Arms Reduction and Global Reconstruction: A Blueprint for the Global Development
The relative status of super power relations is incidental to the need to reduce military spending and the need to redirect resources into areas of endeavor that directly address the needs of a humanity, found wanting in more places, and by more people, in continually rising numbers. The efficacy of military build up as a tool for the preservation of social order can no longer be accepted as a legitimate argument. The ability to commit great bodily harm against another is not a viable means of securing the person of an individual or a nation. At some distant point in the history of mankind, one of our early ancestors picked up a stick, with the intention of guaranteeing the conduct of his neighbor. The fallacy of security through military superiority was revealed when his neighbor responded by picking up a stone. And so it continued, from knives to swords, from spears to arrows, from firearms to rapid fire firearms, to bombs, to aerial bombardment, to the nuclear brink, on which we stand.
The economic benefits of military spending are too narrowly concentrated. Aside from the tenuous claim that military spending keeps our country strong and secure, there is no rational justification for the amount of monies consumed by the military industrial complex. The dollars put into the general economy through wages paid out to the work force and other support activities that grow up around military production do not provide an equitable benefit to the general public, whose monies make up the revenue source from which the military budget is drawn. The wealth and power accumulated by those who control the process serve no purpose that goes beyond their personal interest and desires. Their lifestyles in no way justify the human misery that is the lifestyle of millions of human beings, all over the world, that is the result of their misguided production. There is no evidence that any activities initiated by, or as a result of military expenditures improves the living conditions of sufficient numbers of people to justify a continuation of the spending. Those who have benefited from the current direction of the military spending and claim an undo hardship because of reductions in military spending should be afforded a speedy hearing of their grievance. If one’s existence is compromised in some area, beyond the satisfaction that comes from directing the fortunes of others, surely it would be possible to subsidize that existence, through government funding, at a level at which there would be no hint of need or deprivation visited upon the claimant. This could be undertaken at a dollar cost that is a small fraction of the current military spending levels. The real bonus to society would be the results that come from having humanely neutralized a mindset incapable of seeing the fatal folly in military build up, and thus sparing the rest of humanity from the consequences of having had such a mindset guiding the direction of production.
New economies, driven by the satisfaction of human needs, should be developed. “Need” could be defined as, the absence of goods or services, that if not supplied, will have a direct or immanent adverse affect on the individual. This deficiency can be manifest in others, and as a result, has the potential to diminish the quality of life for the overall society if it is allowed to persist unchecked.
Any inadequacies in the areas of housing, food and clothing would serve as a trigger mechanism, by which new businesses are set up. Initially, the new economy would be tied to the current capital driven economy. Monies from defense spending and private funding should be used for start ups in the new economy. However, the object of the businesses started up in the new economy will not be profit. These businesses would, through the use of human resources, satisfy societal needs, by a means that allows for the fulfillment of the personal needs of the participants and the continuation of the process. The work force currently involved in military production should be among the first groups targeted for deployment into other areas of service or production set up with monies redirected from defense spending.
Domestically, the lack of adequate housing could be directly addressed through programs for the rehabilitation of existing housing and new construction. Housing units brought on line in the new economy would be made available on different terms, depending on whether they were being used to satisfy demand, based on need, or demand, based on the ability to pay.
At this point, a “Big Picture” explanation is necessary. I see the situation as one in which there are two economies coexisting. The current system is “capital” driven. The capital economy is said to respond to the, “Laws of supply and demand.” What is not stated, however, is that demand is manipulated by the suppliers, in favor of what they supply. The Need economy will primarily be “need” driven. Government revenue redirected from defense spending and private sector tax credits will provide an interface between the two economies.
The Need based economy will function in three basic areas, housing, food and clothing production. These areas will provide employment for large numbers of people. Those currently employed in military production, along with those currently unemployed could be absorbed into these efforts. The need for capable instructors to train and retrain the work force will also bring people into the “Need” economy in a necessary and productive capacity.
Food production and distribution will also open up meaningful employment opportunities that are secure as long as men eat to live. The food production methods in the new economy would be labor intensive chemical free. When the profit motive is removed, a more purposeful balance between mechanization that assists the human activity and mechanization that dehumanizes the process can be achieved. This will provide secure livelihoods to a significant segment of the population. The return of nutrients to the food supply will be an additional benefit. We can also begin to repair the ecological damage that has been done as a result of corporate farming techniques. Farm communities would again become common without a reduction in the food supply.
The manufacture and recycling of clothing would also provide meaningful and stable employment. The clothing needs of a society are as varied as the function. Work clothes, play clothes, men’s, women’s, children’s, summer, winter, dress, casual, and any other number of categories would guarantee permanent employment.
From these three basic production areas, many support and correlated activities would arise. Need economies would interface with the current economy where there interest converge. The wage scale in the Need economy would be a combination of labor value credits and cash. Goods and services produced in the Need economy would be made available in the Capital economy. Price structures would place a fair market value on products when they were consumed in the Capital market. Competitive pricing at this level will be a source of revenue for Need based production. Transaction contained within the Need economy would be facilitated by the member’s use of labor credits to acquire desired goods or services. Cash transactions could be made when appropriate.
Need based economies would bring ever increasing numbers of people into productive participation within the economic system on the basis of mutual cooperation. As need based economies develop, their operational philosophy and methods could be used in ever expanding areas of social concern. Transportation options could be considered that serve the needs of society, while addressing environmental concerns. Health care and education are also areas in which capital concerns have transformed the processes into something far short of acceptable condition. The ripple effect of Need satisfaction could counter act the levels of social unrest that seem to be on the rise. The narrowly concentrated benefits and ever increasing environment of sacrifice that are characteristics of the current economy, from which the military budget is derived, breed internal unrest that threatens the society as much as any foreign invader we might seek to dissuade.
To this point, my focus has been domestic, Need economies can be simultaneously set up in foreign countries. They can provide the basis for settling regional conflicts. In areas where fighting is currently underway, the possibilities for improving the material living conditions for the entire populations involved might serve as a basis for removing popular support for confrontational leaders. Aid could be provided in any area of concern to the involved parties. This aide would be developmental in nature. What ever goods and service that were introduced into an area would be done so with the expectation that the indigenous population would take over the operation so that the benefits are on going and that the people being served are in control of the service. The base price of this assistance would be the reduction in military spending and controls being placed on current military activities.
Where under development stands as the main reason for human suffering, Need economies, set up with developed technologies, would be introduced. The resultant development would raise the standard of living for the general population, while providing them with meaningful roles to play in that development. The goodwill that arises from these experiences would provide a more equitable basis for gaining access to the natural resources found in under develop nations, without the taint of exploitation and the attendant poverty.
The developed world has a vast human resource that only needs to be mobilized and trained to administer and start up projects designed to utilize modern technology and know how to satisfy so many human needs that go unanswered in so many parts of the world. Care must be taken to insure that the prescription is appropriate to the ailment. However, in Need economies, the presence of need triggers new processes that are meant to eliminate the need.
Pre-corporate farming, American farming methods and science could be used in conjunction with indigenous resources, both human and natural, to maximize the agricultural capacity of a given region; particularly in regions where hunger is an issue.
While keeping the satisfaction of human need and the improvement of the general living conditions as the main objectives of any economic development, the activities that are undertaken must be measured insure they do not bring with them any undesirable affects, nor destroy cultural choices held in high esteem by the indigenous people.
The reduction of poverty and need, coupled with a deep and abiding respect for the culture of the target society will do more to secure these people as permanent allies than any number of mutual defense treaties and the attendant weapons build ups. The developed world’s need for natural resources or vacation spots can best be met through sharing capabilities and technologies that improve the quality of life for people that can supply the needs of developed nations. Through efforts at helping the less developed, we can reinforce our own belief in the efficacy of improving ourselves through service to others. America rode a great wave of prosperity based on the philosophy that, “What was good for G.M., was good for America.” This placed the needs of corporations first and presumed the results of that need satisfaction would be equally as good for the people. This philosophy camouflaged a system of exploitation and environmental degradation, the human cost of which is still being totaled. The introduction of technology and proven methods, directly to the affected populations, without being filtered through corporate structures and their resultant profit motive, will result in a more dramatic and sustained improvement in the standard of living for larger numbers of people than is currently realized. Need based economies would be a valuable export that could achieve a relatively painless, but necessary, level of global wealth redistribution.
As we develop the capabilities of other societies to provide for themselves, while guarding against the negative social and environmental consequences that are so evident in developed nations, we might identify ways of correcting the past abuses. Current methods for meeting transportation demands were arrived at before there was significant concern for the environmental impact of fossil fuels and their by products. Mass transit and alternative fuels sources could be more vigorously developed based on successes achieved in less developed nation where environmental impact is a primary consideration in the initial design and development process.
The funding for the start up and development of need driven economies could come directly from the redirection of funds currently consumed in military budgets. The resultant development of human resources would in and of themselves justify the expenditures. As we begin to concentrate of efforts on the development of human potential, we can begin to take the first deliberate steps towards the development of social intelligence. Development of our social intelligence is the new frontier. When we develop the science of living in a society that is advancing socially on a par with the level of technological advancement that we have experienced, we will experience an improvement in global well being that makes the benefits of technological advancement pale in comparison. Arms reduction and need based economic restructuring are the yin and yang in a workable philosophy for true human progress into the new millennium.