Fight: The Roots of War and Paths to Peace | |
Summer 2022 | The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict | |
Spring 2022 | How to Run a War | |
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Other Independent Review articles by Thomas K. Duncan | |
Fall 2014 | Torpedo: Inventing the Military-Industrial Complex in the United States and Great Britain |